The 2018 regional volleyball tournaments are this week. Teams in each classification are vying for spots in next week’s state tournaments. Find updated results from the regional rounds on these brackets:
COLORADO SPRINGS — After two miles, Valor Christian’s Cole Sprout was comfortable enough with his pace that he went for it. He picked up the pace, pulled away from the pack and claimed his second state cross country title.
“That last mile I felt pretty comfortable where I was,” Sprout said. “It hurt, but I felt like I could maintain it and not burn out before the end.”
His time of 15 minutes, 16 seconds kept him well ahead of the rest of the Class 5A field. The junior was the only runner for the Eagles but represented his school well. As one of the top runners in the country, and a defending state champion, he has reason to be optimistic heading into the state meet, but also knew that nothing is given and that he had to earn it.
“I was pretty optimistic that I had a good chance of winning,” he said. “I never want to take it for granted because anything can happen. I can twist my ankle in the middle of the race and finish last. I had confidence for sure.”
With 47 points Dakota Ridge came away with the 5A team title, the first for the Eagles since 2006. Connor Ohlson finished second overall and Austin Vancil finished third to help pace the Eagles to the team title.
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
[divider]
5A girls
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Jenna Fitzsimmons had to be experiencing some déjà vu. The Mountain Vista junior won her second 5A girls cross country title in as many years and helped the Golden Eagles also repeat as team champions.
Knowing the expectations that were being placed on her as well as the team, Fitzsimmons and her teammates tried to keep the overall feel of the race relaxed.
“We were just trying to go into every race super loose, knowing we had something to do but not putting a ton of pressure on ourselves,” she said.
The plan worked.
Fitzsimmons didn’t jump out to an early lead, but maintained a strong pace and stayed within striking distance. When she eventually made her move she put enough distance between herself and the rest of the field.
She finished the race in 18:12.3 as teammates Sarah O’Sullivan and Madison Reed both placed in the top 10. It was knowing they were in the race with her that helped push Fitzsimmons to a strong finish.
“Every time I started to doubt myself and what could happen I just thinking about doing it for the other girls on the team,” she said. “I know that they’re putting in the work and every point counts for what we’re going to do.”
The Golden Eagles finished with 44 team points. Runner-up Cherry Creek finished with 88.
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
[divider]
4A boys
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
As long as he can maintain his speed, Niwot’s Cruz Culpepper knows that winning is a good probability. He showed that exact mentality as he claim the 4A boys cross country championship, finishing the race in 15:48, 10 seconds faster than teammate Ares Reading.
“I know my speed is unmatchable,” Culpepper said. “I’m always confident that I can bring it back in.”
When the mile two leaders were announced to the crowd at the Norris Penrose Event Center, Culpepper’s name was not at the top of that list. It made spectators observers glance at each other wondering if some mistake had been made.
It hadn’t. He just hadn’t made his move because he was waiting for the opportune time to strike.
“I wanted to wait as long as possible,” he said. “I still didn’t put in that hard move until that last mile or so. I’m glad I didn’t jump on it and just kind of halved it and then ended up bringing it back in with 800 to go.”
Despite finishing one-two, the Cougars weren’t able to come away with the team championship. That honor went to Centaurus who had three runners finish inside the top 10. Cooper Brown (fourth), Torey Puckett (seventh) and Kyle Piper (10th) all paced the Warriors to their first title since 2011.
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
[divider]
4A girls
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
The Niwot girls were not going to get shown up by the boys. About an hour and a half after Culpepper and Reading finished one-two in the 4A boys race, Layla Roebke and Taylor James went one-two for the girls.
In fact, they decided they wanted to do the one-upping. The Cougars finished with 47 points to claim the 4A girls cross country title.
Roebke came away with the state championship with a winning time of 18:29, but knows she couldn’t have done it without the support of her team.
“Our plan was to stick to that pack because there are certain parts after that bridge where it goes from five-wide to three-wide and then your position gets messed up,” she said. “Our plan was to get there relatively close to the same time and pack up.”
With her legs feeling good after the second mile, she made her move and made the final turn into the Norris Penrose Event Center floor ahead of the pack. But with a championship nearly in her grasp, she knew there was no room to let up.
“It’s the hardest push I’ve ever made,” she said. “It’s a big win and in the last 150 meters someone can still come in and take my space, so I have to give it everything.”
She gave it everything. And it paid off both Roebke and for the Cougars.
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
Class 5A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Chaparral (11)
17-1
110
1
2-0
2
Valor Christian
18-0
95
3
2-0
3
Fossil Ridge
17-1
82
2
2-0
4
Fort Collins
16-2
72
4
2-0
5
Cherokee Trail
14-4
65
5
1-0
6
Cherry Creek
15-3
62
6
1-0
7
Eaglecrest
13-5
33
7
0-1
8
Windsor
16-3
32
8
5-0
9
Denver East
13-4
24
9
1-0
10
Chatfield
13-5
11
–
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Rocky Mountain 9, Castle View 3, Fruita Monument 3, Mountain Vista 3, Ralston Valley 1.
Dropped out
Castle View (10).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Lewis-Palmer (10)
17-1
100
1
2-0
2
Discovery Canyon
17-2
78
3
2-0
3
Niwot
16-2
77
4
2-0
4
Longmont
16-2
57
2
1-1
5
Mead
15-4
50
6
4-1
6
Ponderosa
13-5
42
5
2-0
7
Evergreen
15-3
35
9
1-0
8
Palmer Ridge
13-6
33
8
1-1
9
Holy Family
13-7
32
7
3-2
10
Palisade
15-4
15
–
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Pueblo West 14, Erie 13, Battle Mountain 2, Thomas Jefferson 2.
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
Class 5A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Chaparral (10)
15-1
100
1
0-0
2
Fossil Ridge
15-1
79
3
1-0
3
Valor Christian
16-0
77
2
3-0
4
Fort Collins
14-2
58
6
2-0
5
Cherokee Trail
13-4
54
5
1-1
6
Cherry Creek
14-3
48
4
1-1
7
Eaglecrest
13-4
34
7
2-0
8
Windsor
11-3
25
9
1-0
9
Denver East
12-4
23
8
3-0
10
Castle View
10-5
17
10
0-0
Others receiving votes:
Chatfield 10, Mountain Vista 7, Rocky Mountain 4, ThunderRidge 3, Fruita Monument 2, Pine Creek 1.
Dropped out
None.
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Lewis-Palmer (10)
15-1
100
1
2-0
2
Longmont
15-1
82
3
1-0
3
Discovery Canyon
15-2
78
2
1-1
4
Niwot
14-2
52
5
2-0
5
Ponderosa
11-5
49
4
0-0
6
Mead
11-3
44
6
1-1
7
Holy Family
10-5
41
7
1-1
8
Palmer Ridge
12-5
40
9
2-0
9
Evergreen
14-3
26
8
2-0
10
Erie
10-6
17
–
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Pueblo West 14, Air Academy 3, Battle Mountain 2, Palisade 1, Thomas Jefferson 1.
Dropped out
Pueblo West (10).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Lutheran (3)
14-1
105
1
0-1
2
Platte Valley (4)
13-2
103
5
2-0
3
University (2)
13-3
94
2
1-1
4
Eaton (3)
12-5
84
3
2-0
5
Alamosa
22-0
73
4
3-0
6
Colorado Springs Christian
17-3
50
6
2-0
7
Manitou Springs
14-2
48
7
1-0
8
Cedaredge
14-2
31
8
1-1
9
Faith Christian
11-4
21
9
2-0
10
Valley
8-7
13
–
0-2
Others receiving votes:
Englewood 10, Coal Ridge 9, Middle Park 7, Bennett 5, Sterling 4, DSST: Green Valley Ranch 2, Eagle Ridge Academy 1.
PUEBLO — It was a good day for those wearing the logo of Colorado Academy. The Mustangs put a stamp on their run to the Class 4A boys state tennis championship, winning six of seven individual titles while running away with the team championship.
As the matches had cleared the courts and players and spectators stood around waiting for the awards ceremony to start, Colorado Academy coach Brian Singer sat on a bench by himself, making sure he hadn’t imagined what had transpired over the last two hours.
“This has been an incredible day for all of us and for the boys,” he said. “I’m so proud of them. This is coming off five second (place finishes) and finally, we’re taking the big trophy home.”
And the Mustangs came away with the featured individual championship in No. 1 singles. Richter Jordaan beat Discovery Canyon’s Nick Lorenz 6-1, 7-5 to end his career as the best 4A player in the state.
It was an appropriate way to end that career. Jordaan and Lorenz have been friends, teammates and rivals for the better part of 10 years. So for the final match to come down to the two of them facing off was almost too perfect of a way to wrap up the season.
“It was definitely fitting,” Jordaan said. “My first-ever juniors match when I was a kid was against Nick. We’ve been juniors doubles partners and we’ve been rivals all through juniors. It was nice to have played him in the finals.”
Jordaan broke Lorenz’s first serve of the first set, establishing clear momentum through to start the match. In the second set, the seeds of a three-set tiebreaker were planted as Lorenz built a 5-2 lead, only to see Jordaan re-establish that momentum and come away with the win.
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
“I was a little disappointed because I had that good lead in the second set,” Lorenz said. “I just couldn’t close it out. He started playing a little bit better but there was no excuse to lose that bet.”
It was a tough mental battle on both sides of the net. The two players knew each other so well that they aren’t necessarily able to read each other’s style and play at a high level to get the win. They both feel the nerves that come with competing against a friend and the play isn’t as clean as they would like it to be.
“I think it’s tougher for both of us because we’ve been doubles partners for a long time,” Lorenz said. “Any time that we play each other we always talk about how we’re super tight and we don’t play our best.”
At the end, it was Jordaan who had played better. As he and Lorenz shook hands after the win, he had teammates spill on the court to break the news to him that the team title had also been clinched.
“I was excited to hear that we had clinched it,” Jordaan said. “I wasn’t paying attention to any of the other matches, I was just focused on my match. But it was exciting.”
Clark Steinhauser scored the first points of the day for Colorado Academy, beating Niwot’s Riley Black in No. 2 singles. When Caleb Aguirre and Emmett Ela grabbed a 6-4, 6-3 win over Niwot’s Sam Keronen and Manas Saini in No. 1 doubles, the Mustangs officially clinched enough points to claim the championship.
Colorado Academy came one match away from history as no 4A team had ever won titles in all seven positions. The only team to finish second was the No. 3 doubles team of Bennett Liu and Zachary Brinker who fell to Kent Denver’s William Coors and Casey Klutznick.
Niwot finished in second place as a team and got five positions into finals matches. Dawson was the 2018 winner of the Vicky Matarrazo Sportsmanship Award.
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
Class 5A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Chaparral (9)
15-1
99
1
2-0
2
Valor Christian (1)
13-0
83
4
2-0
3
Fossil Ridge
14-1
77
3
2-0
4
Cherry Creek
13-2
64
6
2-0
5
Cherokee Trail
12-3
63
2
1-1
6
Fort Collins
12-2
61
5
2-0
7
Eaglecrest
11-4
30
7
2-0
8
Denver East
9-4
23
9
0-0
9
Windsor
10-3
21
10
2-0
10
Castle View
10-5
14
8
1-1
Others receiving votes:
Chatfield 6, Rock Canyon 3, ThunderRidge 3, Fruita Monument 1, Mountain Vista 1, Rampart 1.
Dropped out
None.
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Lewis-Palmer (10)
13-1
100
1
2-0
2
Discovery Canyon
14-1
86
2
2-0
3
Longmont
14-1
78
3
2-0
4
Ponderosa
11-5
54
4
1-0
5
Niwot
12-2
51
5
2-0
6
Mead
10-2
43
7
2-0
7
Holy Family
9-4
38
8
2-0
8
Evergreen
12-3
34
9
1-0
9
Palmer Ridge
10-5
32
6
2-1
10
Pueblo West
11-4
14
10
1-1
Others receiving votes:
Erie 12, Air Academy 2, Thomas Jefferson 2, Woodland Park 2, D’Evelyn 1, Silver Creek 1.
Dropped out
None.
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Lutheran (7)
14-0
105
1
2-0
2
University (2)
12-2
97
2
1-1
3
Eaton (2)
10-5
74
3
2-0
4
Alamosa
19-0
71
4
1-0
5
Platte Valley
11-2
70
5
2-0
6
Colorado Springs Christian
15-3
52
6
2-1
7
Manitou Springs
13-2
42
8
2-0
8
Cedaredge
13-1
22
10
3-0
9
Faith Christian
9-4
20
7
1-1
10
Bennett
9-3
12
–
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Valley 11, Coal Ridge 9, Englewood 9, Middle Park 5, Sterling 4, Eagle Ridge Academy 2.
Dropped out
Valley (9).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Yuma (8)
15-1
80
1
2-0
2
Meeker
15-0
72
2
1-0
3
Wiggins
14-1
58
3
2-0
4
Denver Christian
14-1
55
4
2-0
5
Swink
16-2
42
5
4-0
6
Del Norte
16-1
39
6
3-0
7
Union Colony
12-2
27
7
1-1
8
Rye
13-2
19
8
2-0
9
Simla
11-4
13
10
1-0
10
Vail Mountain
13-3
11
9
3-0
Others receiving votes:
Dayspring Christian 5, Akron 4, Highland 4, Dolores 3, Hoehne 3, Limon 3, Lyons 1, Paonia 1.
Dropped out
None.
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Kit Carson (4)
13-1
76
1
2-0
2
Otis (4)
15-0
74
2
1-0
3
La Veta
14-1
53
4
4-0
4
Weldon Valley
14-1
51
3
2-0
5
Briggsdale
12-2
43
5
0-1
6
Merino
9-5
35
7
1-1
7
Walsh
11-2
33
6
1-2
8
De Beque
13-2
24
8
0-2
9
Springfield
9-4
21
9
2-2
10
Stratton/Liberty
11-3
10
–
2-2
Others receiving votes:
McClave 9, Dove Creek 6, Flagler/Hi-Plains 3, Fleming 2.
There are two new No. 1 teams in this week’s boys soccer rankings: Atlas Prep (3A) and Crested Butte (2A).
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday during the regular season.
Voted upon by coaches and select media members around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
Class 5A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Fairview (10)
10-0-0
107
1
1-0-0
2
Boulder (1)
10-1-0
98
2
2-0-0
3
Arapahoe
10-0-2
77
6
2-0-0
4
Denver East
10-1-0
74
7
1-0-0
5
Legacy
9-2-0
67
5
1-1-0
6
Grandview
10-1-1
65
3
2-0-0
7
Cherokee Trail
10-1-1
40
10
2-0-0
8
Mountain Range
8-2-1
30
–
2-0-0
9
Fort Collins
7-2-1
24
4
1-1-0
10
Broomfield
7-4-0
9
8
1-1-0
Others receiving votes:
Rampart 7, Far Northeast 6, Arvada West 1.
Dropped out
Rampart (9).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Air Academy (11)
10-1-1
110
1
2-0-0
2
Durango
12-1-0
85
2
1-0-0
3
Battle Mountain
9-1-1
80
3
2-0-0
4
Skyview
12-0-0
77
7
2-0-0
5
Denver North
8-1-2
64
5
2-0-0
6
Pueblo Centennial
11-1-1
54
6
2-0-0
7
Golden
10-2-0
39
8
1-0-0
8
Niwot
7-4-1
30
–
2-0-0
9
The Classical Academy
9-3-0
24
–
2-0-0
10
Cheyenne Mountain
8-3-1
16
10
2-0-0
Others receiving votes:
Centaurus 12, Skyline 6, Discovery Canyon 4, Fort Morgan 2, Standley Lake 2.
Dropped out
Centaurus (4), Discovery Canyon (9).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Atlas Prep (7)
11-0-0
99
3
2-0-0
2
Kent Denver (4)
11-0-1
97
1
2-0-0
3
Roaring Fork
10-0-1
93
2
2-0-0
4
Colorado Academy
10-2-0
75
5
2-1-0
5
Delta
8-2-1
53
7
1-0-0
6
Liberty Common
9-1-0
46
4
2-0-0
7
Faith Christian
8-2-1
44
6
1-1-0
8
Eagle Ridge Academy
10-2-0
32
10
1-0-0
9
Vail Mountain
7-3-0
25
8
1-0-0
10
Salida
6-4-2
22
9
2-0-0
Others receiving votes:
Strive Prep – Smart 7, Arrupe Jesuit 4, James Irwin 3, Colorado Springs Christian 2, Jefferson Academy 1, SkyView Academy 1, The Academy 1.
Niwot forward Jonathan Jimenez-Flores provided the early lift for his team — a deep fly from 45 yards out that ricocheted in. And from there, keeper Mario Munoz and his backline kept things grounded.
