Three defending state baseball champions are starting the season right where they left off. In the initial CHSAANow.com baseball rankings, Cherokee Trail, Valor Christian and Holly come in at No. 1 in their respective classes.
The Cougars claim the top spot of the 5A rankings with six first-place votes. Centennial League foe, Cherry Creek, sits right behind them at No. 2. The Bruins are looking to end a four-year championship drought in 2017.
Last year’s runner-up, Rocky Mountain, starts the season at No. 3.
Outside of the top three teams, only Rock Canyon (No. 7) and Pine Creek (No. 10) received first-place votes to start the season.
(Lance Wendt/LanceWendt.com)
In 4A, Valor Christian, led by new coach Brian Bonn, claimed nine first-place votes to start the season with No. 3 Pueblo West being the only other ranked team to receive one.
Mountain View will start the year at No. 2 with Windsor and Longmont rounding out the top five.
Erie takes the No. 8 spot, meaning that the final four teams that remained in the 4A state tournament on the final weekend will come into the season ranked and carrying high expectations.
University will start the season as the No. 1 team in 3A. The Bulldogs advanced to the semifinals last year before losing 3-2 to Manitou Springs, who finished as the state runner-up.
The Mustangs enter the season at No. 7.
Delta, a 4A team a year ago, sits right behind Manitou at No. 8. Defending champion, Fatih Christian sits high in the rankings at No. 2 as they hope to defend their title.
Paonia enters the season as the No. 1 team in 2A. It’s the same seed the Eagles took into last year’s state tournament where they were upset by Limon in the semifinals.
Heritage 21, Broomfield 14, Mountain Vista 14, Dakota Ridge 12, Legend 11, Grand Junction Central 9, Chaparral 4, Legacy 4, Castle View 3, Chatfield 2, Douglas County 2, Denver East 1, Fairview 1, Grand Junction 1, Monarch 1, Prairie View 1.
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Valor Christian (9)
0-0
99
2
Mountain View
0-0
78
3
Pueblo West (1)
0-0
67
4
Windsor
0-0
57
5
Longmont
0-0
42
6
Silver Creek
0-0
35
7
Canon City
0-0
32
8
Erie
0-0
28
9
Air Academy
0-0
24
10
Denver North
0-0
19
Others receiving votes:
Northridge 18, Evergreen 8, D’Evelyn 6, Lewis-Palmer 6, Wheat Ridge 6, Green Mountain 5, Pueblo South 4, The Classical Academy 4, Palmer Ridge 3, Discovery Canyon 2, Fort Morgan 2, Roosevelt 2, Thompson Valley 2, Pueblo Centennial 1, Pueblo County 1.
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
University (6)
0-0
101
2
Faith Christian (2)
0-0
91
3
Lamar (1)
0-0
90
4
La Junta (1)
0-0
61
5
Valley
0-0
54
6
Eaton
0-0
51
7
Manitou Springs
0-0
49
8
Delta (1)
0-0
33
9
St. Mary’s
0-0
31
10
Bayfield
0-0
27
Others receiving votes:
Kent Denver 25, Colorado Springs Christian 16, Peak to Peak 10, Brush 6, Gunnison 6, Colorado Academy 5, Buena Vista 2, Lutheran 1, Resurrection Christian 1.
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Paonia (5)
0-0
81
2
Dawson (2)
0-0
65
3
Dayspring Christian
0-0
49
4
Sedgwick County
0-0
46
5
Hotchkiss
0-0
37
6
Limon
0-0
35
7
Rocky Ford
0-0
31
8
Akron (2)
0-0
30
9
County Line
0-0
29
10
Sargent
0-0
18
Others receiving votes:
Crowley County 15, Swink 12, Peyton 10, Front Range Christian 9, Haxtun 9, Del Norte 5, Center 4, Denver Christian 3, Yuma 3, Clear Creek 2, Burlington 1, Gilpin County 1.
DENVER — Hunter Willits will wrestle for a fourth-consecutive state championship on Saturday.
The Pueblo County senior won his semifinal match at the state wrestling tournament in the Class 4A 152-pound bracket against Cheyenne Mountain’s Luke White. Willits won by a 10-3 decision.
Willits will face Nathan Morris of Longmont in Saturday night’s final for a chance to become Colorado’s 20th four-time state wrestling champion. Morris beat Mead’s Caleb Mendez 4-3 in the semifinals.
Willits won 4A 132 as a freshman, 138 as a sophomore, and 152 last year.
To reach the semifinals, he pinned Grand Junction Central’s Shaun Stepisnik in the first round on Thursday, and Greeley Central’s Justus Strand in the quarterfinals earlier Friday.
[divider]
Notables
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
A great match in 5A 132 pitted two returning champions against one another in the semifinals. Pomona’s Theorius Robison beat Arvada West’s Dayton Marvel 9-3 to reach the final.
The 138 pound final in 4A will be something. It will match returning champion Chris Sandoval of Windsor against fellow returning champion Justin Davis of Pueblo County. Davis is also unbeaten.
Likewise, the 5A 182 final will be electric. Pueblo County’s Dante Garcia won a tiebreak to move to the 4A 182 final. He will face Glenwood Springs’ Myles Wilson. Both are returning champions.
The star-studded 3A 285 bracket lived up to its hype in the semifinals. Sheridan’s Ricky Ayala outlasted Bayfield’s Sam Westbrook 5-4 in the ultimate tiebreaker. Ayala will face Delta’s Logan Church in the final. Church knocked off the top seed in the quarterfinals.
In the 5A 170 pound semifinals, Grand Junction Central’s Erminio Barrera upset top-seeded and returning champion Garrett Niel of Pine Creek.
Pueblo County’s Grant Willits will wrestle for a third state championship. He beat Pueblo East’s Aaden Valdez 10-6 in the 4A 132 semifinal. Willits will face Cheyenne Mountain’s Mike McFadden, who beat Grand Junction Central’s Andrew Bench 4-2 in overtime.
Rocky Ford’s Jacob Rodriguez pinned his way to the 2A 106 final. The two-time returning champion beat Landen Mayberry of Hotchkiss in 1:01. He also pinned his opponents in the first round (14 seconds) and quarterfinals (45 seconds). Rodriguez will face John Mall’s Chris McKenna.
Greeley Central’s Josh Nira knocked off previously unbeaten Jace Trujillo of Pueblo East in the 4A 113 semifinals with a 10-4 decision. Trujillo was also a returning champion. Nira will face Pueblo County’s Josiah Nava in the final.
John Mall’s Jonathan Andreatta will wrestle for a third state title after beating Meeker’s Tannen Kennedy in the 2A 126 semifinals with a 4-0 decision.
Isaiah Delacerda of Alamosa, a two-time champion, beat La Junta’s Isaiah Gamez in the 3A 113 semis.
Also aiming for a third state title is Fort Lupton’s Jody Sandoval, and he will get a shot at it after his win in the 3A 126 semifinals.
Grand Junction’s Josiah Rider tore his way through the 145 bracket in 5A, getting his third pin of the tournament in the semifinals. Rider will face Ponderosa’s Parker Benekas in the final.
Returning champion Aaron Trujillo picked up his third pin of the bracket in the 3A 145 semis, winning in 58 seconds. He will face Centauri’s Brandon Buhr, who pinned his opponent in 37 seconds.
Rocky Ford’s Dillon Jaramillo reached the 2A 113 final when he pinned Sedgwick County/Fleming’s Kolton Dickinson with just two seconds remaining in the match.
Cody Venem of Rocky Ford beat Hotchkiss’ Cody Hall in overtime, 5-3, to reach the 2A 132 final.
Mesa Ridge’s Elijah Valdez moved to the 4A 145 final with a 4-1 tiebreak win over Mountain View’s Erik Contreras. In the championship match, he will face Niwot’s Tommy Stager, who is trying to become his school’s first champion since 1993.
Hayden’s Christian Carson won in overtime to advance to the 2A 195 final, where he will meet John Mall’s Jason Murphy.
Three Unified wrestling matches were held as exhibitions prior to the semifinals.
One of the officials at the state wrestling tournament is Mikael Smith, the Nucla grad who won four state titles from 2002-05.
[divider]
Team races
2A: Meeker heads the pack with 127 points. John Mall (120) and Rocky Ford (118.5) are close behind.
3A: Valley leads with 85.5 points. Alamosa and Jefferson (75) are tied for second, and Centauri (73) sits in third.
4A: Pueblo County is way out in front with 183 points. Cheyenne Mountain (88) is second, with Pueblo East (80) and Greeley Central (74.5) close behind them.
5A: Pomona sits in first place with 148.5 points. Grand Junction is in second with 103.5. Brighton (81.5), Poudre (78), Coronado (74.5) and Cherokee Trail (72) have also amassed a lot of points.
Jonathan Andreatta, right. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
DENVER — Jonathan Andreatta’s quest for redemption took all of 50 seconds to get underway.
After failing to capture his third state title last season, the John Mall senior was all business in the first round of the Class 2A state wrestling tournament. He beat Cheyenne Wells’ Jade Cozart in less than a minute to advance to the second round, which will begin on Friday.
“I just wanted to get out there and get the pin,” Andreatta said. “I wanted to get rested up for tomorrow.”
He’s coming off a disappointing loss to Quenton Montague in last year’s 120-final. He hasn’t competed at Pepsi Center since that loss, and walking around the catacombs did bring back some tough memories of that defeat.
“Walking through these halls, I’ve had some recurring nightmares,” he said. “That kind of sucked, but I’ve practically forgotten about that and I’m ready for this year.”
And he has shown that on the mat. Andreatta’s loss in that state title match is his last loss in high school competition.
When looking to get back to that top spot on the podium, he came into the 2016-17 season tackling only the obstacle directly in front of him.
“I’m just focused on the quarterfinals,” he said. “I’m just taking it one match at a time. It’s just another day.”
He’ll be back on the mat Friday at 9:30 a.m., taking on Cameron Holmes from Wiggins. Holmes advanced with a 15-4 major decision over Chris Lovato from Hotchkiss.
[divider]
Pin stats
Paonia’s Trevor Smith had the fastest pin of the 2A/3A prelims — it took him 10 seconds to win his first-round match in the 2A 285-pound bracket.
Rocky Ford’s Jacob Rodriguez had the first match of the day at 2A 106 pounds, and he made it a short one. The senior, a two-time champion, pinned Rye’s Zachary Ruiz in 14 seconds.
Rodriguez’s teammate, Carlos Magdaleno, pinned his opponent in 15 seconds at 160 pounds.
One other wrestler, Trenton Armintrout of Norwood/Nucla, had a pin in less than 20 seconds. He won his first-round match in 19 seconds.
Trinidad’s Jesus Diaz had the fastest pin in 3A’s first round, winning in 27 seconds.
There were a total of 100 pins in during the 2A/3A prelims, including 27 that happened in less than a minute.
Meeker and Paonia each had seven pins as a team.
[divider]
Notables
Natalie Benavides. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Natalie Benavides of Del Norte, the lone female qualifier at the state tournament this season, was pinned in her first-round match by Meeker’s Sheridan Harvey. She moves to Friday’s consolation round. Benavides is the eighth girl to ever qualify for the state tournament.
Platte Valley leads the 3A team race after the prelims with 21 points. Defending champion Valley is in second with 19.5, following by Jefferson (19). La Junta and Sheridan are tied in fourth with 16 points.
Rocky Ford is out front in the 2A standings, leading with 37.5 points. Meeker (30) is second, followed by Paonia (28), John Mall (26) and Fowler (20).
Alamosa’s Isaiah Delacerda, wrestling in 3A’s 113-pound division, began his quest for a third title with a pin of Fort Lupton’s Derrian Jaramillo in 1:35.
Fort Lupton’s Jody Sandoval II pinned Eaton’s Jackson Contreras in 33 seconds at 3A 126. Sandoval is a two-time champion.
The 285-pound bracket in 3A figures to be highly competitive. Among the field: Mullen’s Sam Deseriere, a returning champion who is unbeaten; Sheridan’s Ricky Ayala, another returning champion; and Bayfield’s Sam Westbrook, another unbeaten. All three won their first-round matches.
Each of the 11 returning champions and four unbeaten wrestlers in 2A and 3A won their first-round matches.
DENVER — Pueblo County’s Josiah Nava won a huge quarterfinal match during the state wrestling tournament on Friday, edging Windsor sophomore Will Vombaur.
It was a match that easily could have been contested in the finals, or at least the semifinals. But, as it was, the two met up in Friday’s quarterfinals in the Class 4A 113-pound bracket.
Nava, who won the 4A 106 title in 2015, beat a fellow returning champion in Vombaur, who won 4A’s 106 title last season. He advances to face Shane Coffey of Canon City in Friday evening’s semifinals.
The 113-pound bracket in 4A is one of the toughest in the entire tournament. In addition to Nava and Vombaur is Pueblo East sophomore Jace Trujillo, the reigning champion in the bracket.
Trujillo pinned Air Academy’s James Benson in 58 seconds in his quarterfinal match.
[divider]
Willits through to the semifinals
(Katie Pickrell/CHSAANow.com)
Hunter Willits, who is seeking to become CHSAA’s 20th four-time state champion, beat Greeley Central’s Justus Strand in the quarterfinals.
Willits pinned Strand in 1:47. He will face Cheyenne Mountain senior Luke White in the semifinals later Friday.
[divider]
2A & 3A notes
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Meeker heads the 2A team race with 72 points, with Rocky Ford (70.5) sitting in second. John Mall (60) and Hotchkiss (52) are also in contention.
The 3A team race is tight, with Alamosa heading the way with 49 points, and Valley just behind with 48.5. Jefferson (39), Centauri (37), La Junta (35), Sheridan (35), Lamar (33) and Platte Valley (32) are all close.
Delta’s Logan Church upset Mullen’s Sam Deseriere, the top seed in 3A 285 pounds, via an ultimate tiebreaker, 3-2. Deseriere had been undefeated this season, and was the reigning champion in the classification.
Elsewhere in the 3A 285 bracket, which is loaded, returning champion Ricky Ayala of Sheridan and unbeaten Sam Westbrook of Bayfield both advanced out of the quarterfinals and will meet in the semifinals.
Casey Turner of Meeker upset the top seed in the 2A 170 bracket, pinning Diego Reyes of Rocky Ford. Turner, though, is the defending champion in the division. He finished second at his regional, and thus could not be seeded in the top four of the bracket.
Rocky Ford’s Jacob Rodriguez had a 14-second pin in the first round of the 2A 106 division on Thursday. Friday, he did more of the same, pinning Wray’s Cole Rockwell in 45 seconds. Rodriguez is on a quest for his third state title.
John Mall’s Jonathan Andreatta escaped an upset in the 2A 126 quarterfinals. He led Wiggins’ Cameron Holm 4-3 late in the third period, and held on for a 5-3 win. Andreatta is a two-time champion.
Two other two-time returning champions advanced to the semifinals: Alamosa’s Isaiah Delacerda (3A 126) and Fort Lupton’s Jody Sandoval (3A 132).
Centauri’s Joe Chavez advanced to the 3A 120 semis by pinning Platte Valley’s Varrion Ciddio in 34 seconds.
Highland freshman Logan Lewis earned a hard-fought place in the 2A 106 semifinals. He beat Holly’s Austin Crum, 10-8, in sudden victory.
Sky Carlson of Soroco, a former basketball player, is into the semifinals in 2A 195 following two consecutive pins. Friday morning, he pinned Crowley County’s Tristan Laver in 1:45.
Del Norte’s Natalie Benavides, the lone girls to qualify for the state tournament this season, was eliminated in the 2A 138 consolation bracket by Crowley County’s Jarod Bauer.
[divider]
4A & 5A notes
Defending champion Pueblo County leads the 4A race with 89 points. Cheyenne Mountain and Pueblo East are tied for second with 65.
Pomona, the reigning 5A team champ, leads that race with 85.5 points. Brighton (61.5 is second), and Grand Junction (59.5) is third.
The semifinal in 5A 132 should be a great one. It will match returning champions after both won in the quarterfinals: Arvada West’s Dayton Marvel vs. Pomona’s Theorius Robison.
Pueblo County’s Grant Willits, who has won two previous state championships, pinned Greeley Central’s Zeke Alirez in 2:23 to reach the 4A 132 semifinals.
Poudre’s Jacob Greenwood, another two-time champion, pinned ThunderRidge’s David Opheim in 5A 138 to advance.
Three of the four quarterfinals in 4A’s 120 division ended in pins. Advancing were Pueblo County’s Nathan Bonham, Canon City’s James Ruona and Windsor’s Dominick Serrano. Pueblo East’s Andrew Lucero also won via a major decision, 9-0.
Erie’s Ernie Quintana beat Discovery Canyon’s Jared Turner in sudden victory to reach the 4A 138 semifinals.
As he tries to become the first individual champion from Niwot since 1993, senior Tommy Stager had a quick pin in the 4A 145 quarters. Stager beat Pueblo South’s Elias Espinoza in 59 seconds.
Glenwood Springs’ Myles Wilson remain unbeaten, and he did it quickly in the quarterfinals. The senior, also a returning champion, beat Vista PEAK’s Jayden Smith in 43 seconds. He had an 18-second pin in the first round.
Cheyenne Mountain’s Deonte Bridges pinned Dominic Knost of Lewis-Palmer in 33 seconds.
Grand Junction’s Josiah Rider continued his torrid pace in the 5A 145 bracket. He won his match in 52 seconds, a day after a 30-second pin in the prelims.
Mountain Vista’s Trent Schultz had a 42-second pin in the 5A 195 quarterfinals. He had a 38-second pin in the prelims. His brother, Cohl, of Ponderosa, also advanced in 5A 220.
Prairie View’s Brendon Woolsey won an ultimate tiebreaker over Grandview’s Robert Woods in 5A 195 to reach the semifinals.
Pomona’s Brandon Micale had the fastest pin of the quarterfinals, taking Smoky Hill’s Ryan Campbell down in 23 seconds.
It’s an event unlike any other in Colorado high school sports. This week, 896 wrestlers will convene at Pepsi Center with each one looking for individual glory at the 2017 state wrestling tournament.
Their individual wins will also play a factor in determining four overall team champions. But in the midst of those 896 competitors vying for solo titles and the four teams that will emerge with state championship trophies, there are plenty of storylines worth watching at Pepsi Center.
[divider]
Class 2A
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
Rocky Ford leads the field with 14 state qualifiers and looks to make a run at the 2A team title. Jacob Rodriguez will look to get his third individual title as he came away with wins at 106 pounds in 2015 and 2016. He once again competes at that weight class and is 33-4 on the season.
Two undefeated wrestlers will take the mat for 2A this week. Jonathan Andreatta (126) of John Mall and Limon’s Kaleb Gaede (220) will look to end their seasons with an unblemished record.
The 2A class is the only one that saw a girl qualify for the state tournament. Del Norte’s Natalie Benavides will be the lone representative for a group of competitors that has only grown in recent years. This is the ninth year in a row that a girl has qualified for the state tournament and Benavides is the eighth girl to reach the tournament.
[divider]
Class 3A
(Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)
The race for the team title in 3A might be one of the most fun to watch during the tournament. Kevin Shaffer and Tim Yount broke down the team race in Tuesday’s preview, with Yount thinking that the race will be between Valley and Alamosa.
Seven returning state champions are in the field in 3A with Alamosa’s Isaiah De La Cerda and Fort Lupton’s Jody Sandoval each going for their third.
A unique showdown could be looming in the 285 final as Mullen’s Deseriere and Bayfield’s Sam Westbrooke are both undefeated on the season. If the two meet in the championship bracket it will be in the final. Deseriere beat Westbrooke in a 10-5 decision in the second round of state last year.
They provide the only scenario where not all the undefeated wrestlers in the class can leave Pepsi Center without a loss.
[divider]
Class 4A
Hunter Willits. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
The 4A brackets might contain most of the intriguing stories of the week. All eyes will be on Pueblo County’s Hunter Wilits as he tries to become the 20th wrestler in state history to win a fourth state championship. His brother Grant is aiming to come away with his third.
The 113 bracket could see a showdown of two returning state champions as sophomores Jace Trujillo (Pueblo East) and Will Vombaur (Windsor) are each looking to become two-time champions. Trujillo won the 113-pound title last year while Vombaur came away with the 106 crown.
There was also some shakeup in the 285 bracket on Tuesday as Montrose’s Sam Distel had to withdraw from the tournament due to an injury. The bracket was redrawn and with Distel, the top seed, out of the competition, it’s really anyone’s title to claim.
Glenwood Springs’ Myles Wilson is also looking to finish off a remarkable two-year run. Wilson won state at 170 last year, going undefeated on the season. He remains undefeated this season and if he comes away with a win at 182, it will conclude one of the more memorable two-year spans in wrestling history.
[divider]
Class 5A
The 5A brackets have eight returning state champions looking to repeat. Only Poudre’s Jacob Greenwood is a two-time champ looking to claim his third title.
(Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Brighton leads the field with 12 qualifiers and will look to hold off a very talented Pomona team that is looking for its third title in five years.
If Castle View’s Malik Heinselman and Tate Samuelson can win their respective state championships at 106 and 170, they will enter their senior seasons next year with a chance to complete two-straight undefeated seasons.
These stories and plenty of others will be told out over the next several days.
Tim Yount of On The Mat provides weekly wrestling rankings for teams and individuals in all weight classes. To see individual rankings, you can subscribe to On The Mat’s full rankings.
To subscribe via PayPal, choose your subscription option on this page click on the corresponding PayPal button. To subscribe by mail or fax and pay by personal check, click here for a printable subscription form. Email Tim Yount at tim@onthematrankings.com with questions.
To purchase individual weeks of the rankings (as opposed to the entire season), you will need to use the printable subscription form and pay by check. The season ranking subscriptions are offered at a discounted rate.
Tim Yount of On The Mat provides weekly wrestling rankings for teams and individuals in all weight classes. To see individual rankings, you can subscribe to On The Mat’s full rankings.
To subscribe via PayPal, choose your subscription option on this page click on the corresponding PayPal button. To subscribe by mail or fax and pay by personal check, click here for a printable subscription form. Email Tim Yount at tim@onthematrankings.com with questions.
To purchase individual weeks of the rankings (as opposed to the entire season), you will need to use the printable subscription form and pay by check. The season ranking subscriptions are offered at a discounted rate.
The 2016 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.
[divider]
Class 5A
(Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Player of the year: Dylan McCaffrey, Valor Christian
DENVER — In the world of high school cheerleading, four athletes are used in a majority of all-girl stunt sequences while 12 athletes are required to perform any variation of a flipping pyramid.
Friday marked what is believed to be the first time in the history of CHSAA’s State Spirit Championships that a team consisting of only two athletes took the mat. This rare occurrence was done by the Bayfield cheer squad under the instruction of coach Aimee Whitney during the preliminary round.
“I am so proud of them and it took a lot of courage for them to go out there and perform on their own,” said Whitney.
The two Bayfield cheerleaders partnered up to perform stunts such as the shoulder sit, cartwheel on thighs, and thigh stands. Although these skills lack difficulty, the Wolverines still managed to earn a top-10 finish out of the twenty teams that performed in Class 3A Cheer — with every other team having, at minimum, a full stunt group.
A standard cheer routine is split up into three sections: two music portions, and the cheer. The purpose of the cheer is to engage the crowd while using props such as signs, megaphones, and poms — all in hopes of getting a reaction from the crowd. With a team of two, one could imagine how hard it would be to make your voice be heard throughout the entire Denver Coliseum.
With the support of an injured teammate, proud parents, and the entire dance team, the Wolverines yelled with pride and proudly represented Bayfield High School.
From start to finish, the two competitors gave it their all. After stepping off the mat, captain Kaitlyn Gosey described the feeling as “satisfying, relieving, and fun.”
After previously being a part of the Bayfield dance team, the two made the transition to the cheer team. This was both of the competitors’ first time competing at State as cheerleaders.
“They’re two great performers and it was just about representing Bayfield and not giving up on our season,” said Whitney.
At the start of the season, there were a total of 11 cheerleaders on the team. But through injuries, and other reasons, only four remain. (One of the four is injured, and another wasn’t able to attend on Friday.)
Whitney has come to terms with how difficult it was losing over half of her team over the course of the year, but also recognizes their dedication and hard work.
The Bayfield cheer program is grateful for this year’s experience at State but also has high hopes for the years to come.
“Hopefully we’ll have a much bigger team,” Whitney said. “We’re going to try and build our team back up again and hopefully compete in co-ed.”
Six divisions completed their preliminary rounds on Friday, advancing teams to Saturday night’s finals. Saturday will also bring more preliminary rounds in the morning and afternoon. (Find a schedule here.)
In 2A Cheer division, out of twenty teams that competed, Cheyenne Wells, Highland, Swink and Dove Creek will all be moving onto Day 2 of the State Championships. Cheyenne Wells holds the a strong lead with an overall score of 75.2. Highland (70.4) and Swink (69.4) trail by about 5 points. Dove Creek sits at 65.1 going into Saturday’s championships.
Scores are much tighter in the 3A Cheer division with Coal Ridge (73.1) holding a 0.4 point lead on Faith Christian who sits at 72.7. James Irwin Charter (71.7) and The Academy (70.4) are also in the running, and with these four teams’ scores being this close, a lot can change with placings depending on Saturday’s execution in routines.
With only 12 teams competing in the 2A/3A coed division, only two teams have advanced to the final round. St. Mary’s currently holds the highest score in the 2A/3A division at 77.8. With almost a 10-point deficit, Strasburg trails with a score of 67.9.
Six finalists advanced out of the 5A Cheer division, with Grandview (86.9) leading the way among Eaglecrest (86.5), Chaparral (84.2), Rock Canyon (82.9), Fossil Ridge (82.2) and Loveland (80.6).
In 4A Cheer, there were four teams grouped closely at the top among the eight finalists. Wheat Ridge (79.9) holds a slight edge on Glenwood Springs (79.7), with Palmer Ridge (78.7) and Thompson Valley (78.2) close behind. Erie (75.3), Lewis-Palmer (74.9), Valor Christian (73.2) and Ponderosa (70.2) also advanced.
The 4A/5A coed division also had eight finalists, with Castle View (83.5) and Mountain Vista (82.5) leading the group. Other finalists include Vista Ridge (79.3), Heritage (76.5), Skyline (76.2), Fruita Monument (75.7), Falcon (74.4) and Palisade (73.3).
