FORT COLLINS — Fossil Ridge picked up right where it left off at last year’s girls swimming state championships.
The SaberCats, in search of a repeat championship, and third in the past four seasons, had a dominant showing on the first day of the Class 5A girls swimming state prelims at the Edora Pool Ice Center.
Their swimmers had the top qualifying time in seven of the eight individual events, and the team also qualified first in two of the three relays.
The SaberCats set the tone with the first event of the day, the 200 medley relay. They finished in 1:39.68, just off of their state record of 1:39.40 set last season. The SaberCats have their sights set on the national public high school record of 1:39.25 set in 2015.
Fossil Ridge also qualified first in the 200 free relay (1:34.57), narrowly missing the state record of 1:34.40 set by Cherry Creek in 2011.
Individually, Coleen Gillilan, a junior, lowered her own state record in the 100 butterfly with a time of 52.17. She also had the top time in the 200 yard freestyle, bettering her seed time in the 200 by 3.7 seconds to 1:47.56.
Zoe Bartel qualified first in the 200 IM (2:01.74) and the 100 breaststroke (1:01.6). She is seeking to defend both events from the 2017 meet.
Kylee Alons qualified first in the 50 (22.70) and 100 (49.70) freestyle races. Alons won both events last season.
Bayley Stewart had the top prelim time (54.55) in the 100 backstroke, an event she won last season.
Bartel, Alons and Stewart are all seniors.
Caraline Baker, a sophomore, also qualified second in both the breaststroke and the butterfly.
Kathryn Shanley. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Elsewhere, Chatfield freshman Kathryn Shanley burst onto the scene with a great showing in prelims. She qualified first in the 500 (5:06.81), edging Fairview junior Amelie Lessing (5:07.88). Shanley was also third in the 200.
Regis Jesuit had an excellent performance in the 400 freestyle relay. The Raiders’ group of Meriel Upton, Parker Biley, Sophia Bradac and Jada Surrell-Norwood had the top prelim time in 3:29.24. Fossil Ridge was second in 3:29.94, and Mountain Vista was third in 3:35.07.
The night closed with a swim-off for the last spot in the 100 butterfly finals. Legacy’s Kandice Chandra (58.33) edged Douglas County’s Margaret Kroening (58.98).
The meet will resume on Saturday with diving prelims at 9:30 a.m., and the finals begin at 3 p.m.
CASTLE ROCK — Sam Bannec led the effort with 16 points and Class 5A No. 8 Regis Jesuit overcame a six-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter to beat Douglas County 58-55 on Thursday.
The 2017 all-state football teams are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.
These teams were created following a lengthy process which included nominations from leagues, and then a vote of head coaches across the state.
Players were placed onto the first-team, second-team and honorable mention based upon the number of votes they received. In 5A-1A, spots were reserved for linemen and one kicker/punter, while 8-man reserved spots for linemen.
CHSAA does not determine who makes or doesn’t make the team; they are created entirely from the results of the coaches’ vote.
Douglas County and ThunderRidge wrestling had quite the unique way to begin their respective wrestling seasons: Outdoors, at Douglas County Stadium.
It may have been the first outdoor wrestling dual meet held in Colorado. Other states, such as California and Arizona, have held outdoor meets before, but with wrestling being a winter sport in Colorado, there aren’t many chances to bring the sport outdoors.
But Friday, the first day of December, the weather wasn’t too bad. The match started at 3 p.m., when it was 55 degrees.
ThunderRidge won the meet, dubbed the “Sunset Slam,” 41-36.
Check out some photos from the event, via Twitter:
Chatfield’s Christian Holmes (13) takes a tumble during the Chargers’ loss Wednesday. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
LITTLETON — Douglas County overcame double-digit deficits twice on opening night of the preps boys basketball Wednesday.
“I think the difference between this year and the teams I’ve had in the past is these guys, not matter what’s going on, are confident,” Douglas County coach Earl Boykins said after a 67-62 victory over Chatfield on the Chargers’ home court. “Tonight was a perfect example.”
Chatfield jumped out to a 10-0 lead early before eight 3-pointers in the first half gave the Huskies a 33-30 halftime lead. Even more impressive was Douglas County’s rally in the fourth quarter.
“Everything that could go wrong that last four minutes went wrong, but this is our team right now,” Chatfield coach Stephen Schimpeler said after the loss. “We’ve known this was coming. I think it’s a wake-up call for us.”
Chatfield freshman Ethan Gorowski buried a 3-pointer with 4:50 left in the fourth quarter to give the Chargers a 60-49 lead. However, it would be the last field goal of the night for Chatfield.
Douglas County’s Brendan Temple (35) had a game-high 20 points Wednesday. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Douglas County went on an 18-0 run that was finally ended when Chatfield senior Isaiah Reed hit a pair of free throws with 9 seconds left to make the final score a 5-point victory for the Huskies.
“We were struggling with rebounding and that brought (Douglas County) back into it,” said Reed, who led the Chargers with 16 points. “Whenever we messed up, we kept on messing up. It happens.”
Douglas County junior Brendan Temple had a game-high 20 points, including four 3-pointers.
“Brendan played great tonight,” Coach Boykins said.
Junior TJ Boykins, the coach’s son, struggled with his shot through three quarters. However, the junior guard poured in all seven of his points in the fourth quarter to put the Huskies over the top.
Douglas County lost by 30 points to Chatfield last year in both teams’ opener. The Huskies weren’t able to climb out of a 19-2 early deficit like it did Wednesday night.
Douglas County hopes to take a step up when it begins conference play in the deep and talented Class 5A Continental League. The Huskies went 1-9 in league play last season. Douglas County has its home opener at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, against Coronado.
Chatfield’s Connor Vernon pulls up for a jumper against Douglas County. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
It is a new-look Chatfield team with the graduation of six seniors, including the Chargers’ top four scorers from last season. It didn’t help matter that senior Keland Rumsey didn’t play due to an injury he suffered on the football field in the Chargers’ state quarterfinal loss in the 4A playoffs a little over a week ago.
Senior Liam Mann, Chatfield leading returning scorer, fouled out having scored 10 points late in the third quarter against Douglas County. Junior Connor Vernon also went down with an ankle injury early in the fourth quarter after scoring nine points.
“We need all our guys to be healthy. I’ll be praying for Connor. Hopefully it isn’t that bad,” Reed said. “We need Liam. He is a big man. He is a beast. We’ve got to feed him when we can.”
Schimpeler has Chatfield on a remarkable run in the 5A Jeffco League. The Chargers have a 30-game conference winning streak, including back-to-back undefeated 14-0 league marks the past two seasons.
“We talk about it,” Reed said of the Chargers’ conference winning streak. “It’s a goal for us to keep it going. All we can do is do our best. I think it’s possible. It’s not going to be easy.”
Chatfield’s last league loss was against Arvada West on Feb. 13, 2015. The Chargers have plenty of non-league games before getting in to their league schedule after the winter break. Chatfield opens conference play at Pomona on Jan. 4.
“We are shorthanded right now. It is what it is,” Schimpeler said. “We were in a situation to win the game. This is good for us, as much as it stings.”
The Chargers stay at home for their next game. Chatfield hosts Boulder at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1.
Chatfield’s Isaiah Reed (0) drives on Douglas County’s Kenny Saunders. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
ARUROA — It’ll be Eaglecrest vs. Fossil Ridge and Legacy vs. Legend in the Class 5A softball semifinals on Saturday.
The four teams each advanced with two victories during the first day of the 5A state tournament on Friday.
Semifinal games begin at 10 a.m., with the championship slated for 1:30 p.m.
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Eaglecrest rolls into semis behind offensive output
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Eaglecrest jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the first inning of its quarterfinal game with Pomona and never looked back. The Raptors won 15-1 to advance to the semifinals for the second consecutive season.
Kailey Wilson hit a two-run home run, and Eaglecrest had consistent scoring outputs in the second (five runs), third (three) and fourth (three) innings.
“They’re hungry. They want it. And they’re working hard. They’ve worked so hard, and they’ve been so fun this year,” coach Yvette Hendrian said. “If we can keep our bats hot, we’ll be alright.”
The top-seeded Raptors are now 22-1 this season.
“We’re in a good spot. It’s not pressure anymore,” Hendrian said. “We know what have. We know what we can do. We’ve played under pressure a couple of times, and we’ve managed to get out of it. We know how to find ways to win. They know that and as long as they believe that and know that, we’re good.”
To reach the quarterfinals, Eaglecrest beat Rocky Mountain 12-2, and Pomona beat Brighton 7-6 on a walk-off earlier Friday.
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Fossil Ridge reaches fifth-consecutive semifinal
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Fossil Ridge continued its amazing streak of semifinal appearances, reaching the round of four for the fifth consecutive season.
In the quarterfinals on Friday, the fourth-seeded Sabercats jumped out to a 4-0 lead on Columbine after two innings, and eventually won 4-1 to reach the semis.
“I’m almost speechless,” coach Dave Philop said after the game. “This group has done it five years in a row. I can’t believe it.”
Fossil Ridge and Eaglecrest played earlier in the year, with Eaglecrest winning 7-2.
“We feel a chance to have a rematch with them, we’re looking forward to it,” Philop said. “We’ve played them, and we know how good they are, but we also think that we play in one of the better leagues in the state, and so we feel like we’re battle-tested.”
To advance to the quarterfinals, Fossil Ridge rallied to beat Grand Junction Central 13-9, and Columbine beat Douglas County 2-1 with a walk-off hit.
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Legend edges Arvada West to advance
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Hailee Swanson hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning, and No. 10 Legend beat No. 2 Arvada West 3-2 in the quarterfinals.
It gave Legend its first trip to the semifinals since 2013. The team had lost in the first round of the state tournament each of the past three seasons.
“It’s trying to create a new history for us,” coach Kristen Shirk said.
Against Arvada West, Legend scored what proved to be the winning run in the fifth inning.
“We were just going base-by-base, playing as a team, and that’s all we’re looking for,” Shirk said.
As for the gameplan for the semifinals?
“Bring the energy, the same energy we did today,” Shirk said, “and keep hitting the crap out of the ball.”
To advance to the quarterfinals, Legend beat Cherry Creek 16-3, while Arvada West beat Mountain Vista 5-3.
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Legacy beats Loveland to move on
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Legacy’s offense slowly added to its lead as the game went on, and the third-seeded Lightning eventually beat No. 6 Loveland 7-2.
It is the first time Legacy has advanced to the semifinals since 2013, when they won the 5A title.
“They have been working towards this since August 25th, when we set our mission statement,” Legacy coach Dawn Gaffin said. “They have just been wanting to get here. It’s been like pulling the reigns back on them.”
It’ll be another rematch in the semifinals. Legacy beat Legend 8-6 on Sept. 1.
“That doesn’t mean anything,” Gaffin said. “We’re going to have to come with it.”
Earlier Friday, Legacy beat ThunderRidge 10-4 in the first round, while Loveland topped Prairie View 3-0.
