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 2014 all-state football players of the year. From left, Josh Odom of Pine Creek (4A), Kyle Leoffler of Arickaree/Woodlin (6-man), Austin Yahn of Caliche (8-man), Taylor Walters of Paonia (1A), Daniel Martin of Pueblo East (3A), Kyle Rosenbrock of Brush (2A) and Milo Hall of Cherry Creek (5A). (Photos: Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com; Tim Visser/TimVisserPhotography.com; Mark Adams; Jeffrey Tucker/MaxPreps; courtesy of Paonia)
The 2014 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 coaches.
Arvada West is the preseason No. 1 in Class 5A. (Mark Adams)
Defending champions Arvada West and Paonia are preseason No. 1 teams in On The Mat’s wrestling rankings.
A-West won Class 5A last season, while Paonia captured 2A. 4A’s defending champion Broomfield moved up to 5A — it’s not ranked — and Thompson Valley is the preseason No. 1 in that classification.
In 3A, Brush is the preseason No. 1. Valley, the defending champion, opens at No. 2.
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.
From left to right, the players of the year: Murphy McRoberts, Fossil Ridge (5A); Alexandria Kilponen, Valor Christian (4A); Bridgette Hutton, Valley (3A). (Photos: Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com; Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com; Kelly Thornburg/MVPSportsPics.com)
The 2014 all-state softball teams are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.
These team were created following a process where the coaches voted upon a list of nominees. Those nominees included every player who was a first-team all-league selection.
Coaches also voted specifically for player and coach of the year.
Scroll down to see the teams, or use the menu below to navigate to the class of your choosing.
The lead pack at the 5A girls race. (Brock Laue/CHSAANow.com)
COLORADO SPRINGS — Lauren Gregory, a sophomore phenom at Fort Collins, entered Saturday’s cross country State Championships at the Norris-Penrose Event Center in Colorado Springs as the 5A defending champion. She was undefeated on the season and relatively untouched.
Gregory was projected to win and did in dominant fashion with a time of 18:55, 30 seconds ahead of Fairview’s Maya Browning and the field.
What wasn’t expected was for her teammates to join her on the podium as champions, but the Lambkins surprised with 113 points, five points ahead of second place Monarch. See the full results here.
Fort Collins’ Lauren Gregory. (Brock Laue/CHSAANow.com)
All Fort Collins had to do was unseat a Monarch team attempting to become the first 5A girls cross country program to win four state titles in a row. Fort Collins, 2010 state champions and a top-two team finisher at the State Meet every year since 2007, had placed second to Monarch the previous three seasons.
The Lambkins certainly faced a daunting task, especially after a relatively shaky regular season by the program’s lofty standards.
“We were not picked to win today,” Fort Collins first year coach Mike Callor, who won one boys and one girl’s state title at Dakota Ridge, admitted. “We knew we had it in us, but the kind of season we had. We started out really rocky and it was tough. It was the toughest state title I’ve ever been a part of honestly. We were hoping that all those finished feeling they had given it everything they had. If they did that and ran the plan, something special was certainly possible.”
Gregory, seniors Heather Holt (8th place), Devynn Miller (21st place), Kiri Michell (50th), and junior Claire Hooker (54th) brought home their 7th state championship in girls cross country, third most of any school in the state behind The Classical Academy (10 titles) and Lake County (9).
Gregory was ecstatic about the team crown.
“It means so much more than the individual title,” Gregory said. “It’s incredible to know my team was right there with me and they get to celebrate with me. It’s amazing.”
In class 4A, Mountain View’s girls felt they had some unfinished business of their own. The Mountain Lions, one of the favorites to win the 2013 crown, finished fourth as cross-town rivals Thompson Valley won their 4th girls title in the past eight seasons. In 2011, Mountain View placed second as Thompson Valley won.
The Mountain Lions finally overtook their nemesis as three of their girls finished ahead of Thompson Valley’s number one. Mountain View, with 127 points, held off Thompson Valley (139), Palmer Ridge (144), and Evergreen (144).
Lauren Offerman (4th place), Riley Cooney (6th place), Abby Stewart (14th), Katie Benner (65th), and Alison Peters (66th) led the ladies from Loveland to their first state championship since 2004, and third title overall in the sport.
“To me personally, I could not be more excited for that group of young ladies,” Mountain View coach Kevin Clark said. “Those girls as freshman finished second to Thompson Valley. Our seniors, they were our backbone to make sure that we never lost sight. They wanted a shot at it too and I couldn’t be more excited for that group of girls.”
Air Academy junior Katie Rainsberger, after coming within a second of winning state two years ago and finishing second behind Niwot’s Elise Cranny in 2012 and 2013, captured her first crown in a time of 18:50. Denver North’s Kayla Young placed second in 19:03.
“It’s more joy than redemption,” Rainsberger said of winning the title. “Losing to Elise Cranny isn’t something that one should be ashamed of. She’s a role model, someone I can look up to, and we’re really good friends,” Rainsberger said of the Stanford Cardinal freshman.
In another fantastic team finish, Alamosa’s girls pulled a mild upset over 3A defending champion Salida, 91-95, as Mean Moose freshman Tara Sowards outleaned Salida’s Sydney Fesenmeyer in a time of 21:22.8 to 21:22.9 for sixth place. The state title was Alamosa’s first in girls cross country since they won 4A in 2009.
Estes Park sophomore Lily Tomasula-Martin (20:31) held off Basalt’s Hailey Swirbul (20:35) for the 3A individual championship.
In 2A, West Grand senior Tabor Scholl, a multiple time state champion in track, was looking for her first cross country title since winning 3A as a freshman in 2011. Scholl (19:59) delivered in dominant fashion as Lyons’ CeAnn Udovich placed second in 20:20.
“Winning it freshman year was such a privilege and an honor and I was really grateful,” Scholl said. “Working for it for two years just makes this year so much more special to know that I put in the work and it finally paid off.”
Lyons, for all their success in cross country and track, had never won a state title in girls cross country. That changed Saturday as the Lions held off Telluride by a slim margin, 20-24.
Columbine’s players celebrate a home run on Saturday. More photos. (Pam Wagner/CHSAANow.com)
Jennifer Romero led Columbine to the biggest upset in the softball regionals on Saturday.
The sophomore pitched in all three games her No. 31-seeded Rebels played in the Class 5A bracket, and didn’t allow a run — including a complete-game performance against No. 2 Legacy, the defending 5A champion, which clinched a berth in next weekend’s state tournament.
“She really stepped it up a notch,” Columbine coach Brooks Roybal told CHSAANow.com on Saturday evening. “She pitched really, really well.”
Columbine actually dropped its opening game of the 5A Region 8 bracket at Broomfield Industrial Park. That was also against Legacy, and the Rebels fell 6-0.
But Romero entered in the final two innings of the opening game, and didn’t allow Legacy another run.
Columbine dropped to the loser’s bracket for the second game, and face Cherokee Trail — a team the Rebels had beaten 12-11 in the second game of the season. Like the first meeting, offense ruled. Cherokee Trail led 7-6 midway through before Romero again entered again — and again shut the opposing offense down.
Columbine went on to rally and win that game, 11-7, thanks in part to a home run from Carly Perry.
Meanwhile, Douglas County had topped Cherokee Trail 6-0, and then beat Legacy 7-0 to win the region. It set Columbine up with a rematch, with a berth to state on the line.
This time, Romero started. She pitched a complete-game shutout, and buoyed by a grand slam from Perry, Columbine pulled the upset, 8-0.
“I think playing against Cherokee Trail, our bats came alive a little bit and they had a little more confidence going against Legacy that second round,” Roybal said. “Especially after we shut them down. Legacy might have been down a little bit, too, because they just got beat by Douglas County. You catch them at the right time sometimes.”
The end result was this: Columbine, a No. 31 seed, moved on to the state tournament, while Legacy did not.
“We told them afterwards it was probably the biggest win Columbine has had in the last eight years,” Roybal said. “We haven’t been a qualifier for seven or eight years.”
Columbine already had a number of big wins this season, including topping Brighton and Ralston Valley.
“They’ve got a few good wins under their belts this year which have been huge,” Roybal said. “You know, we’ve never beat Brighton, we’ve never beaten Ralston Valley. And I’m sure we’ve never beaten Legacy. We’ve always thought we could beat anybody, if we played well.”
More 5A notables
No. 24-seeded Pine Creek upset No. 9 Mountain Range in the opening round in Region 2, then advanced to the state tournament with a 10-9 win over Fruita Monument in the final game.
Horizon, a No. 28 seed, rallied from being no-hit by Castle View in its first game to top No. 21 Greeley West (13-2), and then No. 12 Pomona (8-5) in reaching the state tournament.
No. 29 Arvada West dropped its first game, but then won two straight to earn a berth. Included was a 10-5 win over No. 13 Rock Canyon.
The complete 5A state field, with regional seeds noted: No. 1 Fossil Ridge, No. 3 Dakota Ridge, No. 4 Brighton, No. 5 Castle View, No. 6 Legend, No. 7 Grandview, No. 8 Broomfield, No. 10 Grand Junction Central, No. 11 Rocky Mountain, No. 14 Chaparral, No. 16 Eaglecrest, No. 18 Douglas County, No. 24 Pine Creek, No. 28 Horizon, No. 29 Arvada West, No. 31 Columbine.
The softball seeding committee will meet at the CHSAA office at 9 a.m. Monday to seed the state tournament.
Air Academy, a No. 24 seed, dropped its first game of the tournament, to Erie, 3-1. The Kadets then beat No. 25 Holy Family 1-0, and upset eighth-seeded Mountain View 7-5 to claim a state berth.
Region 4 had a length rain delay which disrupted play in its second round games. Prior to the delay, Wheat Ridge advanced. After the delay, No. 20 Thompson Valley went on to upset No. 13 Pueblo East for the other berth.
No. 26-seeded Mead rebounded from an opening-round loss to win its next two games and advance to the 4A tournament. The Mavericks beat No. 23 Thomas Jefferson and No. 10 Berthoud.
D’Evelyn, a No. 27 seed, actually upset No. 6 Vista Ridge in the first round but then dropped the winner’s-bracket game to No. 11 Ponderosa. D’Evelyn had to turn around and beat Vista Ridge again for the tournament berth.
The complete 4A state field, using regional seeds: No. 1 Frederick, No. 2 Valor Christian, No. 3 Pueblo West, No. 4 Wheat Ridge, No. 5 Silver Creek, No. 7 Discovery Canyon, No. 9 Erie, No. 11 Ponderosa, No. 12 Mullen, No. 14 Niwot, No. 16 Falcon, No. 18 Windsor, No. 20 Thompson Valley, No. 24 Air Academy, No. 26 Mead, No. 27 D’Evelyn.
Surprisingly, there was not a single upset during the entire 3A regional tournament. It meant the new format, which would have only played a third game if the top seed in a given region lost, was not used this season.
The complete 3A state field, using regional seeds: No. 1 Strasburg, No. 2 Valley, No. 3 La Junta, No. 4 Sterling, No. 5 Eaton, No. 6 Lamar, No. 7 Skyline, No. 8 Burlington, No. 9 Cedaredge, No. 10 Brush, No. 11 Rocky Ford, No. 12 Basalt.
Fossil Ridge is the top seed in the Class 5A regional softball field. (Pam Wagner)
AURORA — Fossil Ridge, Frederick and Strasburg earned the top overall seeds in their respective classifications when the regional softball brackets were released by CHSAA on Sunday.
Fossil Ridge, 17-1-0, won the always-tough Front Range League in Class 5A by virtue of going unbeaten 11-0. 5A’s No. 2 seed, Legacy (15-4-0), also hails from the Front Range League. Both will host their respective regionals.
In 4A, Frederick was a clear-cut No. 1 seed. The Warriors finished the season unbeaten at 19-0-0, won the Tri-Valley League, and played a very tough schedule which included top teams from 4A and 3A, as well as 5A opponents.
Valor Christian (18-1-0) got the No. 2 seed, while Pueblo West is No. 3. Defending champion Wheat Ridge is the No. 4.
Other regional hosts in 4A are No. 5 Silver Creek, No. 6 Vista Ridge, No. 7 Discovery Canyon and No. 8 Mountain View.
3A’s top-seeded Strasburg (also the defending 3A champion) went unbeaten at 19-0-0 despite playing in District 3, which is arguably the toughest softball league in the state.
That district also features No. 2-seeded Valley — which will also host a region — No. 4 Sterling and No. 5 Eaton. Additionally, Brush (No. 10), Lyons (No. 13) and Greeley Central (No. 18) also qualified for the regional bracket.
Other regional hosts in 3A include No. 3 La Junta, No. 7 Skyline, No. 8 Burlington and No. 9 Cedaredge.
Each of the regional tournaments will begin and complete play next Saturday, Oct. 11. Both the Class 5A and 4A tournaments feature 32-team fields split into eight regions, while 3A has 18 teams split into six.
All three regional tournaments will advance two teams from each region to their respective state tournaments Oct. 17-18 at Aurora Sports Park.
