(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

LAKEWOOD – When he’s ready to start his run toward the high jump bar, Longmont’s Eddie Kurjak stands, raises his arms and begins a slow clap, urging the crowd to join him.

On Friday, the fans at Jefferson County Stadium followed his lead with the slow clap and then Kurjak cleared the bar with a Class 4A state-meet record leap of 7 feet to win the state title in the high jump.

“It feels amazing, man,” Kurjak said. “I love this environment. I’ve been psyching myself up all week for it just trying to prepare every night the best I can. A good season’s work finally paid off. I’m really proud of myself.”

Kurjak, headed to Colorado Mesa to play basketball and compete in track and field, said getting the slow clap going helps him.

“Me personally, it helps me flush out over-thinking to get the whole crowd involved,” he said. “Obviously it’s not going to make me jump higher, but it helps me not be so in my head about things. It just enables me to run and jump.”

It completed a long quest for a state title. He was second in the high jump in 2019 and likely would have been the favorite in 2020, but the season was wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kurjak said clearing 7 feet – the previous 4A record was 6-11 by Cheyenne Mountain’s Colt Sessions in 2013 – added a lot to his title, but that winning was sweet.

“They were both big personal goals for me, but I think winning state means a little more because I came up short sophomore year and last year I didn’t have a season,” he said. “Both years I’ve wanted to win. To finally get it this year just feels really, really amazing.”

It was an amazing feeling for the Class 4A girls high jump champion, as well.

Pueblo West’s Shayla Padilla won the title with a season-best leap of 5-6. She followed in the footsteps of her brother, Cisco, who beat Kurjak for the 4A boys title in 2019.

“It’s so exciting,” she said. “I’m literally just filling in my brother’s shoes because my brother won two years ago. It feels so good to come out here and compete with all these girls and it felt great.”

Padilla said her brother has given her some grief for not having a title, but he gave her some works of encouragement before Friday’s final.

“I think me and my brother are really competitive and he always used to make fun of me and be like, ‘Don’t talk to me because you don’t have a ring yet,’” she said. “It just made me  want to win so bad, so here I am and I got a ring.”

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Class 5A

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

Cherry Creek’s Riley Stewart knew she would be busy this weekend, but the junior has made it worth it.

On Friday, she won state titles in the 800 (2:09.60) and 3,200 meters (10:31.45), adding to the 3,200-meter relay championship she helped the Bruins on Thursday.

“I’m a little tired,” she said with a laugh. “I knew it was going to be a struggle coming in, but I need to do what’s best for my team and this would be best for the points.”

Stewart, favored to win the 1,600 on Saturday, picked up 20 valuable points for the Bruins with her two victories Friday.

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

“It’s so exciting,” said Stewart, who was top-five in all three individual events in 2019. “It’s like momentum building into the 1,600. I’m just so happy to come back from freshman year (in 2019) and to have these opportunities again. It’s just a great feeling to come out with two state titles.

“It’s been a great meet so far. It honestly just keeps getting better and better.”

Stewart’s teammate, Parker Wolfe, cruised to the boys 3,200-meter championship in 9:07.87, but scratched in the 800 so he could focus on Saturday’s 1,600.

In the boys 800, Mountain Vista’s Harrison Witt set a 5A meet record with a time of 1:48.75. He cruised to the title by more than three seconds over the rest of the field. It’s the first individual state title for Witt, who helped the Golden Eagles win the 3,200 relay in 2019.

Grandview, meanwhile, dominated the relays on Friday – winning all three finals that were contested.

The Grandview girls won the 800 medley relay and 800-meter relay. Saniya Craft, Molly Skurcenski and Amber Davis were a part of both relays, while Ava Robinson ran on the 800 relay and McKenzie Droughns on the medley.

For the boys, Charlie Dick, Kahden Rullo, Evan  Johnson and David Maldonado teamed up to win the 800-meter relay for the Wolves.

In the only field events contested Friday in 5A, Brandon Hills of Vista Ridge won the boys long jump with a leap of 23 feet, 2 inches, while Fabiola Belibi of Regis Jesuit won the girls long jump with a leap of 18 feet.

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Class 4A

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

Erie has been chasing Air Academy all season in the boys 800-meter relay and on Friday, the Tigers finally caught the Kadets.

The team of Sean Thomas-Francisco, Mason Veve, Blake Donaldson and Quintin Hartel crossed the finish line in a school-record time of 1:29.52, edging rival Mead by just .56 of a second. Air Academy, the top seed coming in, was disqualified for a zone violation.

“It’s amazing,” Hartel said. “We’ve always known we had a good team since two great football players (Thomas-Francisco and Veve) came into the program. We’ve been working all year. We’re always ranked No.2  behind Air Academy. We use that as encouragement to run as hard as we could. It worked out and it’s amazing to come away with a school record and a state championship.”

Friday was another big day for Niwot, as well.

The favorite to repeat as girls champion, the Cougars took home three titles Friday, including a Class 4A meet record in the 800-meter relay. The Cougars finished in 1:39.49, just ahead of the previous record of 1:39.80, by Valor Christian in 2016.

Niwot also won the girls 800 medley relay and swept the individual 800 meters, with Madison Shults winning the girls race and Zane Bergen the boys race.

In the girls shot put, Northfield junior Giavonna Meeks was the overwhelming favorite, but injured her ankle during warm-ups and was taken to the hospital. Meeks, who won the discus on Thursday, was unable to compete. In her absence, Skyview senior Bahati Nabindu won the state title, with a season-best throw of 36 feet, 5.5 inches.

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Class 3A

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

Two down, one to go for Joshua Medina of Alamosa.

On Friday, the senior won the 800-meter run and 3,200-meter run for the first state titles of his career.

“It still hasn’t really sunk in,” he said. “It’s kind of unreal.”

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

Runner-up at the state cross country meet earlier this year, Medina had an exceptional time of 9:28.27 in the 3,200 meters, beating Gunnison’s Alex Baca – who beat Medina in cross country – by nearly eight seconds.

In the 800, he hung on to post a time of 1:54.78 and get the win.

“All week I’ve been telling myself I’m going to triple crown, so it wasn’t unexpected,” said Medina, who will aim for the 1,600-meter title on Saturday. “I would say I expected to win, but it was certainly a lot tougher than I thought it was going to be. With around 300 left (in the 800), I didn’t think I was going to win. I was just able to dig deep and pull through.”

Medina closed the 3,200 meters with a 63-second split, by far his fastest of the eight laps.

“I think they were both just kind of surreal,” he said. “I feel like the 800 afterwards was a lot more exciting  because I didn’t think I was going to come back on him and I did. The 3,200, pulling away like I did felt really good.”

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

While Medina is closing his career strong, Classical Academy’s Anna Willis is starting her career on a high note.

The freshman won the girls pole vault, becoming the fourth Willis sister to win the event at state for TCA. Andrea Willis won state titles from 2014-16, Erika Willis in 2017 and 2018 and Kristina Willis in 2019.

Anna posted a winning vault of 12 feet, 6 inches. She came up just short of the 3A state meet record set by Erika in 2018 (12-9). Andrea has the Colorado prep record, at 13-9 in 2016.

On the girls side, other champions included Peak to Peak’s Allison Beasley with a 22-second personal-best in the 3,200 meters (11:02.51); Jefferson Academy’s Aaliyah Robinson in the long jump (17-8.5); Lamar’s Alexandria Tice in the shot put (40-5.25); Coal Ridge’s Mikayla Cheney in the 800 (2:15.22); Eaton in the 800 medley relay (1:51.10); and Moffat County in the 800-meter relay (1:45.46).

On the boys side, other champions included Lutheran’s Noah Kelly in the pole vault (14 feet); Classical Academy’s Mitchell Anderson in the discus (150-2); Sterling’s Tucker Myers in the triple jump (45-2.75); and University in the 800-meter relay (1:29.79).

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Class 2A

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

Aiming for a team title, the Cedaredge girls took a big step forward on Friday with a pair of wins in relays. The Bruins took home state titles in the 800 medley relay and 800-meter relay and lead the team race, 34-23 over Hayden.

Seniors Baylee Harris and Kimmy Milholland teamed with junior Bailey Nelson and sophomore Kylee Terry to post a time of 1:52.55 in the medley, beating second-place Hayden by more than two seconds.

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

In the 800 relay, Harris, Nelson and Terry teamed with senior Kammie Henderson to post a time of 1:49.62, just edging Hoehne by .25 of a second.

In other girls finals, Holyoke’s Lauren Herman won the discus with a throw of 126 feet, 1 inch; Isabel Case of Colorado Springs Christian won the 800 meters (2:23.41); and Hannah Grover of Platte Canyon won the pole vault (9-5) in a jump-off.

On the boys side, Wiggins junior Mohamed Ibrahim had a big day in the shot put. Although he came up short of his personal best, Ibrahim had a throw of 56 feet, 4 inches to win the title by nearly six feet over Wray’s Bryant Schoenthal (50-8). On Thursday, Ibrahim was second to Schoenthal in the discus.

Also on Friday, Connor Williams of Crested Butte pulled an upset in the 800 meters. Seeded fifth coming in, he ran a blistering time of 1:54.21 – more than 10 seconds better than his season-best – to win the title. Custer County’s Micah Zeller, the favorite coming in, also had a season-best time (1:57.61) to finish second.

Centauri took home a state title in the boys 800 relay, posting a time of 1:31.60.

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Class 1A

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

Just a sophomore, Maggie Haase of Eads had never been to state before this week, but she has looked comfortable at Jeffco Stadium.

On Friday, Haase won the girls high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 3 inches, and then finished third in the triple jump.

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

“It was very exciting,” she said. I’ve never been to a state tournament before and I was just really looking forward to it. I’m so glad we could still have it with everything going on.”

Haase was favored to win both events and set a personal best in the high jump. In the triple jump, she came up short of her best, but still posted a solid leap of 33 feet, 9.5 inches.

Lone Star’s Alivia Weathers had a season-best jump of 34-8 to win the title, while Merino’s Taysa Conger had her best leap of the season (34-6) to finish second.

“I’m not disappointed getting third,” Haase said. “I’m just happy to be here. I’m happy for the other two jumpers. They deserve it.”

Heritage Christian dominated in the 3,200-meter relays, sweeping the titles. The boys team posted a time of 9:08.64 to win by 21 seconds, while the girls finished their race in 10:46.85 to win by nearly 11 seconds.

In other girls finals, Brakelle Westphal of Springfield won the 800 meters (2:28.93) and helped her team win the 800-meter relay (1:52.92).

In other boys events, Elbert’s Nick Dahm won the triple jump (41-10.25); DeBeque’s Trevor Lewis won the 800 (2:01.84); Prairie’s Erik Lebsock won the discus (138-4); and Cheyenne Wells had a strong final kick to win the 800 relay (1:36.30).

LAKEWOOD — Mountain Vista won a trilling 3-2 game over Valor Christian to win the Class 5A baseball championship on Friday.

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Coverage

: Pitching propels Mountain Vista to 5A baseball state championship

: The 5A baseball bracket

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Mountain Vista 3, Valor Christian 2

By Paul Shepardson and Paul DiSalvo

• Link to gallery

(Paul DiSalvo/PaulDiSalvoPhotography.com)

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Valor Christian 6, Fairview 4

By Paul Shepardson and Paul DiSalvo

• Link to gallery

(Paul Shepardson)

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

LAKEWOOD – Perfect weather led to a record-breaking day for the top pole vaulters in Class 4A on Thursday at the state meet at Jefferson County Stadium.

Thompson Valley’s Becker Ell and Silver Creek’s Megan Kelleghan both broke Class 4A state meet records en route to winning their first state titles.

Ell cleared 16 feet to cruise to the title and top the previous mark of 15-8.5, set by Sam Pierson of Pueblo South in 2006.

“It feels kind of surreal, especially because I’ve been trying at it for the last two or three meets and just getting closer and closer,” said Ell, a senior. “It just feels unreal, to be honest. I’m so stoked.”

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

Ell had been the heavy favorite, coming in with a previous best of 15-7, nearly two feet ahead of anyone else. Still, he had to perform on the biggest stage.

“Nerves at the state meet your last year, it’s always kind of iffy and nerve-wracking, but I just went out there and wanted to have some fun and try to do as best as I could,” he said.

Kelleghan, just a sophomore, was also a heavy favorite and delivered with a vault of 13-4.5, a half inch above the previous mark of 13-4 by Andrea Willis of The Classical Academy in 2016.

“That was great,” she said. “It was very exciting because I’ve been so close. … Today it just pieced together. I was scared at first because there was supposed to be rain and wind. It ended up being perfect weather, so I’m very relieved with it and happy I was able to clear that.”

Kelleghan had a previous best of 13 feet, with nobody else better than 10-9 coming in. If there was pressure, however, she didn’t feel it.

“More pressure on myself, personally,” she said. “Even when I’m with people who vault close to me I try to stay in  my own little bubble around myself. You can’t compete against people in this because it’s all about the bar, it’s all about your form. It’s you and your own self. That’s what I try to think about.”

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

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Class 5A

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

Poudre’s Rhys Travis was the star on what is typically a light day for the state’s largest classification.

Only four state titles were awarded in 5A boys on Thursday, but Travis took two of them.

A junior, Travis won the boys high jump and triple jump. He was favored coming into state. In the high jump, Travis had a season-best leap of 6 feet, 7 inches, topping his previous best by two inches. In the triple jump, he was under his season best, but still had a leap of 46 feet, 3 inches to win the title.

Travis wasn’t the only athlete from Fort Collins to win a state title on Thursday.

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

Brooke Naughton of Fort Collins won the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 7 inches. The junior was the favorite coming in.

In the boys shot put, Braiden Dishman of Fossil Ridge was projected to win and he came through. The senior had a throw of 52 feet, 3.25 inches to claim his title.

Also in field event, Lakewood senior Amanda Opp had a season-best throw of 40 feet, 9.5 inches to win the girls shot put, while Grandview senior Melody Nwagwu had a leap of 39 feet, 9 inches to win the girls triple jump.

On the track, just one event – the 3,200-meter relay – had a final in Class 5A. Cherry Creek cruised to the title on the girls side, with a time of 9 minutes, 5.73 seconds, while Mountain Vista won the boys title, in 7:57.13.

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Class 4A

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

At the most recent state track and field meet, in 2019, Niwot swept the boys and girls team titles. The Cougars are aiming for a repeat performance this year and got off to a great start Thursday.

Senior Lucca Fulkerson won the girls 3,200 meters, with teammate Mia Prok finishing second. That duo then led the Cougars to a win in the 3,200 relay.

“Everybody has trained so hard, so it’s definitely within grasp,” Fulkerson said of a team championship. “Every day everybody is out there running as hard as they can, especially in the heat right now.

“I’m so proud of our whole team. Everybody deserves it and they work so hard. I’m so glad that they’re my teammates and I get to race with them.”

Fulkerson, who had three top-seven medals as a sophomore in 2019, won her first individual title in the 3,200.

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

“It was definitely amazing,” she said. “I didn’t really think about anything until the last 20 meters, because I didn’t want to think with the last lap to go. It was really amazing and I was so excited.”

Niwot had four top-eight finishers in the girls 3,200 and scored 35 points on the day.

The boys, meanwhile, were led by junior Zane Bergen, who won the 3,200 meters and anchored the Cougars’ victory in the 3,200 relay.

In the 3,200, Niwot’s Simon Saia was second, with Grayden Rauba fourth. The Cougars closed the day with 34 team points.

“Kind of the plan going in was try to set up the race so that we could score as many team points as possible,” Bergen said. “We’re going for the team championship and we needed to score a decent amount of points in the two-mile to make that happen.

“It’s really, really cool (to win an individual title), but, like I said, I just came here to score the most points for the team as possible. I’m happy that we did that today in both events.”

The girls also set a 4A state meet record in the 800-meter relay prelims, posting a time of 1:39.72.

In the boys discus, Avery Shunneson of Thomas Jefferson won the title and set a new 4A state meet record. The Princeton-bound  Shunneson had a throw of 192 feet, 6 inches to shatter the record of 188-6 previously set by Pueblo East’s Kain Medrano in 2019.

In other events, Mitchell’s Daryon Wilson won the boys long jump with a leap of 23-5.25; Mullen’s Agur Dwol won the girls long jump with a leap of 18-11.25; and Northfield’s Giovanna Meeks won the girls discus with a throw of 141-2.

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Class 3A

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

Jefferson Academy’s Crisly Kelly-Cannon’s freshman track and field season was supposed to be in 2020, but the pandemic prevented that from happening. Based on what the sophomore has done so far in is state meet debut, it would have been fun to see what he could have done as a ninth-grader.

On Thursday, Kelly-Cannon won the first finals event he has competed in as a high schooler and qualified for several others throughout the meet. His mark of 23 feet, 1.5 inches in the long jump was also a Class 3A state meet record.

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

“My freshman year was cancelled so I haven’t been to a state meet before,” Kelly-Cannon said. “It was weird because I went into my freshman year all hyped up and everything. I was ready to get started and then I had to take a year off. That threw us all off but I just hit the gym and started getting better and better.

“I’m feeling really good. I started off with the 100 today and PR’d in that. So that set me up for the long jump and energized me. In the 200, we ran into some headwind so that’s alright. It was a pretty good first day.”

Kelly-Cannon’s teammate Sierra Haberman won the 3A girls high jump, clearing 5-4.

In one of the most exciting races of the season, the Liberty Common 3,200-meter relay team edged The Classical Academy (8:15.11) in a photo finish to claim the title with a time of 8:15.08.

Holy Family’s Brody Welch won the 3A boys shot put with a mark of 50-4.5.

“They were getting close and I knew they could pop one as far as I did,” said Welch, who finished ninth as a freshman in discus and will try and improve on that tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. “Once I saw the last guys throw, I knew I had it.”

The Berthoud girls won the 3,200-meter relay with a time of 9:26.23.

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

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Class 2A

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

Dayspring Christian’s Eboselulu Omofoma didn’t waste any time in winning her first state title.

Still just a freshman, Omofoma cleared a personal best 5-3.5 in the Class 2A high jump to win the state championship. It was an exciting opening day to her first state meet, but Omofoma also hopes her early-career victory is a sign of things to come.

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

“I totally thought these other girls would come in and take first, second, third place,” Omofoma said. “But I PR’d by half an inch, so that’s great. God gave me the strength to do it. That’s it. I hope I can do better in the next years.”

Over on the track, Thursday was a good day for Buena Vista. Demons girls picked up a win in the 3,200 courtesy of Zaila Smith, who finished first with a time of 12:00.18.

The Wray girls won the 3,200-meter relay title with a time of 10:30.38.

Hayden’s Alison Rajzer won the girls triple jump, clearing 35-7.

On the boys side, Peyton won the 3,200-meter relay with a time of 8:29.76. Custer County’s Micah Zeller won the 3,200 with a time of 9:47.00.

Yuma’s Braden Smith cleared 13-01 to claim the pole vault gold.

True to his name, Limon’s Jeremiah Leeper won the triple jump with a mark of 42-6.75.

Wray’s Bryant Schoenthal won the 2A boys discus with a mark of 173-8.

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Class 1A

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

There were no preliminary races in Class 1A on Thursday, but several state titles were claimed in the classification.

In the 800 medley relay, Springfield won the gold with a time of 1:57.77.

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

Heritage Christian’s Ainsley Stanton won the girls 3,200 in 12:44.87.

Lone Star’s Alivia Weathers won the 1A girls pole vault, clearing 10 feet.

Elbert’s Olivia Lay wont the discus with a mark of 127-5.

On the boys side, Heritage Christian runner Jack Nauman’s 10:27.15 was plenty fast enough to win the 3,200.

DeBeque’s Jaden Jordan won the long jump with a mark of 21-6.50.

Granada’s John Hainer threw 45-0.25 to win the discus.

LAKEWOOD — Fairview and Valor Christian shrugged off elimination to advance to the final day of the Class 5A state baseball tournament.

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Coverage:

• :Fairview and Valor Christian will play for a shot at Mountain Vista in 5A baseball title game
• : 5A baseball bracket

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Fairview 4, Mountain Vista 2

By Paul Shepardson

• Link to gallery

(Paul Shepardson)

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Valor Christian 10, Fort Collins 1

By Paul Shepardson and Paul DiSalvo

• Link to gallery

(Paul DiSalvo/PaulDiSalvoPhotography.com)

(Max Potter)

LAKEWOOD – Fairview knocked off Mountain Vista, 4-2, behind a stellar outing from Finley Daecher in the first game of the day at All-Star Park in Lakewood. An offensive outburst from Valor Christian gave the Eagles all they needed to take care of Fort Collins, 10-1, in Game 2.

Fairview and Valor Christian will square off at 10 a.m. on Friday for the right to play Mountain Vista in the 5A championship game, which is slated for 1 p.m.

Finley Daecher was the story for the Knights, as the left-handed pitcher kept the Golden Eagles off balance all morning from the sidearm slot. The senior went 6 2/3 innings and only allowed two runs while striking out three.

“Our defense is amazing and they just backed me up all game. I was able to work both sides of the zone and that was our game plan, to keep them on their toes,” Daecher said. “It was great to go through a lot of innings so we can keep some arms fresh for tomorrow and I’m glad I could come through for my guys.”

Vista had some terrific chances to strike, loading the bases in the fifth and putting the tying run on base again in the seventh, but could not scratch anything across. Coach Castillo turned to his bullpen with two outs in the seventh and gave the ball to freshman Anton Keith, who came in and got a ground out to shortstop to nail down his first career save.

“The goal was to play in the last game of the season and win it,” Fairview head coach David Castillo said. “Obviously, to do that we are going to need everybody. Looking at matchups to find the best way to win, we saw that (Finley) was our guy and in order to get to tomorrow we needed something, and he did it today.”

Fairview was clutch when it got into a jam, stranding 11 Golden Eagles on base.

“They hit some balls hard, but we made key plays when we needed to,” Castillo continued. “The defense has been there for us all year and we have been practicing all week on our football field to get used to playing on turf. The guys stayed calm and minimized damage when they needed to, especially in that first inning and that was huge for our success today.”

The second game of the day started with a bang, as starting pitcher Brant Kragel tripled to the gap in left center. Blake Wilson was key to the Valor Christian offense, roping a double off the wall in left center in the first then scoring the next batter. An inning later, he hit a fly ball just left of the 390 sign in center field that plated three runs and put him on third base.

“Blake (Wilson) is one of the most underrated players in the state,” Valor coach Keith Wahl said. “He is a middle infielder whose got pop, has a great work ethic and throws 90 mph across the diamond. We are so blessed to have him.”

Every hitter for the Valor Christian side reached base and that is exactly what coach Wahl preaches.

“We talk about quality at bats all the time,” Wahl said. “Hit the ball with maximum velocity, have a plan at the plate and execute that plan. These guys never chase outside the zone and do a great job at the dish. These guys are dialed in right now.”

Kragel was tremendous both on the bump and at the plate, throwing a complete game and only allowing six hits. He reached base safely in four of five at-bats and started the game with a triple on the first pitch

“I tried to come out and be aggressive and put myself in a spot to help the team get the win,” Kragel said. “Starting the day with a triple, I felt like it was going to be a pretty good day. We are going to have a great chance tomorrow and I am excited for the chance to compete.”

(Max Potter)

ENGLEWOOD – Dillon Pless found the back of the net 40 seconds into the overtime period to lift Mountain Vista over Valor Christian, 10-9, in the Class 5A boys lacrosse state championship.

It was the first state title game appearance in the Mountain Vista program’s history, and the Golden Eagles capitalized on it to win their first state championship.

Pless led the charge on offense for the Golden Eagles, netting three goals, but the teams fought for 48 minutes, as neither team had a lead larger than three. The score was even at nine after Gunnar Fellows struck for his third game and brought Valor Christian to even.

As the whistle sounded, Valor took possession but a turnover gave Mountain Vista a chance to seal it. Taking the ball in from the left side, Pless shot on the near post and connected to send Vista home victorious.

“We have been here all tournament, so this was nothing new to us,” Pless said. “I knew I had the matchup, so I just took him to the net and was able to finish. I cannot describe the feeling when I saw it go in, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am so happy I could come through for my teammates.”

The Golden Eagles have been in similar situations before. Mountain Vista posted three overtime winners just to get reach the championship game.

“This is huge for us as a program,” Mountain Vista head coach Matthew Plitnick said. “We have eight seniors that we are losing, but all eight played an incredible role for our team, it is going to be tough to see them go. We have some great freshman coming in and our sophomore class is the best in the state, so we are in pretty good shape going forward.”

Plitnick said the key to the winner was staying calm.

“We knew if we got it around to the back side, we would have a great look and he just buried it, I couldn’t be prouder,” Plitnick said.

Both teams were scoreless in the first quarter because of the terrific goalie play on both sides. Valor Christian keeper Mitch Gutsgall made save after save in goal for the Eagles and Nate Kopec kept pace, standing as a brick wall in net for Vista.

“We have 22 guys on this team that can all play great lacrosse and my teammates mean everything to me,” Kopec said. “It was a battle all game and my defense and I stepped up when we needed to, but this was a team effort.”

Not lost in the game was the effort put forth by both Griffin Mallory and Jake Likes, along with Gunnar Fellows, these three scored eight of the VCHS goals.

Valor Christian played in its first championship game at the 5A classification. The Eagles have a pair of Class 4A state championships already.

ENGLEWOOD — The boys lacrosse season came to a thrilling end as Mountain Vista and Cheyenne Mountain claimed state championships.

[divider]

Mountain Vista 10, Valor Christian 9

Story | Bracket

By Steve Abeyta

• Link to gallery

(Steve Abeyta)

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Cheyenne Mountain 5, Evergreen 4

Story | Bracket

By Steve Abeyta

• Link to gallery

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

Between Classes 5A and 4A, Lauren Lehigh won a pair of girls golf state championships during her time at Loveland and was the last high school player to win a 5A state title in Colorado.

Her younger sister, Katelyn Lehigh, had designs on extending the Lehigh family’s reign over Class 5A but the global pandemic cancelled the 2020 season, leaving the Loveland junior with a long while to heap expectations upon herself for when her opportunity would finally come. On Day 1 of the 5A state tournament at the newly redesigned City Park Golf Course, Lehigh didn’t succumb to the pressure of living up to her family name in the final days of Season C.

Carding a two-over 72 on Monday, Lehigh will open Tuesday’s final round in a tie for the lead with senior teammate Taylor Bandemer. The duo’s first-day effort positioned their Loveland team with a 10-stroke lead in the team competition.

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

“My freshman year, we had state at Harmony and it got rained out to one day,” Lehigh said. “So, that’s the only state experience I’ve had because COVID cancelled last year. So, I was definitely really nervous coming into today. I feel like I set expectations for myself over the past couple of years to play well. I’ve played well all high school season and I just tried to settle down and play my game because you can’t win it on the first day.

“The fear going in was that I would do something, it would blow up, and everything I’ve been working towards for the past two years would just suddenly be gone. That’s not the case, so I’m really happy.”

Both Lehigh, who tied for eighth in 2019, and Bandemer stayed steady throughout Monday’s opening round. Bandemer birdied No. 8 and No. 13 to lower her score after starting 3-over through the first five holes. Lehigh birdied No. 9 to make the turn at 1-over and posted a lone bogey on the back nine to stay at 2-over on a mild-weather June day that didn’t see any player go low.

“I played pretty solid golf. I hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens,” Lehigh said. “I couldn’t seem to get a put to the hole but my midrange putting really saved me today. I made a lot of five- and 10-footers for par. But nothing went drastically wrong, so I’m good.”

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

It has been over two years since the last girls golf state championships and since 2018 that Eaglecrest’s Emma Bryant won the 5A title as a freshman. Still in the hunt to reclaim the title from the Lehigh sisters, Bryant shot a 5-over 75 and will be three strokes behind the co-leaders when play resumes on Tuesday morning.

Right on the heals of the Loveland pair, Prairie View junior Lily Nelson sits third after carding a 73. Fossil Ridge junior Olivia Steen, who was fourth in 2019, is currently fourth at 74. Rock Canyon’s Grace Dunkleberger, who tied Lehigh for eights place in 2019, and Mountain Vista’s Abby Aeschleman are tied at 75 with Bryant in fifth place.

Ten strokes behind Loveland (225) in the team competition, Rock Canyon (235) will begin the second day in second place. Arapahoe (248) is third 23 strokes behind the front-running team.

“I think our girls were really tough and I’m really proud of how they played,”  Rock Canyon coach Ron Saul said. “They had some adversity out there and I really expect that they’re going to make a run at it tomorrow. We’re 10 shots back but you can make that up in a heartbeat. And they’ve got the talent to do it.”

Fossil Ridge won the team title in 2019. Loveland was second, just one stroke back. Cherry Creek was third.

Pairing and tee times for Day 2 will be released Monday night.

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

ENGLEWOOD – Four teams took the field at Englewood High School on Saturday to decide which two would battle for the Class 5A state championship in Season D. The potential for several firsts was established when Mountain Vista and Valor Christian emerged victorious.

Next Tuesday, those two teams will return to Englewood to one another in the championship game at 7:30 p.m. It will be both teams’ first appearance in the Class 5A title game.

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(4) Mountain Vista 13, (1) Cherry Creek 12

There have been many big moments in Mountain Vista boys lacrosse history, but arguably the biggest of the them all now belongs to Cam Brown.

With his team battling defending state champion Cherry Creek in overtime of a state semifinal game at Englewood High School on Saturday, Brown shouldered his way past his defender and scored from the left side to send his team home with a 13-12 victory. Thanks to the senior’s golden goal, the Golden Eagles will play for a golden trophy when they make their first Class 5A state championship appearance on Tuesday.

“I knew as soon as we got the ball in overtime, the game was over,” Brown said. “Our offense is good and we were playing Vista lacrosse all-around. I got by my guy and I just did what I had to do. We’re the hardest working team in the state and we knew we had a shot at state. Now, we’re here.”

Saturday’s penultimate-round game may have ended in favor of Mountain Vista, but it began quite differently. The defending champions raced out to a 4-0 lead before the Golden Eagles scored five unanswered goals to get back in front. The contest was tied eight different times.

“We knew it was going to be an absolute dogfight,” Mountain Vista head coach Matthew Plitnick said. “They’ve got great coaches over there. They’ve got great players. We dug ourselves a huge hole early that I was not very happy with, but then we started to have confidence in the way that we were prepared. We started executing a lot better and this is the first time Vista has ever played for a state championship in lacrosse. We have about 18 kids on the team, so we have a real small roster and I’m real proud of the eight seniors we have to the team because they all play a big role for us.”

Cherry Creek’s Dakota Johnson and Thomas Power each scored four goals. Mountain Vista’s Dillon Pless, Caleb Bonjean and Brown each recorded a hat trick.

In Tuesday’s championship game, the Golden Eagles will face No. 2 Valor Christian. Mountain Vista dealt Valor Christian its sole loss of the season back on May 14.

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(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

(2) Valor Christian 10, (6) Regis Jesuit 7

The Valor Christian boys lacrosse team has won two Class 4A state championships in the last six years and the Eagles would certainly love to add a 5A trophy to their growing collection.

They’ll soon get their chance.

In the state semifinals on Saturday at Englewood High School, No. 2 Valor Christian won 10-7 over No. 6 Regis Jesuit to reach the 5A state championship game for the first time. After missing out on what they believed to be a promising season when the global pandemic shut down high school sports in 2020, the Eagles are even more motivated to get the job done in Season D.

“It means everything,” Eagles senior Griffin Mallory said. “Last year was devastating because we had a great senior class. These guys this year, we really came together and we knew what our goals were from the beginning. We wanted to go to state. It didn’t stop with a day of work. We came out every single day and this is the result.”

With two familiar conference rivals squaring off, Saturday’s game went back and forth throughout the bulk of the contest with both defenses setting the tone early on. The score was tied four times before Valor Christian became the first team to pull ahead by more than a goal in the third quarter. The Eagles led 6-5 going into the fourth quarter and scored four unanswered goals to start the fourth quarter to distance themselves from their opponents.

Valor Christian led by as many as five goals in the final frame before Regis Jesuit was able to mount a late comeback attempt and cut the led to three before the final buzzer. Valor Christian’s Jake Likes led all scorers with four goals, while teammate Gunnar Fellows and Mallory each had two. Will McFadden led Regis Jesuit with a pair of goals.

In the championship game, Valor Christian will face a Mountain Vista team that beat the Eagles, 12-10, during the regular season. The blemish stands as Valor Christian’s only loss to date in Season D.

“We’re excited. We really were hoping for Vista,” Valor Christian head coach Josh Hoffman said. “That’s our only loss for the year, so we’ve been wanting to play them and we’re excited to play them again. Hopefully, we’ll be ready to go.”

Tuesday’s 5A title game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Englewood High School.

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)