On Sept. 12, floodwaters consumed Schenbeck Field located in Utah Park in Aurora and home of Overland High School baseball program.
The scene was grim. The scoreboard was completely engulfed in the 10-foot high water, as were the dugouts, batting cages, storage sheds and concession stand. Not a single part of the field was untouched.
When the water receded, it was clear to Overland’s head baseball coach, Michael Prichard, that he had another challenge to conquer. The force of the water had turned the benches in the dugouts upside down, displaced the bolted-down bleachers, engulfed the tractor used for field maintenance, washed rocks onto the playing field, flooded the concession stand, and drenched equipment and other team necessities.
The job would be daunting. Enter a new team of 60 baseball players, their coaches and parents from across the metropolitan Denver area. In consultation with coach Prichard, Allen Dyer (head coach of Cherokee Trail/Team Colorado) and Brian Bonn (Valor assistant coach) organized 50 individuals from their schools and organization, who worked alongside Overland baseball representatives on Sept. 21.
This group descended onto Schenbeck Field, with shovels, brooms, muscles and commitment to help a competitor in need. For three hours on a sunny Saturday, these volunteers worked diligently to bring the field back to life. On this day, they were all Trailblazers at heart.
Because of this team effort, Fall practices are possible, and in Spring, we’ll be able to welcome everyone to Overland’s field of dreams. Play ball!
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.
All but one boys golf regional completed play last week, and that made for a number of changes to CHSAANow.com’s boys golf polls this week.
The No. 1 teams — Regis Jesuit (5A), Valor Christian (4A) and Alexander Dawson (3A) — stayed put, but a total of seven new teams joined the rankings. In 5A, Fossil Ridge (No. 8) and Grand Junction (No. 10) joined; 4A added Coronado (No. 7), Steamboat Springs (No. 9) and Thompson Valley (No. 10); while new to 3A were Eaton (No. 5), and Aspen (No. 7).
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.
Brush took down former No. 1 Platte Valley on Friday. Monday, the Beetdiggers took its spot atop CHSAANow.com’s Class 2A football poll.
Brush, which won the game 28-10, was ranked second last week. It received all 10 first-place votes in the poll. Platte Valley dropped to third, behind Kent Denver.
The 2A poll added Faith Christian (No. 8) and Aspen (No. 10) this week.
In 5A, ThunderRide continued to lead the way and received 13 first-place votes to No. 2 Valor Christian’s 11. Columbine remained in third, and Ralston Valley stayed at No. 4.
Chatfield moved up from seventh to fifth, and is followed by No. 6 Cherokee Trail and No. 7 Fairview. Grandview is eighth, Regis Jesuit is ninth, and Cherry Creek rejoined the ranking at No. 10.
Monarch stayed atop 4A’s ranking, but there’s a new No. 2 team in that poll: Montrose, which moved up from third. It’s excellent timing, considering the two teams play Friday.
For the second consecutive week, there is a new team leading CHSAANow.com’s Class 5A volleyball poll. This week, Grandview will take its turn at the top.
The Wolves moved up from No. 3 following a 2-0 week which inlcuded a 3-1 win over previous No. 1 Arapahoe. Arapahoe dropped to third, just behind No. 2 Doherty.
There is also a new No. 1 team in 2A, where Resurrection Christian takes over.
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.
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.
Tuesday, September 17, the Valor girls’ volleyball teams took on Golden, playing 4 matches overall. The Freshman team has been training hard each day in the gym and their hard work is demonstrated on the court. They pulled out another win for their fantastic season as they defeated the Golden Demons. The Sub-Varsity team also was rewarded a win for their intensity in practice and during games. During the first set the Eagles showed excellent defense and brought down the Demons. The second set fell to the talented players on Golden.
Valor, who has been constantly winning third sets, accomplished their goal and knocked out the Demons. Junior Varsity defeated Golden because of their teamwork on the court. They never gave up and worked together to gain a win well deserved win.
The Varsity team also added a win onto the season as they beat Golden in four sets. The first set went to the Eagles as they started well and had energy on the court. During the second set Valor lost momentum and communication, and they lost to the Demons. They came back in the third set and Junior outside hitter Kyleigh Mcdaniel played great defense as well as offense. The girls fought hard and defeated Golden in the third, leaving one more game to go. The Eagles were prepared to win and played with great intensity. Although Golden defended themselves well, Valor was able to beat them in the fourth, giving them a 3-1 victory. All four Valor teams demonstrated good sportsmanship and represented Valor well. They are ready to play again on Thursday!
Today’s tennis matches between Kent Denver and Valor Christian ended poorly for Valor Christian.
Valor’s Erik Ratkelis played Kent’s David Mitchell who is currently ranked the #1 overall tennis player in Colorado. Mitchell showed he deserved that title today with a devastating win over Ratkelis.
Winning in the first 2 sets, Mitchell gave a strong performance to edge out Ratkelis by 6 to 0 in the first set and 6 to 2 in the second set.
The first set was all Mitchell winning without giving up a single game. The second set, however, Ratkelis rallied enough to put 2 up against Mitchell. But despite this effort, Ratkelis could not overcome Mitchell dominating performance.
Mitchell is a ranked very high nationally and is planning to play in college.
The other games didn’t go much better for Valor with Kent Denver winning every match.
Jimmy Amundson lost his match in two closely contested sets. Drake Bailey lost as well in similar manner. In the doubles, Jerry Farmer and Hunter Kas lost their match and a well played game. Michael Pistili and Dan Stephen lost a hard fought game. Daniel Lorden and Collin Ratkelis also lost in a well played match. Blake Wynja and Jonathan Hurtle lost in a back and forth game.
Coach Eppings said after the game that Kent was a very good school and they were a “little too tough competition, tonight.” He believes they’ll will learn from this loss and come back even better the next time they play Kent Denver.
Douglas County jumped into this week’s CHSAANow.com football poll in 5A at No. 6. It is the first time this season the Huskies have been ranked.
Cherry Creek, meanwhile, dropped all the way out in something of a surprise.
Cherokee Trail returned to the 5A ranking following a week on the outside looking in. The Cougars are eighth.
ThunderRidge held on to 5A’s top spot — but only narrowly. The Grizzles edged No. 2 Valor Christian by two overall points, despite beating then-No. 4 Grandview last week.
Columbine bumped up to third from fifth, and Ralston Valley went from sixth to fourth. Regis Jesuit rounds out the top five.
Chatfield is No. 7, Fairview is No. 9, and Grandview dropped from No. 4 to No. 10 following its loss to ThunderRidge.
Monarch continued to lead the 4A poll, which added Montbello for the first time this season, at ninth. Along with Denver South (No. 2 in 4A) and Denver West (No. 9 in 2A), it means Denver Public Schools has three ranked schools.
Cherry Creek 55, Pomona 31, Doherty 15, Grand Junction 15, Arapahoe 11, Mountain Vista 8, Legend 7, Fountain-Ft. Carson 4, Mullen 2.
Dropped out
Cherry Creek (3), Grand Junction (10).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Monarch (20)
2-0
214
1
Bye
2
Denver South (2)
3-0
186
2
W
3
Montrose (1)
4-0
170
4
W
4
Loveland
2-0
122
7
Bye
5
Falcon
3-0
112
6
W
6
Wheat Ridge
2-1
95
5
W
7
Pueblo West
2-1
69
3
L
8
Standley Lake
3-0
60
9
W
9
Montbello
3-0
43
–
W
10
Windsor
2-1
42
10
W
Others receiving votes:
Durango 34, Pine Creek 34, Mesa Ridge 22, Pueblo Centennial 21, Sand Creek 11, Thompson Valley 7, Widefield 6, Vista Ridge 5, Dakota Ridge 4, Mountain View 3, Broomfield 2, Longmont 2, Pueblo South 2.
Dropped out
Pine Creek (8).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Silver Creek (12)
2-0
159
1
Bye
2
Rifle (3)
3-0
140
3
W
3
Holy Family
2-0
122
4
Bye
4
Palisade
3-0
90
6
W
5
Elizabeth
2-1
88
10
W
6
Coronado (1)
4-0
81
8
W
7
Lutheran (2)
3-0
71
7
Bye
8
Roosevelt
1-1
59
9
Bye
9
Discovery Canyon
3-1
58
2
L
10
Conifer
2-1
26
5
L
Others receiving votes:
Delta 23, Erie 21, D’Evelyn 19, The Classical Academy 11, Evergreen 11, Eagle Valley 6, Pueblo East 3, Mead 2.
Dropped out
None.
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Platte Valley (8)
2-0
96
1
Bye
2
Brush (1)
2-0
85
2
Bye
3
Kent Denver (1)
2-1
76
3
W
4
Florence
2-1
57
4
W
5
Manitou Springs
3-0
51
8
W
6
Lamar
3-0
45
9
W
7
Strasburg
3-0
43
6
W
8
Eaton
1-1
34
7
Bye
9
Denver West
3-0
15
–
W
10
Bayfield
2-1
11
10
W
Others receiving votes:
La Junta 9, Faith Christian 8, Fort Lupton 7, University 5, Aspen 3, KIPP 3, Sterling 2.
Dropped out
La Junta (5).
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Buena Vista (9)
3-0
140
1
W
2
Limon (4)
3-0
112
2
W
3
Cedaredge (2)
3-1
109
3
W
4
Hotchkiss
2-1
74
4
W
5
Holyoke
3-0
71
5
W
6
Monte Vista
3-0
68
6
W
7
Crowley County
3-0
53
8
W
8
Wray
2-1
40
7
W
9
Centauri
2-1
39
–
W
10
Wiggins
2-0
36
9
Bye
Others receiving votes:
Meeker 20, Rye 12, Resurrection Christian 10, Clear Creek 8, Front Range Christian 7, Jefferson 7, Roaring Fork 7, Burlington 6, Paonia 3, Center 2, Cornerstone Christian 1.
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.
