THORNTON — The state championship hung in the balance and — after Elizabeth had a performance worth smiling about on the beam — the Cardinals laid claim to their fourth title in gymnastics.
On top of that, Elizabeth junior Anastasia Buzalsky won the all-around individual state championship.
Oh, and the program has only been in existence since 2006. In that short time frame, the Cardinals have snatched crowns in 2009, 2010, 2012, and now 2017. They have also garnered four runner-up trophies and had two other all-around winners (Katie Cordova in 2009 and Kimmy Peterson in 2012).
The tradition of excellence continued Friday at the Class 4A state meet with a winning margin of 179.150-176.750 over Niwot. But, it didn’t come without a sprinkle of adversity.
After the first rotation, Niwot (89.625) took a lead on Elizabeth (87.45) on the strength of solid performances in the floor (44.85) and vault (44.775) competitions. Elizabeth countered with a 44.475 in floor, but struggled in bars with a 42.975. In fact, the Cardinals only had two finishers in the top 15 in that discipline.
That’s when Elizabeth had to deliver on their motto.
“Our motto all season has been ‘get gritty’ and we’ve been talking a lot about the definition of grit and what it means to you, what it means to our team,” Stacey Folmar, the program’s head coach since the beginning, said. “After beam, it was clear they got it. They did what they needed to do when it mattered most.”
In the balance beam, grit meshed with skill as Elizabeth swept the top four places with Rachel Jorgensen (9.375), Aliyah Antunez (9.325), Austin Coleman (9.300), and Emily Schaefer (9.200) all stepping up. Just before the beam, Anastasia Buzalsky (9.575, 1st) led a group of five finishers in the top 15 in the vault exercise.
It all added up to another glistening piece of hardware to bring back to a proud community.
“Elizabeth is so great about supporting us,” Folmar said. “For a small town, they’re a gymnastics town when it comes to this time of the year. It’s so gratifying for us to bring it back to them.”
It may not have been done without the addition of Buzalsky, a super talent who burst onto the high school scene for the first time after spending previous years only competing in club. The junior has certainly embraced the team atmosphere.
“I didn’t really have a team before,” she said. “This has been one of the best experiences. It means everything.”
Buzalsky struggled in bars and beam by her lofty standards, but finished first in floor (9.550) and vault. She was the only competitor to rack up a score above 37 in the all-around total as her 37.125 outdid Niwot’s Lindsay Chohon (36.675). Green Mountain’s Ramya Sinha (36.250) and Emily Graham (36.225) earned third and fourth place, respectively.
Folmar had the chance to coach Buzalsky at a young age and noticed her bright future right away.
“I knew from the time she was nine years old that she is amazing,” Folmar said. “She can be in bed sleeping, wake up, walk out and lay a dismount. We knew right off the bat she was going to be a huge factor for our team.”
Green Mountain, Rampart, and Pueblo Central rounded out the top five in the standings.
The 4A and 5A state meet will continue on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Those who finished in the top 15 in any of the four disciplines will have the opportunity to compete for individual crowns.
The Class 4A Jeffco League will likely have Littleton, Evergreen, D’Evelyn, Standley Lake and Golden all make the 32-team field for the 4A state tournament. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Littleton was not ready to call it a season. The Lions went into the second round of the Class 4A boys soccer tournament as the No. 15 seed and were faced with the daunting task of facing No. 2 Kennedy.
Seniors Zach Maguire and Ethan Schwartz didn’t care. Neither did junior Ruben Cervantes. All three scored goals as Littleton beat Kennedy 3-1 to advance to the 4A quarterfinals.
The Lions also got a standout performance in goal as Luis Ramos played all 80 minutes and turned away five shots to get the shutout.
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(8) Skyline 1, (9) Durango 0
Skyline defended its home field against a tough Durango team that poised a threat in 4A all season long.
The 1-0 win over the Demons put the Falcons into the quarterfinals where they will see No. 1 Air Academy.
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(3) Niwot 3, (14) Battle Mountain 2
Jason Rodriguez scored twice for Niwot, but it was Magnus Hansen’s game-winner that kept the Cougars alive in their hunt for a 4A championship.
The Huskies got goals from seniors Jorge Membreno and Juan Macias.
Niwot will host Denver North in Saturday’s quarterfinal matchup.
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Other scores:
(1) Air Academy 4, (16) Windsor 1.
(5) TCA 4, (21) Steamboat Springs 0. (4) Montrose 2, (20) Standley Lake 0.
(6) Denver North 3, (11) Sand Creek 2.
(7) Centaurus 2, (10) Silver Creek 1.
BROOMFIELD — Ali Travis had 26 kills and Sara Berghoff had 49 assists as Class 4A’s No. 3 Holy Family volleyball came back to beat No. 3 Niwot 23-25, 23-25, 25-15, 25-17, 17-15 on Monday.
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.
AURORA — This season’s state tournament brackets for boys soccer were released on Sunday, and Jefferson Academy, Air Academy and Denver East head their respective fields.
The state fields were captured via a combination of automatic qualifiers from leagues as well as the final RPI standings of the regular season.
Jefferson Academy (14-0-1) is the No. 1 seed in Class 3A. The Jaguars will host Beth Eden Baptist in the first round.
Other top 3A seeds include Kent Denver, the reigning champion, as well as Colorado Academy, Colorado Springs Christian, Denver Science & Tech Stapleton, Ridgway, The Academy and Liberty Common.
3A’s tournament begins with the first round on Thursday. The second round is Oct. 31.
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
In 4A, Air Academy (15-0-0) is the No. 1 seed. The Kadets begin with Thompson Valley in the first round.
Among high seeds in 4A are Kennedy, Niwot, Montrose, defending champ The Classical Academy, Denver North, Centaurus and Skyline.
The 4A tournament kicks off on Wednesday. It also plays second-round games on Oct. 31.
Denver East (14-1-0) is the top seed in 5A, and opens its postseason against Arvada West.
Also grabbing high seeds in 5A are Far Northeast, Fort Collins, defending champion Boulder, Grandview, Hinkley, Broomfield and Grand Junction.
5A’s state tournament also begins with the first round on Thursday. It has second round games on Nov. 1.
All quarterfinal matches are Nov. 4, and semifinals are Nov. 8 at neutral sites. The state championship games will be Nov. 11 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
Palmer Ridge’s Isabella Prosceno has a solid plan when embarking on her races.
She starts strong, paces herself with the head of the pack and then pulls away for the win. That’s the plan she utilized on Thursday at the Class 4A region 2 cross country meet. She got the desired result.
“I tend to run as hard as I can in every race,” Prosceno said. “Even though it gets hard on certain things, I just go hard every time.”
Prosceno took the win for the Bears, but it was Air Academy who grabbed the overall team win for 4A girls. The Bears didn’t come away empty-handed though as the boys team took first.
It was also a good day for the Vanguard School. The girls team grabbed first place while Nick Lovato won the overall 2A boys race.
“My hope was that I would run my fastest to get my team to state,” Lovato said. “I decided the best way to do that was to take first.”
Peyton won the 2A boys team title.
At the same venue, Mountain Vista swept the 5A team titles.
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Monarch took three of the top four spots at the 5A Region 3 boys cross country meet to win the region.
The Coyotes had 40 team points.
“We wanted our team to win this regional,” Charlie Perry said. “The best way for us to do that is, I have to go out and get one point. So, my mind was on what I’m going to do, because I know the rest of the guys will take care of their job.
“As you just saw, they came through in the spots they needed to as well.”
Perry took first with a time of 15:50.
“I felt pretty good today, so I figured it wouldn’t be too bad to go out on my own for a little bit,” Perry said. “This is a starter for the postseason so it’s a big deal to come out and win.”
In the girls race, Legacy sophomore Brynn Siles beat out the field with a time of 18:28.
Fairview won the team title with 64 points.
The Knights’ Isabella Bowland finished with a time of 19:16, good for a fifth-place finish.
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2A
Region 1: Lyons’ Isaac Roberts took first in the boys race with a time of 17:03. Heritage Christian won the team title. Nederland’s Helen Cross won the girls race with a race of 19:34, helping Nederland to the team title.
Region 3: Cody Danley of Rocky Ford won at 17:24. The Meloneers won both girls and boys team titles. Emilee Haefeli (Del Norte) and Camille Ruggles (Center) tied in the girls race at 21:54.
3A
Region 2: Blake Davis (Lamar) won with a time of 17:10.9. The Classical Academy took both team titles. Colorado Springs Christian’s Rachel Ingram turned in a first place time of 20:19.4.
Region 3: Holy Family’s Kyle McCabe took first with 16:42. Faith Christian won the boys team race. Peak to Peak’s Quinn McConnell won with 18:05. The Pumas took the top three spots to win the team race.
Region 4: Platte Valley’s Andrew King turned in a first-place time of 16:21. Frontier Academy won the team titles at boys and girls. Hannah Ellis’ time of 18:31 gave her the top spot.
4A
Region 1: Wheat Ridge’s Drew Seidel turned in a time of 17:50.18 to win the boys race. Evergreen took the boys team win. Naomi Harding of Battle Mountain paced the Huskies with a time of 19:56.76 to win the team and individual title.
Region 3: Valor Christian’s Cole Sprout topped the field at 16:00. Centaurus won the boys team race. In the girls race, Niwot freshman Taylor James took first with 19:16. Valor Christian won the girls team race.
Region 4: Silver Creek’s Logan Simington turned in a time of 16:14 to push the Raptors to the team title. Kenadi Krueger of Thompson Valley won the girls race with 18:57. Silver Creek won the girls team race.
Region 5: Cole Munoz of Widefield ran to a time of 16:05 to win the boys race. Durango won the boys and girls team races. Durango’s Madeleine Burns won the individual girls race at 19:10.
5A
Region 1: Denver East’s Harrison Scudamore won the boys race at 15:50.2. Dakota Ridge won the boys team race. Stephanie Carrasco of Thornton’s time of 17:58.5 was good for first place. Arvada West took the team race.
Region 2: Gateway’s Yonas Mogos took first at boys with 16:13.7. Grandview took the boys race. Isalina Colsman of Regis Jesuit won the girls race with 18:31.9. Cherokee Trail won the team race.
Region 4: Broomfield’s Michael Mooney won the boys race at 15:28.2. Poudre won the team race. Katelyn Mitchem’s time of 17:59.1 was enough to earn her and the Eagles wins in the girls race.
Denver East is back up to the No. 1 spot in 5A in this week’s boys soccer rankings.
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
Denver East (5)
12-1-0
94
2
1-0-0
2
Boulder (5)
11-1-1
89
1
2-0-0
3
Broomfield
11-2-1
79
3
1-0-1
4
Fort Collins
11-1-1
60
4
2-0-0
5
Grandview
11-2-0
59
6
2-0-0
6
FNE Warriors
9-2-2
52
5
0-1-0
7
Hinkley
11-1-1
41
8
2-0-0
8
Arapahoe
11-2-1
31
10
2-0-0
9
Grand Junction
11-2-1
21
–
0-0-1
10
Legacy
9-3-1
16
7
0-1-1
Others receiving votes:
Fairview 3, Rangeview 3, Cherry Creek 2.
Dropped out
Fairview (9).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Air Academy (8)
14-0-0
80
1
2-0-0
2
Niwot
11-1-1
71
4
2-0-0
3
Kennedy
11-1-1
60
3
2-0-0
4
Denver North
11-2-0
49
8
2-0-0
5
Montrose
9-3-2
39
6
0-1-1
6
The Classical Academy
12-1-0
33
9
2-0-0
7
Silver Creek
10-2-2
32
2
0-2-0
8
Skyline
10-1-2
21
–
2-0-0
9
Durango
9-2-2
18
–
1-0-0
10
Centaurus
9-2-1
11
–
3-0-0
Others receiving votes:
Sand Creek 10, Windsor 6, Golden 4, Littleton 4, Cheyenne Mountain 2.
Dropped out
Littleton (5), Sand Creek (7), Windsor (10).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Kent Denver (3)
11-1-1
81
1
2-1-0
2
Jefferson Academy (3)
13-0-1
79
2
1-0-0
3
Liberty Common (1)
13-0-0
61
3
1-0-0
4
Colorado Academy (2)
10-3-0
59
4
1-0-0
5
KIPP Denver Collegiate
11-4-0
41
8
3-0-0
6
Colorado Springs Christian
11-2-0
39
5
2-0-0
7
Peak to Peak
6-5-1
21
–
1-0-1
8
Delta
11-1-1
19
6
1-0-0
9
The Academy
8-1-3
18
–
1-0-0
10
Eagle Ridge Academy
12-0-0
15
9
2-0-0
Others receiving votes:
Manitou Springs 9, Manual 9, The Pinnacle 8, Arrupe Jesuit 7, Frontier Academy 7, Aurora West 5, Faith Christian 5, DSST-Stapleton 4, Coal Ridge 2, James Irwin 2, Ridgway 2, Atlas Prep 1, St. Mary’s 1.
Cherry Creek football coach Dave Logan set the career record for wins at the Class 5A level on Thursday night.
Logan’s Bruins beat Denver East 56-28. It was his 252nd career win, passing former Cherry Creek coach Fred Tesone, who won 251 games from 1962-89.
Logan is now 252-62 in his career, which has included stops at Arvada West, Chatfield, Mullen and now Cherry Creek. He now sits in sixth place on the all-time wins list, just behind former Loveland coach John Poovey.
West Grand’s Chris Brown and Kent Denver’s Scott Yates — both active coaches — hold the all-time wins record with 321.
5A No. 4 Regis Jesuit cruised to 6-1 this season with a 47-0 win over Douglas County.
5A No. 8 Grandview rolled past Smoky Hill 47-0.
4A No. 4 Loveland is still unbeaten (7-0) following a 63-0 win over Niwot.
3A No. 1 Mead (7-0) had another big win, this team beating a Frederick team that entered at 5-1. Mead won, 36-17.
3A No. 3 Erie is also 7-0 after beating Holy Family 43-21.
3A No. 7 Longmont is continuing its climb. The Trojans, now 4-3, beat Centaurus 61-19. Quarterback Oakley Dehning threw two touchdowns, and Cruz Garcia ran for three.
Check out Standley Lake, now 6-1 after a 42-24 win over Wheat Ridge. Quarterback Alex France threw two touchdowns and ran for another, and Ty Webber rushed for three touchdowns and 236 yards.
