Meeker won the 2A wrestling team championship. More photos. (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)
DENVER — In addition to the tension of wrestling for individual state championships, 10 wrestlers entering Saturday’s Class 2A state finals had the added pressure of knowing their matches could well determine the all-prestigious team championship.
Heading into the championship matches, just 4.5 points separated the top three teams.
Rocky Ford, with three wrestlers in the finals, led with 130.5 points. Centauri, with four in title matches, trailed by 2.5. Meeker, also with three wrestling for titles, had 126.
It all started in the evening’s first match, with Rocky Ford junior Jacob Rodriguez looking to defend his 106-pound title. He did it in style, pinning Centauri’s Zach Martin in 1:01.
“Coach (Mike Jurney) talked about how important the match was and how important it was for the team,” Rodriguez said.
Centauri suffered another loss in the next match, at 113, as Akron’s Tanner Watson held on for an exciting 10-9 decision over Joe Chavez.
Quinton Montague got Centauri on track, winning the 120-pound title in style.
Trailing two-time defending state champ Jonathan Andreatta 6-2 entering the third period, Montague got a takedown midway through the period, then earned back points to tie the match. He got another takedown 28 seconds into overtime.
After watching his two teammates, lose, “It kind of made me mad,” Montague said.
He wasn’t concerned about overcoming a four-point deficit.
“I just kept going, couldn’t stop,” he said.
But the Meloneers stayed in the team hunt with a victory by Jeremy Fraser by 16-1 technical fall at 132.
Fraser made the progression each season, finishing fourth at state as a freshman, third as a sophomore and runner-up last year.
“I knew what to expect,” he said of handling the hoopla of the Parade of Championship prior to the finals.
As for knowing each match was important in the team race, “It motivated me way more,” he said of relishing the pressure.
Meanwhile, looming close was Meeker, which, starting at 152, had three wrestlers competing in the next four title bouts.
Casey Turner got it started on a positive note, pinning Hayden Harris of Norwood/Nucla in 2:44.
Turner, a sixth seed, had beaten Harris three times during the season, but Harris got the better of them at last week’s regional tournament. That provided more motivation for Turner.
“(The team race) was definitely on my mind,” he said, “but if each individual takes care of business, the team scores will take care of themselves.”
That being said, getting the pin points was a big plus.
Then it was time for a Meeker-Centauri head-to-head as the Cowboys’ TJ Shelton, looking to become Colorado’s 19th four-time state champion, took on Chris Martin at 170.
Shelton took control in the second period, getting near falls in the second and third periods to take a 16-7 decision.
Then it was teammate Devon Pontine’s turn at 182. He controlled Zane Barber of John Mall throughout, earning those all-important pin points in 4:46.
The upper-weight wrestlers push each other hard in the Meeker practice room.
“Every day somebody’s on the verge of tears in there,” Pontine said.
It was up to Rocky Ford’s Greg Garcia, trying to pull the upset over Keith Dunagan of Crowley County in the heavyweight match.
But Dunagan retained his perfect record (34-0) with a pin in 1:39.
That sealed the team title for Meeker, which, with 143 points, edged Rocky Ford by a slim point.
“Every kid we brought scored points,” Cowboys coach JC Watt said of his 10-strong state crew.
As for bringing the team title back to Rio Blanco County for the first time in 11 years, “It’s awesome,” said Watt of upholding a strong Meeker wrestling tradition.
Bo Pipher of Paonia became a three-time state champion, capping off his high school career with a pin of Soroco’s Jace Logan in 3:20 at 145 to complete an undefeated season (48-0).
For Pipher, whose dad Andy is his coach, there was some pressure going for the three-peat.
“It’s probably a little more because there’s no redeeming yourself next year,” he said.
Then again, “This last one is sweet knowing it was my last high school match.”
Morgan Fogg, who won the 126-pound 4A state title as a junior for Thompson Valley last year, followed that up with the 2A title for Highland in the same class, pinning undefeated Anthony Quintana of Buena Vista in a quick 1:03.
Despite going from 4A to 2A, “You can’t take anyone for granted,” Fogg said, knowing he was going up against a 39-0 wrestler.
Britton Holmes of Peyton got a near fall in the third period en route to a 6-4 victory over Ethan Appenzeller of Ignacio for the 138-pound crown.
Buena Vista’s Sabyn Diamond scored four points in the third period to overtake Reagan Lane of Eads 6-4 for the 160-pound title. Teammate Keegan Wentz was the 220-pound champion, defeating previously unbeaten Kaleb Gaede of Limon 9-5 for his second state title.
Brandon Anderson of Sedgwick County/Fleming won 3-0 over Jason Murphy of John Mall at 195.
Although the Class 3A CHSAANow.com girls basketball rankings are loaded with talent at the top, breaking into those ranks is not impossible and Centauri is proving just that.
After sitting at No. 8 last week, the undefeated Falcons leapt to No. 4 after a 62-33 win over Buena Vista. They now sit right behind Pagosa Springs, Sterling and Manitou Springs, the three preseason favorites to take the state title. Pagosa Springs held on to the top spot that they grabbed from Manitou only a week ago.
The only new addition to the 3A poll this week is Trinidad who gave Manitou Springs its toughest test of the year Friday night.
In 5A, Highlands Ranch remains the top team, while nine teams from last week’s rankings remained in the top 10 this week.
The only team to break in is Rocky Mountain, who comes in at No. 10.
Sand Creek remains ranked No. 1 in 4A. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
Sand Creek remains  the top-ranked team in 4A and are looking every bit the part. Like 3A, the 4A rankings are top-heavy with talented teams as Mesa Ridge (No. 2), Valor Christian (No. 3) and Longmont (No. 4) all look like contenders early in the season.
Centaurus is the only new team to the 4A poll as they land at No. 9 this week.
Yuma still has a grasp on the No. 1 ranking in the 2A polls, although Akron and Cedaredge are both undefeated and getting first-place recognition.
Hasten makes a splash this week as they land at No. 7 after being unranked only a week ago.
Sangre de Cristo edged out Kit Carson by one point to remain the No. 1 team in 1A this week.
The 1A rankings added the most teams this week as Prairie (No. 7) and Jim Elliot (No. 9) break into the poll.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. During the regular season, they are released each Monday.
The 2015 football players of the year. From left: Dylan Dixon of Eads; Keegan Wentz of Buena Vista; JoJo Domann of Pine Creek; Dylan McCaffrey of Valor Christian; Daniel Martin of Pueblo East; Kelton McCoy of Bayfield; Trey Walter of Sedgwick County. (Photos: Jack Eberhard/JacksActoinShots.com; Bill Cronin; Matt Daniels/MattDanPhoto.com; Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com; Jeff Tucker; and Sedgwick County HS)
The 2015 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.
Highlands Ranch is the new No. 1 team in 5A girls basketball. (CHSAANow.com file photo)
The CHSAANow.com girls basketball polls saw three new No. 1 teams crowned this week, including Highlands Ranch, who takes over the No. 1 spot in Class 5A.
It is the biggest shift at the top of the polls since the start of basketball season.
The big story of the week came as ThunderRidge fell to Cherry Creek, 32-27. The Grizzlies had held the top spot in 5A since the preseason poll. But the Bruins couldn’t capitalize on the win. They turned around and lost their next game to Broomfield, which kept them firmly in the No. 7 spot this week.
Poudre and Loveland were the two new teams added to the 5A rankings as they come in at No. 9 and No. 10, respectively.
Sand Creek was one of two teams to hold on the top this week, as they remain No. 1 in the 4A poll. Mesa Ridge jumped from No. 3 to No. 2, continuing their climb and showing that they intend to be a force this year, much like they were in 2014 when they won the 4A title.
Joining the 4A rankings this week is Pueblo East, who comes in at No. 10. The Eagles started the season at 1-2, but have played well enough lately to earn the votes needed to crack the top 10.
Pagosa Springs takes the top spot in the 3A rankings away from Manitou Springs, despite the Mustangs starting 4-0.
In fact, the Mustangs received six first-place votes last week, only to get two this week. Manitou falls to No. 3 in this week’s poll.
Lamar made a two-spot jump this week to come in at No. 7 and Grand Valley comes in at No. 10 as the lone newcomer to the 3A rankings.
Yuma remains firmly at the top of the 2A rankings and had a nice showing last week, going 3-0. The big jump in that class was Wray leaping from No. 9 to No. 5. They got the attention of the voters by taking Yuma to the limit and only falling to the Indians 69-66. Highland and Sanford break in as the two newcomers to the 2A polls, landing at No. 9 and No. 10, respectively.
With Idalia’s 48-43 loss to Otis, the Wolves fell out of the top spot in the 1A rankings. That helped Otis break into the top 10 where they come in at No. 7 this week. Kim at No. 8 and Briggsdale at No. 10 also joined this week’s rankings.
Sangre de Cristo takes to the top spot this week, jumping from No. 3 to No. 1.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. During the regular season, they are released each Monday.
Grandview upset top-ranked Cherry Creek on Friday, ending the Bruins’ 13-game winning streak with a 28-20 win.
The Wolves, ranked No. 9 in Class 5A, led 28-0 in the fourth quarter thanks in large part to a varied night from Hayden Blubaugh, who had a rushing touchdown, receiving touchdown, and passing touchdown on a trick play.
“Hayden Blubaugh ran the ball very well, our defense set us up with some short fields, and really held Creek at bay for the first three quarters,” Grandview coach John Shultz told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show on Friday night. “It was just one of those games where everything we planned for worked. The kids executed very well and the defense played great.”
But Cherry Creek started to rally late in the game. Grandview was attempting a short field goal with about six minutes to play when the Bruins blocked the kick and it was returned 96 yards for a score by Marquise Davis.
“As a head coach, I probably made a really poor decision,” Shultz said of the field goal attempt. “We had the ball on the 3, and I chose to kick a field goal.”
After a series of penalties, Cherry Creek kicked off from Grandview’s 30-yard-line, and attempted an onside kick because of it. The Bruins recovered at the 1, and scored on the next play. It was 28-12 at that point.
“All of a sudden, it was 28-12 and we had to work real hard in the last five minutes,” Shultz said.
Cherry Creek then got a fumble recovery, and added another score — though that one came with 2 seconds to play. Grandview held on for the big win.
“Luckily our kids hung in there, defense hung in there and finished the game off,” Shultz said.
The Wolves dominated the game for much of the night until the final frenzied scoring from Cherry Creek.
“We are honestly just trying to get better every week and keep kids focused,” Shultz said. “The sky’s the limit for them. Obviously, they did some great stuff tonight, but we’re really growing as a football team since the summer.”
Grandview was the last team to beat Cherry Creek, doing so last October. The Bruins, of course, went on to win the 5A title.
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3A: (4) Roosevelt 64, (6) Holy Family 63
In what was arguably the game of the night, at least from an offensive perspective, Holy Family and Roosevelt combined for 127 points and 1,243 total yards. Ultimately, Roosevelt got a late two-point conversion and game-sealing interception to get the win.
Roosevelt rushed for 595 yards on 73 attempts as a team, and got four touchdowns each from Cameron Hurtado and Carlos Ortega. Hurtado had 234 rushing yards.
Holy Family quarterback Chris Helbig, as usual, had a monster game with 475 yards passing and four touchdowns. He also had two rushing touchdowns, and a receiving score on a trick play. In total, he had 549 yards of offense.
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5A: ThunderRidge 14, (3) Regis Jesuit 10
The Grizzlies scored a touchdown with 38 seconds left to pull off one of the biggest upsets in 5A so far this season.
The low-scoring game was 7-7 in the fourth quarter, and Regis went ahead on a field goal.
But ThunderRidge got the late score to pull the upset.
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1A: (10) Burlington 27, (8) Wiggins 20 (OT)
Burlington rallied from down 20-7 at the half to force overtime, then won it in the extra frame.
“It was a whale of a game, and my hat’s off to Wiggins. They played really well,” Burlington coach Glynn Higgs told the Scoreboard Show. “The second half was really intense, really physical. … Obviously, we’re terribly excited to get that win, whether it was in regulation or in overtime.”
“It wasn’t your typical 6-man game,” Kit Carson coach Jim Trahern told the Scoreboard Show. “In the first quarter, neither of us could get any offensive rhythm. Both defenses dominated.”
Kit Carson junior Jaxon Crawford had a 52-yard interception return with 6 seconds left before the half.
“That was kind of the key play of the game,” Trahern said.
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4A: (6) Durango 48, (7) Palmer Ridge 35
Durango quarterback Terrence Trujillo had four total touchdowns, including three passing, in the big top-10 win.
Sterling quarterback Michael Mitchek hit Isaac Harris for a touchdown with 30 seconds to play to give the Tigers a dramatic victory.
Eaton had taken a 17-12 lead early in the fourth quarter, and the two teams battled for much of the fourth quarter before Sterling’s late score.
Sterling is now 6-1.
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Notables:
Arapahoe, ranked No. 7 in 5A, snuck by Grand Junction 17-14. The Warriors are now 7-0 and could move up in the rankings based on Grandview’s upset. The Wolves’ lone loss this season is to Arapahoe.
3A No. 10 Mead got a good win over Berthoud, 21-18. “One of the best wins that I’ve been a part of as a coach,” Mead coach Jason Klatt told the Scoreboard Show. “It was just amazing to see our kids step up and play probably our best game against a quality opponent.”
In 1A, Peyton upset No. 6 Rye 22-21.
Another 1A upset: Meeker 38, Cedaredge 12.
Big top-10 game in 8-man, as No. 2 Akron came away with a 43-14 win over No. 8 Haxtun. Also, it was No. 10 Merino over No. 6 Dayspring Christian, 58-14.
In 6-man, No. 8 Peetz beat No. 5 Pawnee 45-21. And No. 9 Cheraw beat No. 10 Cheyenne Wells 58-39.
In the Mountain Bowl, an annual 3A battle, Evergreen beat Conifer 30-20 behind five turnovers. “It was a great win,” Evergreen coach Rob Molholm told the Scoreboard Show. “We made some big plays on offense when we needed to.”
8-man’s West Grand beat Pikes Peak Christian 40-0, giving coach Chris Brown his 304th victory. Brown is now two wins shy of tying the state record for career victories.
The 2015 baseball players of the year. From left: Jordan Ernst, Dove Creek (1A); Trent Hughes, Rye (2A); Ryan Madden, Fairview (5A); Cole Shetterly, Green Mountain (4A); Lane Greiman, Eaton (3A). (Photos: Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com; Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com; Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com; Pam Wagner/CHSAANow.com)
The 2015 all-state baseball teams honor the best players in the sport as judged by the leagues and coaches. They are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.
These teams were created following a lengthy process which included nominations from leagues and coaches, and then a vote of coaches. Players had to be first-team all-league in order to be on the all-state ballot.
Players and coaches of the year were also selected by a vote of the coaches.
The 2014-15 girls basketball players of the year, by class. From left: Jordan Baer, Akron (2A); Kendall Bradbury, Valor Christian (4A); Callie Kaiser, Broomfield (5A); Payton Shahan, Pagosa Springs (3A); Jordan Williams, Norwood (1A). (Photos by Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com; Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com; Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com; Tim Visser/MaxPreps)
The 2014-15 all-state girls basketball 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 week-long vote of coaches.
A specific player of the year vote was held in each class, as was a vote for coach of the year.
Use the menu below to navigate to the class of your choosing.
PUEBLO — With the game deadlocked after three quarters, Yuma’s Tara Traphagan seized the moment for her team.
The junior scored nine of her 13 points in the final quarter, vaulting the Indians to a 56-44 victory over previously unbeaten Peyton Friday in a Class 2A semifinal game at Colorado State University’s Massari Arena.
“We just came together as a team,” Traphagan said. “We knew we wanted this more than anything and we kept our heads and pulled out the victory.”
Yuma (21-4) moves on to its third state championship game in row. The Indians lost to Akron (2013) and Lutheran (2014) in the finals the last two years.
Yuma will get a chance to avenge its loss to Akron as it meets the Rams (24-2) at 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
The Indians are trying to win their first girls state basketball championship since 1997. Peyton (24-1) saw its season end for the second-consecutive year with a state semifinal loss to Yuma.
“This was a great, classic semifinal game and the girls kept their composure and that’s when it is nice that we have been to the finals the previous two years,” Yuma coach Mike Neill said. “The girls stepped up and showed their maturity and did a very good job.”
This will be the fourth meeting between Akron and Yuma this season. Akron has a 2-1 record against the Indians, including winning the last two.
“We are going to finish this year, I know it,” Traphagan said. “I think it is good we are playing them again. We have confidence against them and this is our redemption game. We are coming back stronger than ever.”
Against Peyton, Yuma slowly pulled away in the fourth.
Traphagan’s jumper put her team up 41-39 with 7:20 on the clock and she hit another bucket, gave the Indians a 47-43 advantage with 3:57 left.
After Peyton came up empty on its next several possessions, she essentially put the game out of reach with two more free throws at the 1:04 mark, stretching the Indians lead to 51-43. Peyton would get no closer than eight points.
Traphagan (5-for-7) and Logan Hixon (4-for-4) were clutch at the free throw line in the final stanza for the Indians.
“You have to hit free throws at the end or they could have won and we hit the free throws when it counted the most,” Neill said.
Hixon (15 points), Peighton Roth (14) and Katrina Terrell (14) rounded out Yuma’s balanced-scoring attack. Emily Green was the only player in double-figures for Peyton, finishing with 12 points.
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(3) Akron 41 (2) Hoehne 26
(Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
The Rams will have a chance to win their third state title in four years, Jordan Baer help make that a reality Friday.
Baer poured in a game-high 19 points, powering Akron to the win over the Farmers.
Akron improved to 24-2 overall and have now won 14 games in a row. The Rams won state in 2012 and 2013.
Hoehne (26-1) saw its unbeaten season and chance to win state end abruptly.
“They are probably my favorite to win the tournament,” said Cedaredge coach Ryan Hildig after his team lost to Akron 68-46 in the first round Thursday.
Baer has fueled in the Rams in the first two tourney games as she had 26 points against Cedaredge.
With the game tied at 6-6 after the first quarter, Baer went to work, scoring seven of her team’s 12 points in the second. The Rams went to locker room with an 18-12 edge and in the final 16 minutes they never took their foot off the gas pedal.
In the third quarter, A.J. Miller scored seven of her 10 points to put the Rams up 31-20 heading into the fourth.
Hoehne, which was coming off an emotional 42-34 win over Ellicott in the first round, could never mount a threat in the final quarter as the Farmers only scored six points.
Janessa Ramey added 10 points for Akron and Aspen Anderson had 12 points in the loss for Hoehne.
