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
PVS
LW
1
Mountain Vista (11)
11-0
110
1
2-0
2
Heritage
10-1
92
3
2-0
3
Pine Creek
10-2
78
2
2-0
4
Cherry Creek
10-3
62
5
3-0
5
Legacy
11-1
56
8
4-0
6
Mountain Range
10-2
52
4
2-2
7
Ralston Valley
10-2
42
9
3-0
8
Legend
6-5
26
6
1-2
9
Rock Canyon
6-3
22
–
1-1
10
Boulder
9-2
12
–
3-0
Others receiving votes:
Castle View 11, ThunderRidge 10, Columbine 9, Arapahoe 8, Regis Jesuit 7, Douglas County 4, Fort Collins 2, Cherokee Trail 1, Fruita Monument 1.
Dropped out:
Highlands Ranch (7), Douglas County (10).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Windsor (5)
10-0
83
1
2-0
2
Valor Christian (4)
8-2
81
2
3-0
3
Longmont
10-1
67
4
2-0
4
Roosevelt
10-3
65
6
1-1
5
Evergreen
9-3
44
3
1-2
6
Palmer Ridge (1)
8-2
39
8
2-0
7
Holy Family
8-3
30
–
2-1
8
Golden
9-3
24
–
2-1
9
Canon City
10-2
22
–
4-0
10
Cheyenne Mountain
8-3
19
7
1-2
Others receiving votes:
Pueblo County 17, Lewis-Palmer 12, Pueblo West 11, Air Academy 7, Discovery Canyon 6, Falcon 5, Elizabeth 4, Palisade 4, Thomas Jefferson 4, Fort Morgan 2, Montrose 3, Denver North 1, Pueblo South 1.
Dropped out:
Lewis-Palmer (5), Mead (9), Montrose (10).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
University (6)
11-1
87
1
3-0
2
Lamar (3)
11-1
82
2
3-0
3
Sterling
8-1
68
3
1-0
4
Faith Christian
9-1
56
5
4-0
5
La Junta
9-2
54
4
1-0
6
Eaton
5-3
26
10
2-0
7
Peak to Peak
8-1
25
7
3-0
8
Colorado Academy
8-3
22
8
2-1
9
Valley
6-5
20
9
2-0
10
The Academy
7-2
15
–
2-1
Others receiving votes:
Buena Vista 9, Kent Denver 9, Lutheran 5, Resurrection Christian 4, Weld Central 4, Alamosa 3, Aspen 3, Fort Lupton 2, Platte Valley 1.
Dropped out:
Kent Denver (6).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Peyton (5)
11-1
86
3
1-0
2
Paonia (5)
10-0
79
1
3-0
3
Limon
8-2
67
2
0-1
4
Sedgwick County
9-1
58
6
3-0
5
Hotchkiss
9-1
52
4
2-1
6
Yuma
8-3
36
9
2-1
7
Lyons
10-2
35
5
3-1
8
Rocky Ford
10-3
30
8
4-0
9
Haxtun
7-2
17
–
0-0
10
Dawson
7-3
15
7
1-1
Others receiving votes:
Calhan 12, Sargent 11, Dayspring Christian 10, Meeker 10, Evangelical Christian 7, Front Range Christian 6, Sanford 5, County Line 4, Fowler 4, Denver Christian 3, Highland 3.
Dropped out:
County Line (10).
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Holly (3)
6-3
60
1
1-0
2
Cornerstone Christian (4)
8-1
57
4
2-0
3
Otis
9-1
55
3
1-0
4
Elbert
5-1
54
6
1-1
5
Caliche
6-5
50
2
1-2
6
Cotopaxi
8-4
23
10
2-1
7
Peetz
4-2
22
–
0-1
8
Stratton/Liberty
4-3
21
–
2-0
9
Longmont Christian
5-3
20
9
2-0
10
Dove Creek
7-6
9
5
2-1
Others receiving votes:
Mile High Academy 6, Fleming 4, Manzanola 2, Springfield 2.
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
PVS
LW
1
Mountain Vista (10)
4-0
100
2
4-0
2
Cherry Creek
3-1
90
1
3-1
3
Rocky Mountain
0-0
67
3
0-0
4
Regis Jesuit
0-0
55
6
0-0
5
Pine Creek
1-0
53
7
1-0
6
Legend
2-3
43
8
2-3
7
Heritage
2-0
37
10
2-0
8
Chaparral
2-0
25
–
2-0
9
Broomfield
1-0
23
5
1-0
10
Mountain Range (1)
2-0
19
–
2-0
Others receiving votes:
ThunderRidge 18, Douglas County 16, Rock Canyon 15, Grandview 13, Ralston Valley 10, Boulder 5, Columbine 3, Dakota Ridge 3, Fruita Monument 3, Horizon 3, Cherokee Trail 2, Coronado 1, Eaglecrest 1.
Dropped out:
Rock Canyon (4), ThunderRidge (9).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Valor Christian (10)
2-0
106
1
2-0
2
Pueblo West
4-2
78
2
4-2
3
Evergreen
4-0
75
3
4-0
4
Mountain View (1)
3-0
67
8
3-0
5
Roosevelt
4-0
46
–
4-0
6
Golden
2-0
37
9
2-0
7
Air Academy
1-1
33
5
1-1
8
Windsor
0-0
29
10
0-0
9
Mead
5-0
28
–
5-0
10
Palmer Ridge
2-1
16
–
2-1
Others receiving votes:
Northridge 14, Green Mountain 13, Silver Creek 11, Lewis-Palmer 9, Pueblo County 8, Holy Family 7, Thompson Valley 6, Pueblo East 5, Pueblo South 5, Cheyenne Mountain 3, Denver North 3, Fort Morgan 2, Pueblo Central 2, Ponderosa 1, Skyline 1.
Dropped out:
Silver Creek (4), Northridge (6), Thompson Valley (7).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Lamar (6)
5-0
106
4
5-0
2
Valley
3-1
86
2
3-1
3
Colorado Academy (3)
2-0
83
3
2-0
4
University (2)
1-0
77
7
1-0
5
Eaton
1-1
63
1
1-1
6
The Academy (1)
3-0
46
–
3-0
7
Faith Christian
0-0
32
5
0-0
8
Sterling
1-1
31
10
1-1
9
La Junta
0-1
30
6
0-1
10
Kent Denver
3-0
23
–
3-0
Others receiving votes:
Bayfield 18, Weld Central 16, Lutheran 14, Delta 11, Resurrection Christian 7, Bishop Machebeuf 6, Jefferson Academy 5, Peak to Peak 4, Pagosa Springs 2.
Dropped out:
Delta (8), Bayfield (9).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Paonia (9)
1-0
97
1
1-0
2
Peyton
2-0
89
2
2-0
3
Lyons
3-1
64
4
3-1
4
Rocky Ford
2-1
51
3
2-1
5
Hotchkiss
2-0
46
8
2-0
6
Swink (1)
3-0
42
–
3-0
7
Limon
2-1
31
6
2-1
8
Sedgwick County
0-1
29
5
0-1
9
Yuma
2-0
23
7
2-0
10
Haxtun
2-0
19
–
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Crowley County 8, Wiggins 8, Dawson 7, Burlington 5, Dayspring Christian 5, Front Range Christian 5, County Line 4, Evangelical Christian 3, Highland 2, Holyoke 2, Calhan 1, Meeker 1, Sargent 1.
DENVER — Greeley Central’s Andrew Alirez knows the feeling of winning a state wrestling championship. He’s experienced it twice and is aiming for his third. At this year’s state tournament at Pepsi Center, he’s hoping he’s not alone. His older cousin Zeke, a senior, placed third a year ago, but has yet to claim a championship.
But this could be the year they do it together. Andrew pinned Falcon’s Adrian Garcia in one minute, 20 seconds and Zeke pinned Pueblo South’s Joe Deville in 3:55. The hunt is one for the siblings.
“We train hard,” Andrew said. “We just try to represent our city and we’re pushing each other every day. Zeke’s really tough. He’s a great wrestler. You guys don’t see what I see. He’s tough. In my opinion, this year should be his year.”
As a junior, Andrew’s potential third title will hold more significance from a state-wide perspective. But no matter what he’s doing or where he is, his focus is always directed Zeke’s way and hoping for the same level of success.
“Even last week in regionals during my finals match, he’s in his match clapping so we’re just really there for each other,” Zeke said.
The duo will compete in the Class 4A quarterfinals Friday morning and should they win, they’ll advance to the semifinal will be held Friday night.
[divider]
Greenwood’s quest for a fourth title begins
Jacob Greenwood. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Jacob Greenwood, the Poudre senior in search of a fourth state championship, started his state tournament off with a win.
Greenwood beat Ralston Valley junior Colton Frost-Bryant via a tech fall, 20-4, in the second period. He will face Erik Cumley of Legend in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Greenwood is seeking to become the 21st four-time champion in state history. The state tournament has featured a four-time champion each of the past four seasons.
[divider]
Two-time champs pushing for a third
Brendon Garcia. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
Six other wrestlers began their quests for a third championship with a win in the first round on Thursday night:
Pueblo County’s Brendon Garcia, a junior at 4A 106, pinned Thompson Valley’s Kameron Hanel in 3:13.
Malik Heinselman, a Castle View senior at 5A 120, pinned ThunderRidge’s Aiden Okamura in 1:50.
Pomona junior Theorius Robison pinned Douglas County’s Jared Cabunoc in 2:51 at 5A 132.
Josiah Rider, a Grand Junction senior at 5A 152, pinned Ponderosa’s Kayden Johnson in 1:02. Rider is now 33-0 this season.
Lakewood’s Gabriel Dinette won his first-round match with a pin in 1:18.
Ponderosa junior Cohl Schultz pinned Arapahoe’s Jason Washington in 40 seconds. Schultz, who won a world championship in September, is now 46-0 in the 5A heavyweight division.
[divider]
Notables
Pueblo East heads the 4A team race with 34 points. Defending champion Pueblo County is second (29) and Windsor (26) is third. Discovery Canyon and Greeley Central are tied for fourth with 21 points.
Broomfield’s Michael DeCamillis gave his team the lead after the first day with a pin in the final match of the night. The Eagles have 30 points. Defending champ Pomona (28 points) is second, and is followed by Grand Junction (27), Poudre (24) and Grandview (22.5).
The 120-pound bracket in 4A is one to watch, with two returning champions in the field. Pueblo East’s Jace Trujillo won a 113-pound title in 2016, Pueblo County’s Josiah Nava won a 106-pound championship in 2015. In addition, Discovery Canyon’s Patrick Allis was a finalist at 106 last season. All three advanced to the quarterfinals.
4A’s 126-pound division is also loaded, with returning champions Josh Nira of Greeley Central (who won 113 last season) and Windsor’s Dominick Serrano (120) in the field.
Roosevelt’s Ethan Hays pinned his first-round opponent in 21 seconds at 4A 113. That is the fastest of the tournament so far.
Douglas County’s Micah Smith had the fastest pin in the 5A prelims. He took down Fruita Monument’s Levi Womack in 28 seconds.
Pomona’s Colton Yapoujian beat Rampart’s Benjamin Bancroft in 38 seconds. Yapoujian won the 5A 120 title last season.
Pueblo East’s Zion Freeman had a pin in 23 seconds, beating Skyline’s Angel Perez in 4A 182.
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.
DENVER — To start the volleyball season, Mountain Vista handed Cherry Creek one of its two losses on the year. To start the state tournament, the Bruins returned the favor.
Cherry Creek battled to a 21-25, 25-21, 18-25, 25-20, 15-7 win over the Golden Eagles, knock off the No. 1 seed in the Class 5A bracket. It was just one of many upsets across all five classifications on Friday at the Denver Coliseum.
Mountain Vista won the regular season opener between the two teams. That match also went to five sets.
“It was motivation to come in here and beat them,” coach Sally Moos said.
The Golden Eagles claimed the first set of the match, putting the Bruins into a quick hole. It was all tied up after two, but Mountain Vista again pulled ahead, putting Creek on the verge of defeat and losing any control over its own fate.
Even at that point, there was no panic from the Centennial League’s only representative at the tournament.
“I don’t think so,” junior outside hitter Katie Sherman said. “We were all just so into (the match) and we wanted to win it so bad.”
So they battled. The fourth set remained tight until Creek pulled away at the end. They came out in the fifth and dominated from the start, jumping out to a 11-3 lead.
Mountain Vista started to rally back, but the Sherman put down one last kill to give the Bruins control of Pool I.
“We wanted to win that so bad,” Sherman said. “They’re probably our biggest rival. We’re super excited.”
Cherry Creek finished the regular season with just two losses. The first came against the Golden Eagles. The second loss was back on Sept. 16 against Rock Canyon. Cherry Creek evened the score against Rocky Mountain in the Legend Tournament on Oct. 28.
The Bruins and the Lobos will play Saturday morning and a win by Creek means advancement to the semifinals.
“Rocky Mountain is a very good team, too,” Moos said. “We’ll do the same thing, we’ll battle back and forth.”
[divider]
Other upsets shake up the pools
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Denver East continued 5A’s upset trend in the third match of day when the No. 11-seeded Angels swept No. 2 Fossil Ridge, the defending champions.
The Angels, who are now 21-6 this season, swept the Sabercats 25-23, 25-22, 25-20.
“They stuck to the gameplan,” Denver East coach Tarah Olmstead said after the match. “They ran outside their comfort zone, which is what we are supposed to do every single day. We watch film on everybody here. We know what everybody does before we even know our own rotations. And they called it, they stayed on top.”
Denver East last advanced to the state tournament two years ago, but only two players remain from that team.
“What’s really tough is we have a ton of people who have never been here before,” Olmstead said. “We only have two people who have been here. And their eyes, when they’re walking in, are all over the place. So in order to keep them present, I said, ‘Look around, Snapchat, I don’t care what you have to do, do it right now. But the second we get in there, you are present and you are with each other, because that’s what everybody came to watch.’”
The Angels will have the chance to win their pool and advance to the semifinals by beating Chatfield on Saturday.
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
And with the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds already the victims of upsets, No. 10 Rock Canyon was looking to make it a hat trick against No. 3 Castle View.
The Jaguars fell behind 2-0 early, though both sets they lost were close. They battled back in the third to avoid the sweep and and evened things up after the fourth set.
With momentum on their side, they went into the fifth and deciding set believing they could get the win.
The Sabercats jumped out in front and seemingly had control with a 10-6 lead. But Rock Canyon had battled back to tie up the overall match, so coming back to tie the final set seemed like child’s play.
Down 14-11, the Jaguars rode a couple of key kills from Keeley Davis to pull even. Davis made the final kill to give the Jags a 16-14 win in the deciding set of the match.
“(Early on) it was just the nerves at state,” Davis said. “We have a lot of new people who are here in this big coliseum. I think once we set those nerves off and we started getting excited and being happy about things, we started getting less nervous.”
Rock Canyon will play Coronado Saturday morning and can advance to the 5A semifinals by winning that match.
In 1A, No. 9 Holly knocked off No. 4 McClave 3-2 to start the day, including 15-3 in the fifth set.
In 2A‘s first match of the day, No. 9 Denver Christian upset No. 4 Hoehne, 3-1.
Simla threw a second wrench into the 2A tourney when the No. 11 Cubs upset No. 2 Swink with a 25-16, 25-19, 25-15 sweep.
No. 5 Otis over No. 4 McClave in 1A, 3-1.
2A No. 6 Lyons beat No. 3 Dayspring Christian 3-1.
[divider]
Notables
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Buena Vista had probably the largest, and loudest, crowd of the day. The students at Buena Vista took a field trip to the Denver Coliseum on Friday. The school picked up the tab to get as many students as possible to support the Demons at state.
Kit Carson’s incredible run of not losing a set continued on Friday. The Wildcats swept Weldon Valley and Briggsdale, and have now won all 72 sets they’ve played this season.
Lewis-Palmer, the defending champion and No. 1 seed in 4A, extended its match winning streak to 56 with sweeps of Mullen and Roosevelt. The Rangers are ranked No. 5 nationally by MaxPreps.
Eaton is in search of a fifth-straight championship in 3A. The Reds opened their tournament with a 25-18, 25-20, 25-10 sweep of Platte Valley, and then swept Lamar in the evening.
[divider]
Semifinal berths clinched
Yuma won 2A’s Pool I with wins over Dolores and Rangely.
Niwot captured 4A’s Pool IV. The Cougars beat Discovery Canyon and Palmer Ridge.
Chaparral won Pool IV in 5A with wins over Fort Collins and Fruita Monument.
Kit Carson, after its two sweeps, clinched Pool I in 1A.
University won 3A’s Pool IV following wins over Middle Park and Resurrection Christian.
Lewis-Palmer will meet Niwot in the 4A semifinals after winning Pool I.
Fleming topped Genoa-Hugo and Springfield to win Pool II in 1A.
Eaton is back in the 3A semifinals following sweeps over Platte Valley and Lamar.
La Veta got wins over Sangre de Cristo and Wiley to win 1A’s Pool III.
Lutheran beat Sterling and Bennett in winning Pool II in 2A.
Valor Christian beat Cheyenne Mountain and Pueblo West as it won 4A’s Pool II.
Holy Family topped Ponderosa and D’Evelyn in winning Pool III in 4A.
Faith Christian beat Buena Vista and Valley is it won Pool III in 3A.
