St. Mary’s has taken over the top spot in the Class 3A girls basketball rankings.

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.

Complete rankings are below.

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CHSAANow.com Girls Basketball Polls

Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.

First-place votes are in parentheses.

Coaches and media members looking to vote should email rcasey@chsaa.org.

(Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

D’Evelyn (4A), Denver Christian (2A) and Heritage Christian (1A) all joined their respective girls basketball rankings this week.

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.

Complete rankings are below.

[divider]

CHSAANow.com Girls Basketball Polls

Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.

First-place votes are in parentheses.

Coaches and media members looking to vote should email rcasey@chsaa.org.

(Renee Bourcier/BourcierPhotography.com)

Regis Jesuit claimed the top spot in this week’s Class 5A girls basketball rankings, the first since the sport returned from its annual winter break.

This week’s newcomers:

• Fruita Monument (5A)
• Thomas Jefferson (4A)
• University and Sterling (3A)
• Ellicott (2A)
• Eads and La Veta (1A)

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.

Complete rankings are below.

[divider]

CHSAANow.com Girls Basketball Polls

Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.

First-place votes are in parentheses.

Coaches and media members looking to vote should email rcasey@chsaa.org.

(Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)

Highlands Ranch took over as the No. 1 team in the Class 5A girls basketball rankings this week.

With a relatively light schedule this week, these will be the final rankings prior to the winter break.

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.

Complete rankings are below.

[divider]

CHSAANow.com Girls Basketball Polls

Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.

First-place votes are in parentheses.

Coaches and media members looking to vote should email rcasey@chsaa.org.

(Katie Pickrell/CHSAANow.com)

Two teams — Centauri and Pueblo West — have taken over the top spots in their respective classifications of the girls basketball rankings this week.

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.

Complete rankings are below.

[divider]

CHSAANow.com Girls Basketball Polls

Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.

First-place votes are in parentheses.

Coaches and media members looking to vote should email rcasey@chsaa.org.

(Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)

Grandview (5A), Evergreen (4A), Lamar (3A), Yuma (2A) and Kit Carson (1A) are each top-ranked teams in the preseason girls basketball rankings that were released on Monday.

All but Yuma are defending champions.

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.

Complete rankings are below.

[divider]

CHSAANow.com Girls Basketball Polls

Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.

First-place votes are in parentheses.

Coaches and media members looking to vote should email rcasey@chsaa.org.

Antonito will in fact have a football team this fall.

After initially thinking that they would not have enough players to field a team this season, more students expressed interest in joining the team. As a result, Antonito will play in 2017.

“With school starting today, there were a few others who expressed interest in joining the program and we will be able to field a team,” said Antonito athletic director Joe Garcia. “We’re excited to be able to field a team.”

The 6-man program, which resides on the far Southern edge of the state near the border with New Mexico, went 3-5 last season in rebounding from an 0-8 campaign the year prior.

On Wednesday, Center (1A), Manzanola (6-man) and Longmont Christian (6-man) all announced their intention to drop their programs this season.

The 2017 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 then a vote of head coaches.

Player and coach of the year was also selected by a vote of the coaches.

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Class 5A

(Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)

Player of the year: John Sorensen, Rocky Mountain

Coach of the year: Scott Bullock, Rocky Mountain

Honorable mention:

• Sean Arnold, Highlands Ranch, 1B/OF, Junior
• Michael Baer, Regis Jesuit, 1B, Senior
• Alex Bumpus, Coronado, CF/P, Senior
• Kyle Cardona, Legend, SS/RHP, Senior
• Joshua Chamberlain, Legacy, RHP/2B, Senior
• Andrew Chavez, Cherry Creek, C, Senior
• Riley Cornelio, Pine Creek, SS/RHP, Sophomore
• Jeff Cyr, Ralston Valley, SS/RHP, Senior
• Andrew Danko, Eaglecrest, SS/RHP, Junior
• Colby Deaville, Legacy, SS, Senior
• Moses Dokes, Denver East, Freshman
• Spencer Gendreau, Rocky Mountain, 1B/OF, Senior
• Mikey Griebel, Columbine, CF, Senior
• Colton Hill, Rock Canyon, OF, Senior
• Sam Ireland, Mountain Vista, 1B/RHP, Sophomore
• Patrick Kauffmann, Denver East, Senior
• Hunter Kelchner, Grand Junction Central, RHP/1B, Senior
• Ryan Kirby, Grand Junction Central, INF, Sophomore
• Cooper Legault, Dakota Ridge, OF/RHP, Junior
• Jordan Medina, Highlands Ranch, UTIL/P, Junior
• Mitch Morales, Broomfield, P/OF, Sophomore
• Trey Morrill, Fruita Monument, P/OF, Junior
• Conner Nantkes, Cherokee Trail, P/UTIL, Senior
• Jakob Pigati, Bear Creek, CF/LF/RF, Senior
• Jack Radford, Bear Creek, P, Senior
• Cody Schultz, Cherry Creek, INF, Senior
• Mason Speirs, Broomfield, C/C, Senior
• Jose Treto, Brighton, P/SS/OF, Senior
• Matt Turner, Broomfield, 1B, Senior
• Jadon Uhrich, Rocky Mountain, C/INF/OF, Senior
• Quincey Ulrich, ThunderRidge,
• Jake Willemsen, Fairview, OF, Senior

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Class 4A

(Lance Wendt/LanceWendt.com)

Player of the year: Luke Ziegler, Valor Christian

Coach of the year: Steve Jones, Evergreen

Honorable mention:

• Mason Bennett, Ponderosa,
• Matt Berg, Thompson Valley, SS/2B/OF, Senior
• Aaron Berkhoff, Cheyenne Mountain, 3B, Sophomore
• Brody Bettis, Green Mountain, 2B, Senior
• Dalton Bishop, Mesa Ridge, C/INF/SS, Senior
• Nick Bowermaster, Thomas Jefferson, SS/RHP, Sophomore
• John Bull, The Classical Academy, INF/P, Junior
• Marcus Casados, Pueblo Central, P/OF/1B, Senior
• Takoda Chaney, Rifle, OF/P/1B, Senior
• Colton Clingman, Holy Family, 1B/LHP, Senior
• Billy Cook, Lewis-Palmer, Senior
• Travis Cowan, Wheat Ridge, SS/RHP, Senior
• Josh Dudden, Air Academy, INF, Senior
• Ryker Eagen, Evergreen, CF/P/C, Senior
• Chance Eben, Northridge, RHP/LF, Junior
• Ian Garcia, Pueblo West, Senior
• Brock Girling, Sierra, C/OF/P, Senior
• Willie Gordon, D’Evelyn, C/3B, Senior
• Jaeden Hegmann, Mesa Ridge, SS, Senior
• Nate Higgins, Skyline, P/OF, Senior
• Jack Hudd, Evergreen, P/INF, Senior
• Jarett Koch, Canon City, OF/P, Senior
• Garrett Martin, Eagle Valley, RHP/OF, Senior
• Trey McBride, Fort Morgan, OF/C, Junior
• Adam McShan, Kennedy, C, Junior
• Luke Nethercot, Canon City, INF/P, Senior
• Max Noland, Palisade, Senior
• Brevin Owen, Falcon, C/INF/RHP, Senior
• Trevor Pacheco, Pueblo East, RHP/INF, Junior
• Carlos Sanchez, Denver North, 1B/RHP, Senior
• Ryan Schneider, Cheyenne Mountain, OF, Senior
• Weston Siefken, Holy Family, C/3B/RHP, Sophomore
• Pablo Simon, Golden, SS/RHP, Junior
• John Taber, Palisade, Senior
• James Verlinde, Air Academy, P, Senior
• Zach Watts, Windsor, Junior
• Kaylor Werner, Northridge, CF/LHP, Junior
• Ethan Whitson, Golden, OF/RHP, Junior

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Class 3A

(Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

Player of the year: Jose Mercado, Valley

Coach of the year: Steve Kissler, Valley

Honorable mention:

• Matt Bagnato, Peak to Peak, Junior
• Jacob Brummel, St. Mary’s, INF/RHP, Senior
• Brandon Buhr, Centauri,
• Austin Bushnell, Bayfield, C/1B/3B, Senior
• Dalton Chandler, Lamar, Junior
• Jesse Cross, Resurrection Christian, SS/2B, Senior
• Jasen Engel, Montezuma-Cortez, SS/P, Junior
• Vance Ferraro, Trinidad, P/1B/OF, Senior
• Ari Fierer, Colorado Academy, Sophomore
• Jamison Fuentes, Aspen, P/CF/1B, Junior
• Zeke Hass, Eaton, OF, Junior
• Beau Hawley, University, C, Senior
• John Howard, Fort Lupton, C/CF/P, Junior
• Zach Lamari, Strasburg, P/1B, Senior
• Casey Lindholm, Jefferson Academy, C/RHP/3B, Senior
• Luke McClanahan, Bennett, Senior
• Paul Medina, University, SS, Senior
• Max Moseley, The Academy, OF/P, Junior
• Ian Olson, Salida,
• Graham Osman, Colorado Academy, LHP/OF/1B, Sophomore
• Jeron Petterson, Brush, UTIL/P, Senior
• Graham Price, Salida,
• Blake Reiher, Delta, 2B/SS/P, Senior
• Nick Rodriguez, Platte Valley, CF/P/C, Senior
• Ivan Rodriguez, Valley, C/P/INF, Junior
• Cole Roosma, Platte Canyon, Junior
• Matt Sims, Weld Central, C/RHP, Senior
• Tyler Slone, Coal Ridge, C/P/SS, Senior
• Colin Stone, Faith Christian, C, Junior
• Chance Strand, Alamosa, RHP/OF, Junior
• Terry Strauber, Jefferson Academy, CF/LHP, Senior
• Noah VanSickle, Kent Denver, Junior
• Christian Webber, Liberty Common, CF/2B/C, Junior
• Sean Whalen, Manitou Springs, 1B/P, Senior
• Daulton Wilkinson, Weld Central, 1B/LHP, Senior

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Class 2A

(Jeff Tucker/jefferywtucker.zenfolio.com)

Player of the year: Kayden Seriani, Paonia

Coach of the year: Nate Miller, Paonia

Honorable mention:

• Pablo Alonso, Dolores Huerta Prep, Sophomore
• Caleb Andersen, Haxtun, INF/P/C, Senior
• Levi Basler, Akron, P/C, Senior
• Cannan Bennett, Limon, C/P/SS, Sophomore
• Blake Brubacher, County Line [Wiley/McClave], Senior
• Cael Croissant, Wiggins, SS/2B/C, Junior
• Chase Fulkerson, Dawson School, 3B/P, Junior
• Ty Gibson, Meeker, C, Senior
• Alex Hayes, Denver Academy, Senior
• Hauk Hubbard, Limon, SS/P, Sophomore
• Brenden Kage, Holyoke, Senior
• Eli Kirk, Hotchkiss, OF/P, Junior
• Adam Klemstein, Clear Creek, OF/1B/P, Senior
• Pete Lanting, Denver Christian, Senior
• Drew Lloyd, Front Range Christian, P/C/INF, Sophomore
• Eryk Lorenz, Gilpin County, 1B/C/LHP, Senior
• Alex Lozano, Paonia, LF, Senior
• Dillon Mills, Swink, INF/P, Senior
• Presley Pene, Hotchkiss, OF/P, Sophomore
• Zachary Perry, Evangelical Christian,
• Slater Podgorny, Paonia, 2B, Junior
• Brian Preston, Rocky Ford, RHP/OF, Senior
• Leo Prosser, Calhan, SS/1B/P, Senior
• Patrick Roth, Byers, C/OF, Senior
• Anders Schopp, Paonia, RF, Junior
• Tyler Schwinck, Evangelical Christian,
• Garhett Shaw, Peyton, P/INF/C, Senior
• Cole Smith, County Line [Wiley/McClave], Senior
• Bo Soukup, Haxtun, OF/INF, Senior
• Bubba Sullivan, Burlington, Senior
• Gianni Trejo, Yuma, 2B/P/3B, Junior
• Cody Venem, Rocky Ford, RHP/CF/1B, Senior
• Braden Witzel, Burlington, Sophomore

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Class 1A

(Courtesy photo)

Player of the year: Trenton Armintrout, Nucla

Coach of the year: Randy Gabriel, Nucla

Honorable mention:

• Levi Barr, Cotopaxi, SS/P, Sophomore
• Erick Chapparo, Holly, LF/C/OF, Sophomore
• Cord Colson, Nucla, Junior
• Enrique Cortez, Antonito, Senior
• Chance Fowler, Eads, 3B/1B/C, Senior
• Cullen Glosson, Otis, P/SS, Sophomore
• Sladen Hendrickson, Nucla, Senior
• Patrick Jones, Springfield, Sophomore
• Landon McCaffrey, Stratton/Liberty, Senior
• Brayden Nichols, Caliche, Junior
• Cody Pevler, Cheyenne Wells, Senior
• Ryan Saine, Manzanola, OF/C/P, Senior
• Craig Smith, Cheyenne Wells, Senior
• Graden Steffan, Nucla, Senior
• Sean Sutherland, Nucla, Senior
• Rhett Uhland, Eads, P/OF, Senior
• Yaniel Vidal, Holly, SS/3B/P, Senior
• Cody Wilson, Peetz, Senior

(Lance Wendt/LanceWendt.com)

What a difference two weeks can make.

To say that there was some shakeup in the CHSAANow.com baseball rankings would be a gross understatement of what happened since the last set of rankings were released two weeks ago.

And if there is a prime example, one should look no further than the Class 4A rankings. 

Windsor jumped a staggering eight spots to take over the No. 1 spot in that poll.

The four teams sitting right behind the Wizards? Well, they were all previously unranked. Northridge, Ponderosa, Cheyenne Mountain and Green Mountain all join the rankings this week.

Wheat Ridge (No. 9) and Fort Morgan (No. 10) are also newcomers. Denver North, Valor Christian and Mountain View remain in the rankings at No. 6, No. 7 and No. 8 respectively.

The 5A rankings also saw a significant shakeup, though not as extreme as 4A. Rock Canyon takes over the No. 1 spot, replacing Rocky Mountain who falls to No. 3. Legend jumps to No. 2 while Mountain Vista climbs to No. 4.

Mountain Range (No. 6), Eaglecrest (No. 7), Grand Junction Central (No. 8) and Heritage (No. 10) all broke into the top 10.

While 3A saw the most consistency in terms of who was ranked, the overall placement of the ranked teams certainly saw changes.

La Junta jumped to the No. 1 spot, taking over for Lamar.

Manitou Springs jumps a couple of spots to No. 6 while Valley leapt up to No. 7. At  No. 9, Gunnison is the only new team in the 3A rankings.

Paonia hangs on to the No. 1 spot in 2A, but Peyton climbs to No. 2 and Holyoke jumps seven spots to No. 3.

County Line, Yuma and Sanford all join the 2A poll this week.

Holly remains the No. 1 team in 1A and Eads holds on to its spot at No. 2.

Caliche, Petz and Antonito are the three newcomers to the 1A poll.

The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association.

During the regular season, new polls are released each Monday.

Complete rankings for all classes are below.

[divider]

CHSAANow.com Baseball Polls

Voted upon by coaches and select media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.

Coaches and media members looking to vote should email rcasey@chsaa.org.

Go to: 5A | 4A | 3A | 2A | 1A

(Brock Laue/CHSAANow.com)

The bright lights and raucous crowds at the University of Northern Colorado’s Bank of Colorado Arena felt familiar to the Fleming girls basketball team.

Fleming won the Class 1A volleyball state championship over Kit Carson at the Denver Coliseum, their sixth title in program history after reaching eight of the past ten championship matches. Junior forward Alli Keisel (20 points) and electric senior guard Kalyn Serrato (19) were key members of the volleyball team that handed Kit their first loss of the fall.

Boosted by their championship experience — Bailey Chintala, Jenna Lengfelder, Morgan Cockroft all play on both teams as well — Fleming (23-1) was poised in the final frame and outscored Antonito 24-10 to pull away after a close contest and reach the 1A girls Final 4 with a 68-57 win. Antonito was undefeated at 23-0 entering the weekend.

“I definitely think that carries over into the next season and we may not be well-tested in the state basketball tournament, but they have played in some big games and the stage didn’t seem to bother them one bit tonight,” said coach Randy Kirkwood, formerly in charge of the boys at Caliche.

With numerous lead changes and quick bursts filled with fastbreaks and 3-point makes, each team had the weapons needed to explode for stretches.

Antonito (No. 6 seed) and Fleming (No. 3) both executed inside and outside as the Trojans’ Erykah Tallman (17 points) was a presence down low and guards Tyanna Sanchez (11) and Brenay Ruybal (10) were effective from the perimeter.

The game was tied at 16 after one as Fleming held a slight three-point advantage, 32-29, at halftime. Antonito whipped the ball around the outside and heated up as an 11-0 Trojan run pushed Antonito to a 49-44 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Spurred by 5-foot-3 Serrato, a wonderful veteran playmaker with six points during a critical stretch midway through the fourth which included four-of-four from the free throw line, Fleming took a tight 56-53 lead with just over four minutes to go.

Antonito got within one with three minutes left, but could never retake the lead. A fifth foul on Tallman took their physical post out of the game with about five minutes remaining and Fleming’s transition offense opened up the late double-digit lead.

“We run a lot,” Serrato said. “We turn the game into a track meet.”

Kirkwood was pleased with the execution and effort of his team in a close victory over a well-coached and gifted Trojan team.

“Antonito is a very good team,” he said. “That was a really good girls basketball game. Our girls rebounded real well in the second half and we hit some big shots when we needed to.”

Fleming will take on Heritage Christian at 7 p.m. in the semifinals on Friday, a team they beat 67-55 in the District 4 tournament on February 25.

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(1) Kit Carson 51, (8) Nucla 31

Kit Carson looked every bit the title contender their seed would indicate. The Wildcats stayed perfect this season at 23-0 with a defense that gave up 15 points through three quarters and allowed Kit to build a 36-point advantage in the fourth.

The Isenbart sister trio of Micayla (nine points), Reyna (14) and Olivia (six), a junior, freshman and sophomore, redeemed the Wildcats one year after a perfect regular season was slightly spoiled with an upset loss to South Baca in the Great 8. Tess Hornung chipped in 13 points for Kit.

Senior guard Taylor Sickels had the hot-hand for Nucla (14-10), scoring 18 of the team’s 31 points. The Mustangs will face Briggsdale at 8:45 a.m. in the consolation bracket Friday.

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(4) South Baca 53, (5) Briggsdale 50 (OT)

The Patriots pushed Briggsdale aside thanks to a 22-point performance by Bree-ann Carwin, an overtime-forcing trifecta by senior Frankie Ormiston and a few clutch free throws in extra time.

1A’s top scorer (21.9 points per game) was the catalyst for South Baca, a team that has now reached the Final Four back-to-back years. The Patriots (20-3), a school that pulls from Campo, Vilas and Pritchett, could reach their first state final if they take out No. 1 Kit Carson on Friday at 4 p.m.

The area does have some hoops tradition as Campo High School, before the area schools collaborated into one, claimed two girls basketball state titles with the most recent coming in 1978.

The Patriots took a 17-11 lead into the second quarter and held a 21-17 margin at the break, but the Falcons found their wings taking a 39-34 lead into the last quarter. A balanced Briggsdale effort, 14 points apiece for Nikki Anderson and Jodel Erickson, to go with 12 by Skyla Miller, was enough to force overtime but not enough to prevail.

Briggsdale (18-6) was the state-runner up to Idalia in 2016.

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(2) Heritage Christian 46, (7) Eads 37

Eads was poised looking to spring an upset and led 16-15 on the big stage after two quarters. But, a 14-6 third frame that went the way of Heritage Christian assured the Eagles a spot in the semifinals.

Joe Packard’s team is a serious threat for the 1A crown, but will have to avenge their only loss of the season to Fleming to reach the final.

Sarah McGinley (12 points), Jenn Stellingwerf (10), Elizabeth Lacey (nine) and Sarah Collins (nine) led the offensive charge for Heritage Christian.

Mariah Smith (15) and Miranda Mitchek (13) played well for Eads in a close loss. Eads (16-9) takes on Antonito in the consolation rounds at 11:45 a.m. on Friday.