The 2014-15 boys basketball players of the year, by class. From left: Miles Caldon, Sanford (2A); Justin Bassey, Colorado Academy (3A); De’Ron Davis, Overland (5A); Justinian Jessup, Longmont (4A); Bryan Ortiz, Holly (1A).
The 2014-15 all-state boys 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.
Ralston Valley and Boulder have joined the Class 5A girls soccer rankings from CHSAANow.com this week.
The Mustangs are No. 9, while Boulder is No. 10.
Each of the four No. 1 teams stayed the same this week, including Rock Canyon (5A), The Classical Academy (4A), Colorado Academy (3A) and Front Range Christian (2A).
With many programs heading out of state for spring break, or simply taking time off, the next rankings will release on April 6.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association.
Rock Canyon is the new No. 1 team in this week’s Class 5A girls soccer ranking. The Jaguars received six of the 10 first-place votes from CHSAANow.com’s voters.
But that turned out to be just the start of the upheaval in 5A, where five teams received at least one first-place vote.
Arapahoe jumped from No. 9 to No. 2, and four newcomers joined the poll this week. Those new teams: No. 4 ThunderRidge, No. 6 Broomfield, No. 7 Grandview and No. 10 Fairview.
Mountain Vista is No. 3 this week, and Pine Creek is No. 5.
Things weren’t much more stable in 4A, where The Classical Academy vaulted from unranked to No. 1. Evergreen went from sixth to second, Valor Christian from eighth to third and Ponderosa from unranked to fourth.
Wheat Ridge (No. 9) also joined the 4A poll this week.
The No. 1 teams in 3A (Colorado Academy) and 2A (Front Range Christian) did stay put this week.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association.
Ralston Valley 28, Rocky Mountain 19, Cherokee Trail 14, Smoky Hill 9, Heritage 6, Cherry Creek 4, Doherty 4, Fort Collins 4, Boulder 3, Liberty 1.
Dropped out
Ralston Valley (4), Cherry Creek (7), Fort Collins (8), Smoky Hill (10).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
The Classical Academy (4)
3-0-0
93
–
3-0-0
2
Evergreen (4)
3-0-0
90
6
3-0-0
3
Valor Christian (1)
3-0-0
88
8
3-0-0
4
Ponderosa (1)
5-0-0
72
–
5-0-0
5
Cheyenne Mountain (1)
2-2-0
57
1
2-2-0
6
Green Mountain (1)
3-0-0
47
2
3-0-0
7
Niwot
0-1-0
38
5
0-1-0
8
Lewis-Palmer
2-1-0
36
3
2-1-0
9
Wheat Ridge
3-1-0
35
–
3-1-0
10
Battle Mountain
3-0-0
23
7
3-0-0
Others receiving votes:
Vista Ridge 18, Mullen 17, Air Academy 16, Pueblo South 7, Elizabeth 4, Littleton 3, Palmer Ridge 3, Discovery Canyon 2, Durango 1, Falcon 1, Holy Family 1, Steamboat Springs 1.
Dropped out
Sand Creek (4), Air Academy (9), Palmer Ridge (10).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Colorado Academy (6)
3-1-0
96
1
3-1-0
2
Kent Denver (4)
3-0-0
92
2
3-0-0
3
Jefferson Academy
0-0-0
70
3
0-0-0
4
The Academy
2-0-0
63
5
2-0-0
5
St. Mary’s
0-2-0
62
4
0-2-0
6
Coal Ridge
1-2-0
36
6
1-2-0
7
Liberty Common
0-0-0
29
9
0-0-0
8
Sterling
0-0-0
24
10
0-0-0
9
Manitou Springs
0-1-0
18
8
0-1-0
10
Peak to Peak
2-0-0
17
–
2-0-0
Others receiving votes:
Frontier Academy 11, KIPP 9, Faith Christian 6, Alamosa 5, Estes Park 5, St. Mary’s Academy 3, Fountain Valley 2, Machebeuf 1.
Dropped out
Frontier Academy (7).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Front Range Christian (7)
3-0-0
35
1
3-0-0
2
Colorado Rocky Mountain
2-0-0
28
–
2-0-0
3
Cornerstone Christian
1-0-0
18
4
1-0-0
4
Denver Christian
1-1-0
12
2
1-1-0
5
Evangelical Christian
0-1-0
4
5
0-1-0
Others receiving votes:
Belleview Christian 2, Vail Mountain 2, Center 1, Clear Creek 1, Dawson School 1, Rocky Mountain Lutheran 1.
GOLDEN – It doesn’t surprise Lutheran boys basketball coach Ryan Bredow that three of the final four teams standing in the Class 3A state tournament are from the Metro League.
With those teams going at it night in and night out during the regular season and district play, the level of competition is bound to help give teams an edge come tournament time. But if the Lions want to create an all-Metro League championship game like last year, first they will have to take down Colorado Springs Christian.
“CSCS is outstanding. We know that any time you get this deep in the tournament, every team is good,” Bredow said Thursday after dispatching an upstart Brush squad 66-51 at Lockridge Arena on the Colorado School of Mines campus. “Every team’s got really good players and everybody’s got matchup problems. We’ll come in (Friday) and keep things focused on us and make a run at it.”
Lutheran (21-4) takes on CSCS (22-1) at 5:30 p.m., with Faith Christian (23-2) meeting Colorado Academy (19-6) in the other semifinal.
The Lions had their hands full in the first half with a Beetdiggers team that eliminated Kent Denver and Sterling last weekend. Lutheran led by only six points at halftime before a strong start and end to the third quarter helped put Brush (13-12) away.
“When we went in at halftime, it’s just a senior heavy group that just kind of dialed in,” Bredow said. “We made a few adjustments defensively, and I thought we took better care of the ball in the second half against a little bit of pressure. I thought our shot selection was better in the second half as well.”
Brandon Crocker led the Lions with 20 points. James Willis added 18, Brendan Edgerley had 14 and Josh Clausen finished with 11.
Edgerley had a big steal early in the second half that led to a 3-point play, and the senior also had a steal-and-layup combo late in the third quarter. Edgerley scored six of the team’s seven points during one stretch to push Lutheran’s lead to 50-35.
“I just thought Brendan played really well. He triggers so many things for us on both ends of the floor, and the rest of the guys really feed off his energy,” Bredow said. “When he’s making plays, we’re a much better team.”
Kyle Rosenbrock led Brush with 14 points, all of which came in the second half. Austin Garcia scored 12 points and Niko Guzman added 10.
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(1) Faith Christian 61, (9) Jefferson Academy 54, OT
The Eagles outscored Jefferson Academy 9-2 in overtime after the Jaguars hit two late free throws to force the extra session.
Jefferson Academy led for much of the way and was up by seven going into the fourth quarter before Faith Christian rallied. Grant Harkness hit the go-ahead bucket, and added a free throw with 4.8 seconds left to make it 52-50. Harkness was whistled for a foul though, and the Jaguars’ Joe Rodriguez calmly sank both shots to tie the game.
In overtime, Chance Bazz hit a go-ahead 3-pointer, and Gabe Hegarty followed with a three-point play to make it a six-point advantage.
Harkness scored 18 points and Spencer Bazz added 17 for the Eagles. Joe Raff paced the Jaguars with 19 points.
[divider]
(2) Colorado Springs Christian 59, (7) Alamosa 44
Sophomore Justin Engesser and junior Sam Howard combined to score 40 of the team’s 59 points as the Lions rolled past Alamosa.
Engesser was 6-of-8 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line and added eight rebounds as well. Howard was 8-of-11 and blocked four shots.
Josh Cody led the Mean Moose with 14 points and Ryan Brubacher added 13.
[divider]
(4) Colorado Academy 60, (28) Bayfield 44
The Mustangs outscored Bayfield 29-18 in the second half to move back into the state semifinals.
Colorado Academy, which finished second a year ago, received a game-high 21 points from junior Christian Hyatt and 17 more from Justin Bassey. Will Creedon finished with 10 points.
Preston Hardy and Trevor Gabbard led Bayfield with a combined 23 points.
Don’t tell Bayfield they were the No. 28 team in this years 3A boys state basketball tournament.
The Wolverines squeaked into this year’s field of 32 teams and were placed near the bottom of the pecking order. But it was they who had the last laugh Friday night. Their reward for making the tournament was to travel to No. 5 overall seed The Pinnacle.
Challenge accepted.
And when it was over and done with, the Timberwolves never stood a chance. The Wolverines pulled the 3A upset of the night with a 75-54 win to advance to the Sweet 16 where they’ll face Eaton.
[divider]
(4) Manitou Springs 47, (29) Jefferson Academy 28
This was anything but a cakewalk for the favored Mustangs. In the second quarter they were facing a 17-0 deficit, but would eventually light their fuse and go on a 47-11 run to end the game.
Sophomore Shelby Megyeri paced the Mustangs with 14 points on the night, 12 of them coming in the second half.
[divider]
(22) Brush 52, (11) Kent Denver 50
The Sun Devils found themselves down by two, but had the ball with under 10 seconds to go. They couldn’t convert on the possession and the Beetdiggers advanced to the Sweet 16.
They’ll face Sterling on Saturday where it will be the fourth matchup between the two teams this year.
[divider]
(25) Liberty Common 67, (8) Bennett 51
Liberty common took the court for their first ever playoff game at the 3A level Friday night. They didn’t disappoint their supporters or themselves as they convincingly knocked off Bennett to advance to the Sweet 16.
Columbine opens the year as the No. 1 team in Class 5A girls soccer. (Dennis Pleuss)
Defending champions are on top of three of CHSAANow.com’s four preseason girls soccer rankings. The fourth? Well, it’s a new classification this season.
Columbine (5A), Cheyenne Mountain (4A) and Colorado Academy (3A) are all coming off of titles last season, and all opened the year at No. 1 when the poll was released on Monday.
Front Range Christian leads the first-ever 2A poll. The Falcons made the 3A state tournament field last season.
In 5A, Columbine got four of the 10 first-place votes to edge No. 2 Mountain Vista. Mountain Vista, Rock Canyon (No. 3) and Pine Creek (No. 5) each received two first-place votes.
Ralston Valley, last year’s runner-up, is No. 4 in 5A’s preseason poll.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association.
Wheat Ridge 18, Montrose 10, Ponderosa 8, Silver Creek 8, Longmont 6, Centaurus 5, D’Evelyn 5, The Classical Academy 5, Glenwood Springs 4, Pueblo Centennial 4, Discovery Canyon 3, Mullen 3, Thompson Valley 2, Standley Lake 1, Steamboat Springs 1, Weld Central 1.
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Colorado Academy (9)
0-0-0
99
2
Kent Denver
0-0-0
77
3
Jefferson Academy
0-0-0
70
4
St. Mary’s
0-0-0
62
5
The Academy
0-0-0
53
6
Coal Ridge (1)
0-0-0
48
7
Frontier Academy
0-0-0
39
8
Manitou Springs
0-0-0
22
9
Liberty Common
0-0-0
20
10
Sterling
0-0-0
19
Others receiving votes:
Faith Christian 9, Denver Science & Tech – Stapleton 7, Grand Valley 7, Fountain Valley 6, SkyView Academy 5, Machebeuf 2, Roaring Fork 2, Alamosa 1, St. Mary’s Academy 1.
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Front Range Christian (7)
0-0-0
35
2
Denver Christian
0-0-0
23
3
Dawson School
0-0-0
16
4
Cornerstone Christian
0-0-0
12
5
Evangelical Christian
0-0-0
7
Others receiving votes:
Telluride 5, Resurrection Christian 4, Vail Mountain 3.
Kupcho isn’t pursing a college scholarship, either. She signed a letter-of-intent with Wake Forest in November.
Instead with her future set, Kupcho is focusing on the present – her final high school season which began Thursday.
“I know I won (state), but I want to get our team to state for the first time in my four years, and hopefully we can give that a run,” Kupcho, 17, said. “That’s my overall goal right now and for sure I want to win state again.”
Kupcho’s best round came at the Colorado Open in August when she fired a 66 at Green Valley Ranch Golf Club.
“I would say her strongest part is her driving and her irons,” said Mike Kupcho, Jennifer’s father, and coach. “Her short game has really improved, but she loves to hit driver and she loves to hit greens.”
Jennifer Kupcho coasted to her first state crown a year ago at the Country Club of Colorado in Colorado Springs. Kupcho shot a 2-over-par 146. Valor Christian’s Andrea Ballou was second with a 160 total.
“During my freshman and sophomore years, I was kind of emotional out there (on the course),” said the 5-foot-8 Kupcho, who plans on majoring in business at Wake Forest. “I’ve grown up and figured out how to calm myself down if I make a bad shot, and just do what I need to do to get the job done. I just look at the rating of the course and the difficulty, and I decide what I’m going to shoot that day, and I try and do my best with that goal.”
In 2013, at the Class 4A state tourney Kupcho was runner-up to Montrose’s Kala Keltz by two strokes.
According to the elder Kupcho, his daughter began playing golf at age 5.
Kupcho has signed with Wake Forest. (Courtesy of Mike Kupcho)
“She is just very mentally tough,” coach Kupcho said. “She tunes stuff out and goes after her goals. She isn’t scoreboard watching.”
Kupcho is joined in the Jefferson Academy lineup with fellow all-state selection Mariah Ehrman, who signed with Colorado Mesa University. Ehrman finished ninth in state last season.
“They just want to finish their high school careers really strong and they want our team to get to state,” coach Kupcho said.
Team-wise, Cheyenne Mountain will take aim at winning its third consecutive state championship. In 5A, Regis also will look to win another state title.
Kupcho has ambitions one day of competing on the LPGA Tour.
“I want to play four years in college and then go pro,” Kupcho said. “If it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out, but I want to try and be a pro.”
[divider]
Girls golf preview
Class 5A
Defending individual champion: Michelle Romano, Rock Canyon (graduated)
Defending state champion: Regis Jesuit
Regular season begins: Feb. 26
Regional tournaments: May 4-8
State tournament: May 18-19, The Olde Course, Loveland
Returning all-state golfers: Sydney Gillespie, Sr., Regis Jesuit (1st); Sarah Hunt, Sr., Denver East (1st); Anna Kennedy, Sr., Legend (1st); Ashlyn Kirschner, Sr., Ralston Valley (1st); Sydney Merchant, Jr., Dakota Ridge (1st); Morgan Sahm, Jr., Grandview (1st); Erin Sargent, Jr., Skyline (1st); Mary Weinstein, Jr., Regis Jesuit (1st).
Class 4A
Defending individual champion: Jennifer Kupcho, Sr., Jefferson Academy
Defending state champion: Cheyenne Mountain
Regular season begins: Feb. 26
Regional tournaments: May 4-8
State tournament: May 18-19, River Valley Ranch, Carbondale
Returning all-state players: Leah Donnelly, Jr., Wheat Ridge (1st); Mariah Ehrman, Sr., Jefferson Academy (1st); Courtney Ewing, Sr., Pueblo West (1st); Tori Goodman, Sr., Falcon; (1st); Jennifer Kupcho, Sr., Jefferson Academy (1st); Kiselya Plewe, Jr., Dolores (1st); Emilee Strausburg, Sr., D’Evelyn (1st).
BROOMFIELD — Kent Denver boys basketball came into No. 3 Jefferson Academy’s house on senior night and got the upset, 48-45, Wednesday night.
The game was a back-and-forth battle until Kent started to pull away late in the third quarter. Kent used stifling defense to stretch its lead to 11 before Jefferson hit its first bucket of the quarter with five minutes to go.
Kent took its largest lead of the game, 12, with four minutes to go, but Jefferson started to come back. The Jaguars got to within four points thanks to increased intensity and a pumped-up crowd, but didn’t get much closer than that.
Freshman guard Stone Delaney and junior Matt Wells led Kent Denver, scoring 13 and 11, respectively. Senior captain Andrew Ullman poured in 16 points for Jefferson, who got help from Taylor Teets’ nine points.
ThunderRidge took down No. 1 Regis Jesuit last week, and took over the top spot in the Class 5A boys basketball poll this week.
The Grizzlies received 21 of the 22 first-place votes and amassed 219 total points in rising to the top of CHSAANow.com’s ranking. They beat Regis Jesuit 59-36 on Tuesday.
Regis dropped to No. 2. Behind them, Overand (No. 3) and Eaglecrest (No. 4) held steady while Rock Canyon moved up to No. 5.
Rangeview jumped up four places to No. 6, Dakota Ridge fell to No. 7 and two newcomers were next — eighth-ranked Mountain Vista and No. 9 Cherokee Trail. Chaparral rounds out the 5A ranking.
There was little change to 4A, where Longmont continued to be a unanimous No. 1 selection.
In 3A, Grand Valley joined at No. 9. Faith Christian remained atop that poll.
Likewise, the No. 1 teams in 2A (Resurrection Christian) and 1A (Sangre de Cristo) also stayed the same.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. These will be the final polls of the regular season.
