Hailey Schalk barely had time to scoop the ball out of the cup on the 36th hole of the 2017 Class 3A girls state golf tournament before sky-high expectations were being placed on her by observers.
This freshman girl who couldn’t even drive herself to the golf course was going to become the first golfer in Colorado history to sweep her way through every season and claim four state titles, they said, and become of one the best high school golfers in state history, if not the best ever.
It was a lot of pressure to heap on a young athlete.
Contrary to the instant-reaction world of 2020, the reality is that greatness takes time to rear its head regardless if it’s golf, basketball or any other sport.
Especially if the topic at hand is now a high school senior on the verge of continuing her golf career at the University of Colorado.
To be fair, however, when Schalk won her first title, she did it in convincing fashion at the Broadlands in Broomfield. She shot a 6-under-par-65 on the first day which at the time was her career best. The championship was the end of a season in which she had felt herself gaining momentum well before the start of the state tournament.
“I had been playing really good golf my freshman year,” she said. “I was really confident going into that state championship. There were really good girls there like Charlotte Hillary (Kent Denver) and Caroline and Marie Jordaan (Colorado Academy). They were really good competition of mine for many years.”
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
The proved to be the case the next year when Caroline Jordaan held the Day 1 lead at Elmwood in Pueblo. Schalk rallied to shoot a 67 in the final round to win title No. 2. She claimed her third title at a one-day state tournament at Pelican Lakes. Although she made winning state look easy, she was well aware of each challenge that each tournament provided.
“I don’t know if it felt easier,” Schalk said. “Going into that second state championship, there was an article saying I was going to win all four. There’s always pressure and that can get the best of you.”
Her shot at an historic fourth title was derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, but it’s far from the end of her golf journey. Schalk will stay close to home and play golf at the University of Colorado.
And looking beyond that, she has a recent example of just how great girls golfers from her area have the potential to be.
Like many others, she’s paid attention to the heights that Jefferson Academy alum Jennifer Kupcho has soared. A win at the Augusta National Women’s Am and an NCAA title are certainly benchmarks that Schalk can now shoot for.
It helps that from comparisons of their respective high school games, Schalk sees some similarities in how she and Kupcho have both played at that level.
“Exactly what Jennifer said (earlier this month), my short game has never been the best part of my game,” Schalk said. “Driving the golf ball and striking the ball has always been the best part. That’s given me an advantage the last four years. Anytime I can get on the green on a par 5 in two, it was always better than me trying to hit wedge in there.”
Schalk leaves Holy Family with the designation that there was never a state golf tournament that she played in and didn’t win. She handled the pressure of people claiming early in her career that she would win four and is now ready to tackle the game at the collegiate level.
So those reactions to her win freshman year came to fruition: Schalk did become one of the best at this level, if not the best ever.
She will continue remain focused on the task in front her, the very approach that allowed her to have arguably the greatest high school golf career in state history.
But her overall career path has yet to hit its apex. If the flight of that trajectory continues to rocket like a well-struck tee shot, her story is just beginning.
The volleyball record book has been updated (and has a new look). There are a total of five new team entries, 59 individual entries, and five coaching updates. Among those are five overall records.
Sterling and Denver Christian each joined the list of teams that have had an unbeaten season with their first last fall.
Those two teams each also climbed the ranks of the consecutive sets won record. Sterling won 52-straight in 2019, while Denver Christian won 50-straight.
Individual:
Palmer Ridge’s Kyra Kisting set the season record for assists with 1,223. Colorado Springs Christian’s Kiersten Brock (5th, 1,099) and Cherokee Trail’s Sydney Cole (7th, 1,070) both also made the top-10.
Briggsdale’s Shelby Hoffman set the season record for digs with 895. Rye’s Ashlyn Romine (3rd, 809) and Wiley’s Macy Rowan (8th, 745) both also made the top-10.
Rowan set the match record for digs in a match with 75 against Cheraw on Nov. 9. She also had 63 (4th) against Cheraw on Aug. 29, 60 (7th) against Stratton/Liberty on Sept. 12, and 59 (9th) against Eads on Oct. 10.
Castle View’s Leanne Lowry set the career record for digs with 2,177. Peyton Frank of Holy Family (4th, 2,083) and Lewis-Palmer’s Gianna Bartalo (6th, 1,948) each also cracked the top-10 of the category. Notably, Wiley junior Macy Rowan is already 19th on the career list with 1,351.
Wiggins’ Avery Burdette tied the set record for service efficiency when she was 24/24 against Flatirons Academy on Sept. 14, 2019.
La Veta’s Nya Sciacca had 295 career aces, which is the second most. Pikes Peak Christian’s Kyler Sweat (4th, 284) and Denver Christian’s Anna Kaemingk (8th, 256) both made the top-10.
Valor Christian’s Anna Davis had 329 career block assists, which is the second most.
Ryley Smartt of Genoa-Hugo/Karval is second in points per set for her career, averaging 6.0673.
Sydney Cole of Cherokee Trail had 564 total serves in 2019, which is the third-most in history. She set the record in 2018 with 608.
Cole also had 3,556 assists in her career, which is the fourth-highest total in state history.
Briggsdale’s Kimberlyn Krise (5th, 581) and Highlands Ranch’s Cassie Davis (7th, 560) are now each listed for kills in a season. Krise is also fifth in terms of career kills with 1,504, and seventh in career points (1,751).
Couple of top-10 marks for assists in a match for Palmer Ridge’s Kisting (3rd, 69 against Pueblo County; 7th, 66 against Cheyenne Mountain; and 8th, 65, against Discovery Canyon); and Erie’s Jessica Amend (10th, twice, when she had 64 assists against Prospect Ridge, and 64 against Holy Family).
Belleview Christian’s Lexie Ewing had 21 aces on Oct. 8, 2019, the fifth-most in a match.
Simla’s Kaitlyn Rector and Genoa-Hugo/Karval’s Smatt each had 672 total points this season, which is the seventh-most.
Mayson Fago of Union Colony is 10th for career points with 1,624.
Rye’s Havilah Pitzer is now 10th with 149 solo blocks in a season.
Coaching:
Arapahoe’s Larry Deffenbaugh is third on the all-time wins list with 540.
Sterling’s Lisa Schumacher remains at eighth with 464 wins.
Pueblo West’s Casey King is at 16th on the wins list with 348 wins.
Lewis-Palmer’s Wade Baxter is 12th among coaches with three state championships.
Sally Moos wrapped up her 38th season as the head coach at Cherry Creek last fall — the most at one school. Her 38 years are also the most of anyone as a head coach.
Voted upon by coaches and select media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
Coaches and media members looking to vote should email rcasey@chsaa.org.
Class 5A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Cherry Creek (3)
0-0
86
2
Regis Jesuit (4)
0-0
80
3
Heritage (2)
0-0
79
4
Rocky Mountain
0-0
61
5
Mountain Vista (1)
0-0
57
6
Valor Christian
0-0
36
7
Grandview
0-0
30
8
Rock Canyon
0-0
29
9
Douglas County
0-0
28
10
Legacy
0-0
20
Others receiving votes:
Chaparral 16, Pine Creek 16, Legend 14, Ralston Valley 14, ThunderRidge 11, Fort Collins 10, Boulder 5, Poudre 4, Windsor 3, Lakewood 2, Vista PEAK Prep 2, Arapahoe 1, Broomfield 1.
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Cheyenne Mountain (4)
0-0
95
2
Pueblo West (5)
0-0
87
3
Silver Creek (1)
0-0
69
4
Holy Family
0-0
45
5
Fort Morgan
0-0
36
6
Golden
0-0
34
7
Longmont
0-0
28
8
Ponderosa
0-0
22
9
Wheat Ridge
0-0
21
10
Montrose
0-0
20
Others receiving votes:
Erie 18, Palmer Ridge 17, Lewis-Palmer 14, Roosevelt 12, Skyview 11, Air Academy 10, Canon City 10, Discovery Canyon 8, Falcon 8, Pueblo Central 8, Denver West 7, The Classical Academy 6, Palisade 5, Pueblo South 5, Evergreen 4, Centaurus 3, Sierra 1.
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
University (5)
0-0
89
2
Eaton (2)
0-0
84
3
Resurrection Christian (3)
0-0
81
4
Lutheran
0-0
67
5
Sterling
0-0
43
6
Colorado Academy
0-0
34
7
Delta
0-0
31
8
La Junta
0-0
21
9
Alamosa
0-0
20
10
Peak to Peak
0-0
19
Others receiving votes:
Faith Christian 14, St. Mary’s 14, Brush 11, Bennett 4, Kent Denver 4, Manitou Springs 4, Jefferson Academy 2, Lamar 2.
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Peyton (6)
0-0
74
2
Rye
0-0
59
3
Fowler
0-0
55
4
Yuma
0-0
53
5
Holly (3)
0-0
50
6
Limon
0-0
39
7
Wiggins
0-0
37
8
Dayspring Christian Academy
0-0
19
9
Dawson School
0-0
16
10
Calhan
0-0
14
Others receiving votes:
Sargent 13, Front Range Christian 11, Hotchkiss 10, Burlington 9, Dolores 8, Wray 8, Holyoke 6, Paonia 4, Denver Christian 3, Highland 3, Clear Creek 2, Rocky Ford 2.
Vista PEAK (5A), Montrose (4A) and Cotopaxi (1A) have joined this week’s girls basketball rankings.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. During the regular season, they are released each Monday.
This week’s girls basketball ranking added just two newcomers across the five classes: Meeker (2A) and Elbert (1A).
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. During the regular season, they are released each Monday.
Fleming has taken over atop the Class 1A girls basketball rankings this week.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. During the regular season, they are released each Monday.
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
First-place votes are in parentheses.
Coaches and media members looking to vote should email rcasey@chsaa.org.
Class 5A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Grandview (12)
14-2
153
1
2-0
2
Valor Christian (4)
16-1
141
2
2-0
3
Cherry Creek
14-2
132
3
3-0
4
Highlands Ranch
13-4
105
4
2-0
5
Regis Jesuit
13-4
98
5
1-0
6
Ralston Valley
12-3
77
6
0-1
7
Fossil Ridge
13-2
74
7
2-0
8
Fruita Monument
16-2
26
9
1-0
9
Cherokee Trail
11-6
23
8
1-1
10
Fountain-Fort Carson
14-1
11
–
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Vista Peak Prep 11, Denver East 10, Chaparral 9, Mountain Vista 8, Denver South 1, ThunderRidge 1.
Dropped out
Vista Peak Prep (10).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Mullen (12)
12-5
159
1
1-1
2
Pueblo West (5)
16-1
155
2
2-0
3
Sand Creek
15-1
129
4
2-0
4
Green Mountain
15-2
113
3
1-1
5
Berthoud
17-1
104
5
2-0
6
Holy Family
14-4
80
6
2-0
7
Erie
15-2
43
7
1-0
8
Falcon
12-4
39
8
0-1
9
Thompson Valley
16-1
28
9
2-0
10
Sierra
12-4
27
10
2-0
Others receiving votes:
George Washington 19, Montrose 10, Ponderosa 8, Air Academy 6, Glenwood Springs 5, Evergreen 4, Cheyenne Mountain 3, Canon City 1, Greeley Central 1, Pueblo County 1.
Dropped out
None.
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
St. Mary’s (10)
14-1
108
1
3-0
2
Lutheran (1)
13-1
103
2
2-0
3
Centauri (1)
13-1
101
3
1-0
4
Pagosa Springs
12-2
93
4
2-0
5
The Vanguard (1)
13-1
62
8
3-0
6
The Academy
14-0
59
6
3-0
7
Alamosa
12-3
56
5
1-1
8
Delta
11-3
53
7
2-0
9
University
13-2
40
9
2-0
10
Eaton
12-3
21
10
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Manitou Springs 7, Platte Valley 5, Cedaredge 4, SkyView Academy 3.
