The 2018 all-state girls soccer teams honor the best players in the sport as judged by the leagues and coaches. They 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.
Player and coach of the year was also selected by a vote of the coaches.
Five freshmen qualified for the No. 1 singles bracket, the most the tournament has seen since 2013, including three regional champions. And there are 14 overall freshmen in the singles draws, as well as an additional 17 playing doubles.
The number of freshmen playing this year — 31 — is way above a typical 5A tournament. Since 2012, an average of 21 freshmen have qualified in 5A, including an average of seven playing singles.
In addition, 46 sophomores qualified. That means a total of 77 of the 176 players at the 5A tournament on Thursday were underclassmen.
Leading the way for the freshmen is Fairview’s Natalie Stone, who advanced to the semifinals at No. 1 singles with two wins on Thursday. She will face defending champion Ky Ecton of Poudre, a senior, in Friday’s semifinals.
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Stone’s teammate, Alexis Bernthal, also advanced to the semifinals at No. 2 singles. That position will actually feature all freshmen in the semis.
Alyssa Kawakami, a freshman from Fort Collins, will face Bernthal in that No. 2 singles semifinal.
The other semifinal at No. 2 singles will match ThunderRidge freshman Mackenzie Wheeler against Cherry Creek freshman Eliza Hill.
Cherry Creek alone features seven freshmen, including Hill and her twin sister Nicole Hill, who is into the semifinals at No. 3 singles.
The twins have a lot of tennis in their blood: their brother, Robby, won a No. 2 singles title in 2016, and their father, Rob, won two No. 1 singles championships at Manual in the 1970s.
The Bruins also have an all-freshman duo of Anna Fusaris and Halley Mackiernan into the semifinals at No. 2 doubles.
Fossil Ridge qualified three freshmen to the tournament, while Arapahoe, Boulder, Fairview, Fort Collins, Lakewood, Monarch and ThunderRidge each qualified two.
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Notables
The tournament has been changed to a two-day format to avoid poor weather on Saturday, and will complete play Friday. Semifinals will start at 8 a.m.
Cherry Creek, the defending champion, heads the team race after the first day of play with 19 points. Poudre (11 points) is second, while Fort Collins and Denver East are tied for third with 10 points. The Bruins have won 34 state championships, the most of any program in any classification.
Ecton, the defending state champion at No. 1 singles, advanced to the semifinals with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Boulder’s Gigi Jensen, and then a 6-1, 6-1 win over Cherry Creek’s Deena Abdulloeva. Ecton is seeking to become the first repeat 5A champion at No. 1 singles since Poudre’s Natalie Dunn did it in 2010.
Fort Collins’ Natalie Hamill had quite the comeback in a marathon match in the first round, beating Monarch’s Natalie Sprenger 0-6, 7-5, 7-5 in two hours and 26 minutes. Hamill fell to Rock Canyon’s Meghna Chowdhury in the quarterfinals, 6-2, 6-2.
Golden 13, Pueblo County 8, Durango 5, Lewis-Palmer 5, Thomas Jefferson 5, Elizabeth 4, Palisade 4, Air Academy 3, Fort Morgan 1, Mead 1, Pueblo South 1.
Dropped out:
Golden (8).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
University (7)
13-1
87
1
2-0
2
Lamar (2)
15-1
83
2
4-0
3
Faith Christian
10-1
65
4
1-0
4
La Junta
11-3
58
5
2-1
5
Eaton
7-3
43
6
2-0
6
Sterling
8-4
37
3
0-3
7
Valley
9-5
35
9
3-0
8
Peak to Peak
8-2
28
7
0-1
9
Kent Denver
6-4
12
–
0-0
10
Buena Vista
8-2
11
–
1-0
Others receiving votes:
Colorado Academy 9, Bennett 5, Lutheran 5, Resurrection Christian 5, Alamosa 4, Aspen 3, The Academy 2, Weld Central 2, Platte Valley 1.
Dropped out:
Colorado Academy (8), The Academy (10).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Peyton (7)
12-1
104
1
1-0
2
Paonia (5)
13-1
103
2
3-1
3
Limon
9-2
82
3
1-0
4
Hotchkiss
11-1
71
5
2-0
5
Sedgwick County
11-1
70
4
2-0
6
Rocky Ford
10-3
44
8
0-0
7
Lyons
11-2
42
7
1-0
8
Calhan
11-3
22
–
1-0
9
Yuma
8-4
21
6
0-1
10
Sargent
13-2
20
–
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Evangelical Christian 18, Dawson 12, Meeker 12, Dayspring Christian 9, Highland 8, Front Range Christian 6, Sanford 5, Fowler 4, Denver Christian 3, Simla 2, Haxtun 1, Swink 1.
Dropped out:
Haxtun (9), Dawson (10).
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Cornerstone Christian (4)
11-1
65
2
3-0
2
Holly (3)
6-5
61
1
0-2
3
Caliche
8-5
47
5
2-0
4
Otis
11-2
38
3
2-1
5
Elbert
5-2
30
4
0-1
6
Peetz
6-2
29
7
2-0
7
Nucla
7-7
28
–
2-0
8
Denver Jewish Day
3-2
19
–
2-0
9
Cotopaxi
9-4
18
6
1-0
10
Springfield
3-6
12
–
1-1
Others receiving votes:
Longmont Christian 10, Manzanola 10, Stratton/Liberty 7, Mile High Academy 5, Eads 4, Dove Creek 2.
Dropped out:
Stratton/Liberty (8), Longmont Christian (9), Dove Creek (10).
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.
GREENWOOD VILLAGE — No. 6 Cherry Creek girls soccer took down Boulder in a non-conference showdown 1-0 Wednesday afternoon.
It was a goal from Anna Weinstein in the 70th minute that made the difference, but Cherry Creek (2-0-1) had control the entire game. It was a bounce-back win for the Bruins after falling to another Front Range League team in Fairview.
“We did a good job of possessing the ball today,” Cherry Creek coach Jim Schneider said. “We did not get impatient.”
“We really worked hard to get the ball in,” added Bruins junior Elle Gill. “It took us a while to get one in, the (Boulder) keeper was incredible.”
Incredible she was as Elise Thomason-Larssen time and time again made outstanding saves to keep the Bruins off the scoreboard. But as time wound down, Cherry Creek’s pressure was too much for the Panthers to hold off.
Cherry Creek has a lot of new players stepping into a bigger role with the team.
“We had such amazing senior leadership last year, a couple of our girls are as good as the state has ever seen,” coach Schneider continued. “Replacing players of that talent is difficult and requires everyone to play just a little better than she did last year.”
Looking forward, Boulder (1-1-0) will take on Horizon on Thursday. Cherry Creek will travel to the Western Slope where the Bruins will face Fruita Monument and Durango on Friday and Saturday.
AURORA — The members of the 2017 CHSAA Hall of Fame were inducted during a ceremony on Wednesday night at the Radisson Hotel Denver Southeast.
Tricia Bader-Binford (Roaring Fork), Jenny Coalson (Ellicott) Joe Silva (Fruita Monument), Bobbi Brown-Vandenberg (Boulder), Don Kimble (Limon), Ken Shaw (Regis Jesuit), Kent Smith (Boulder/Highlands Ranch/Ponderosa), Brian Richmond (Fort Collins) and L. D. Elarton (Lamar) were all inducted on Wednesday.
The nine new members are the 29th in the history of the CHSAA Hall of Fame, which was started in 1989.
Bader-Binford spoke for the class at the conclusion of the ceremony, saying, “This is an honor that we share with our communities. It is clear that we achieved because people believed in us. People believed in us, they supported us, they provided us the chance to be great.”
“The opportunities CHSAA has provided has changed each of us for the better,” Bader-Binford added.
Tricia Bader Binford (Roaring Fork HS): A three-sport athlete – basketball, volleyball and track – Bader was a five-time state track champion, three-time all-state basketball player and led the Rams to the 1989, 1990 and 1991 state basketball titles. She was a three-time all-state player and the player of the year as a senior.
She won the 1991 Rocky Mountain News’ Steinmark Award and RHS has named its “Three-Sport Athlete Award” after her.
A former WNBA and Australian professional player, Bader is the head coach at Montana State where she was the Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year in 2015-16.
As great as she was on the court, she was equally great off it, maintaining great character, and inspiring many young women in rural communities to become involved in sports.
A girls’ coach for 32 years in Colorado and Wisconsin, Brown was the architect of one of the strongest girls’ basketball programs in Colorado.
Her BHS teams were 182-28, winning the 1984, 1986, 1989 (undefeated), 1990 and 1991 state titles. Her 1985 and 1992 teams finished second. She also took a leave of absence in the middle of her Boulder tenure to finish her graduate studies.
A former CU basketball player, was also an assistant varsity football coach in 1990, coaching wide receivers and defensive backs. She coached at Fairview and Boulder from 1981 until 1992.
She was Coach of the Year by The Denver Post, Rocky Mountain News and Boulder Daily Camera five times.
She is currently the Viterbo University (La Crosse, WI) women’s basketball coach.
Jenny Coalson (Ellicott HS): Coalson was a three-sport athlete at Ellicott, leading her team to two state basketball championships and winning four state individual track titles, while placing 10 more times.
She won the triple jump as a freshman, the 200 meters and shot put as a junior, along with winning the long jump as a senior. The 2A Basketball Player of the Year twice in basketball, Coalson was all-state in basketball (twice) and volleyball (once).
She was selected to the CCGS and CHSCA All-State Teams in both sports as a senior. In addition, she is a Little Britches world champion rodeo performer.
She won the 1995 Rocky Mountain News’ Steinmark Award She went on to play and excel in basketball at Kansas State.
Eldon “L.D.” Elarton (Lamar Schools): One of the state’s most respected administrators, Elarton’s career as a student participant, teacher, coach and administrator was steeped in Lamar.
A native of the community, he played baseball, basketball and football, was student body president and an all-state participant for LHS. After college, he returned home to teach and coach, starting in 1968 and moved up the ranks, serving as teacher, assistant principal, principal, finance director and superintendent.
As a coach, Elarton earned Baseball Coach of the Year honors in the Will Rogers League at Widefield High School. Once returning to Lamar, he initiated the Academic Letter Award, host numerous CHSAA Music and Speech events, while the school’s baseball, wrestling and girls’ basketball teams won 10 state titles among them. He was active on the state and national scene through CASE and NASSP.
Don Kimble (Limon HS): A music teacher who established one of the finest music programs, the late Don Kimble taught music for the Badgers for 29 years after one year at Flagler.
His bands received 26 first division ratings in state large group festivals, both in performance and sight-reading. The marching band also won state recognition in 1977 for its field performances.
Kimble directed four different bands at Limon, the fourth-grade band, fifth-grade beginning band, the Cadet Band (6, 7 & 8 graders) and the Senior High School Band. He taught Music Appreciation and took his pep bands to many out-of-town athletic contests. He was also assigned three choirs to conduct.
Kimble was a master at balancing the demands for his students between athletics and his music programs.
Brian Richmond (Fort Collins): One of the state’s top gymnastics coaches and judge, Richmond coached high school for 17 years, but has been a high school judge since 1971.
He coached gymnastics at four high schools – Jefferson, Poudre, Fort Collins and Thompson Valley – with the PHS team winning the 1984 title and runners up in 1985.
A former CSU gymnast and coach, Richmond became one of the top judges in the state, as well as one the national and international scene. He judged 20 CHSAA boys’ state meets and has been a mainstay with the girls’ state meet, having worked 35 of those. He has judged on the national and international stage.
He was inducted in the National Gymnastics Judges Association Hall of Fame in 2011.
Ken Shaw (Merino, Yuma, Sterling, Rocky Mountain, Smoky Hill, Regis Jesuit HS): One of the state’s legendary athletes who become one of Colorado’s top prep basketball coaches, Shaw guided his Merino team to a pair of state tiles, while going undefeated.
He was a prolific high school athlete at Merino, and held the career scoring record when his career was over. That mark has since been broken, but Shaw’s name still dots the basketball record book as a player. Additionally, Shaw was a standout football player, and has his name in that sport’s record book.
As a coach, his teams have won more than 710 games and he guided Regis to three straight 5A championships. His teams also won titles two other times, at Yuma and Sterling.
His teams have a record 29 the state tournament appearances.
Joe Silva (Fruita Monument HS): A Bronze Star Recipient in Vietnam, Silva was a three-time state wrestling champion for Fruita Monument and compiled a 58-0-2 mark in his career.
In 12 state matches, opponents scored just 6 points on him. He also participated in football and baseball.
He is a former District 51 Teacher of the Year and taught 29 years at Fruita Middle School. During that time, he, along with 2016 inductee Ray Coca and others broadcast the Western Slope State Championship matches on radio and television.
From 1963-65, Fruita enjoyed much success in wrestling, baseball and football. The constant on these teams was Silva. The school won two wrestling team titles and the football team was state runner up twice and baseball once over the period.
Kent Smith (Boulder, Ponderosa, Aurora Central, Highlands Ranch, La Veta, Alamosa): Having just retired after 53 years of coaching, Smith is one of the state’s top coaches, regardless of sport. And, he is noted for his integrity and ability to build better people through activities.
He has been the head boys’ basketball coach at Boulder and Ponderosa, the head cross country coach at Ponderosa and Highlands Ranch, as well as the head boys’ soccer coach at Aurora Central. Additionally, he served as head girls’ basketball coach at La Veta and Alamosa.
His teams have won state titles in basketball (twice at Boulder) and cross country (six times at Highlands Ranch). He runs a dog and horse rescue ranch near Walsenburg.
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.
