LAFAYETTE — Treyvon Andres and Sergio Garcia each scored 16 points in Thomas Jefferson’s 66-27 win over Pueblo County on Friday night at the Boulder Valley Invitational.
Tag: Thomas Jefferson
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Photo gallery: Standley Lake girls basketball beats Thomas Jefferson
LAFAYETTE — Standley Lake’s Casey Torbet (29 points) and Meghan DeHerrera (16 points) led the Gators to a 59-25 win over Thomas Jefferson in the opening game of the 14th-annual Boulder Valley Invitational on Tuesday.
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Rangeview, Fossil Ridge move up in 5A boys basketball ranking
(Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com) Rangeview and Fossil Ridge both made big jumps in this week’s CHSAANow.com 5A boys basketball poll.
Rangeview, ranked fifth last week, is up to No. 3 following a 2-0 week. Included was a 74-70 win over then-No. 9 Chaparral.
Fossil Ridge, meanwhile, went from sixth to fourth after going 3-0 last week. The standout win was a 58-51 win over then-No. 3 Eaglecrest.
The 5A ranking continued to be led by Denver East, which has also started 3-0 at the Great Western Shootout in Utah. Overland remained in the No. 2 spot despite going 1-2 at the same tournament.
Highlands Ranch rounds out the 5A top 5.
The other No. 1 teams also stayed the same this week: Valor Christian (4A), Holy Family (3A), Sanford (2A) and Caliche (1A).
Complete rankings for all classes are below.
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CHSAANow.com Boys Basketball Polls
Voted upon by coaches and 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.
Class 5A RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW 1 Denver East (18) 3-0 180 1 3-0 2 Overland 1-2 137 2 1-2 3 Rangeview 2-0 125 5 2-0 4 Fossil Ridge 3-0 124 6 3-0 5 Highlands Ranch 1-0 95 4 1-0 6 Regis Jesuit 2-0 84 7 2-0 7 Eaglecrest 3-1 59 3 3-1 8 Mountain Vista 1-0 58 8 1-0 9 Legend 2-0 30 10 2-0 10 Chaparral 1-1 27 9 1-1 Others receiving votes: ThunderRidge 23, Arapahoe 18, Cherry Creek 7, Fort Collins 6, Grandview 6, Monarch 6, Grand Junction 3, Chatfield 2. Dropped out None. Class 4A RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW 1 Valor Christian (11) 2-0 119 1 2-0 2 Cheyenne Mountain (1) 1-0 96 3 1-0 3 Thomas Jefferson 0-0 78 5 0-0 4 Pueblo East 2-1 76 2 2-1 5 Thompson Valley 3-0 58 8 3-0 6 Longmont 2-0 57 7 2-0 7 Sand Creek 2-0 51 9 2-0 8 Denver South 1-2 44 4 1-2 9 D’Evelyn 2-1 28 6 2-1 10 Golden 3-0 25 – 3-0 Others receiving votes: Falcon 16, Ponderosa 7, Air Academy 3, Mesa Ridge 3, Lewis-Palmer 2, Greeley Central 1, Palmer Ridge 1, Pueblo West 1. Dropped out Lewis-Palmer (10). Class 3A RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW 1 Holy Family (7) 3-0 96 1 3-0 2 Brush (3) 1-0 90 2 1-0 3 Colorado Academy 2-0 73 3 2-0 4 Faith Christian 1-2 61 4 1-2 5 Colorado Springs Christian 0-0 55 5 0-0 6 Bishop Machebeuf 1-0 34 – 1-0 7 Moffat County 0-0 28 7 0-0 8 Aspen 0-0 23 10 0–1 9 Jefferson Academy 0-0 19 9 0-0 10 Kent Denver 1-1 16 6 1-1 Others receiving votes: Sterling 11, Denver Science & Tech 10, Valley 8, Pagosa Springs 7, Eaton 6, The Pinnacle 4, Centauri 3, University 3, Platte Valley 2, Grand Valley 1. Dropped out Eaton (8). Class 2A RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW 1 Sanford (9) 0-0 108 1 0-0 2 Yuma (2) 1-0 93 5 1-0 3 Lutheran 1-1 81 2 1-1 4 Akron 1-0 74 7 1-0 5 Ignacio 3-0 67 6 3-0 6 Resurrection Christian 1-2 41 4 1-2 7 Denver Christian (1) 0-2 35 3 0-2 8 Peyton 1-0 34 – 1-0 9 Limon 1-1 24 8 1-1 10 Simla 1-1 22 9 1-1 Others receiving votes: Swink 16, Rye 13, Haxtun 11, Sedgwick County 6, Alexander Dawson 5, Byers 5, Heritage Christian 5, Meeker 5, Paonia 5, Crowley County 4, Hayden 3, Dayspring Christian 2, Sangre de Cristo 1. Dropped out Swink (10). Class 1A RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW 1 Caliche (6) 2-0 69 1 2-0 2 Hi-Plains (1) 2-0 63 2 2-0 3 McClave 2-0 53 5 2-0 4 Norwood 1-1 48 3 1-1 5 Shining Mountain 2-0 32 4 2-0 6 Vail Christian 1-1 29 8 1-1 7 Prairie 1-1 17 – 1-1 8 Holly 1-1 13 6 1-1 9 Jim Elliot Christian 1-0 12 – 1-0 10 Granada 0-0 10 10 0-0 Others receiving votes: Walsh 9, Fleming 8, Cheyenne Wells 6, Denver Jewish Day 5, Ouray 3, Primero 3, Stratton 3, Arickaree 1, Pawnee 1. Dropped out Fleming (7), Otis (9). -
Denver East leads preseason 5A boys basketball poll
Denver East begins the season ranked atop the 5A poll. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com) Denver East, Valor Christian, Holy Family, Sanford and Caliche are the preseason boys basketball favorites in their respective classifications.
Those teams were the No. 1 picks in the 5A through 1A CHSAANow.com rankings released Monday morning.
Denver East received 19 of 20 first-place votes in the 5A poll. The Angels return their top five scorers from last season’s runner-up squad, including University of Colorado commit Dominique Collier and his 20.1 points per game.
Overland is No. 2 in the 5A ranking, and is following by defending champion Eaglecrest at No. 3. Highlands Ranch is fourth, and Rangeview rounds out the top 5.
Fossil Ridge is sixth in the 5A poll, Regis Jesuit is seventh, Mountain Vista is eighth, Chaparral is ninth and Legend is tenth. Monarch narrowly missed the top-10.
A total of 23 teams appeared on preseason ballots in the 5A ranking.
Valor Christian is 4A’s preseason No. 1 team. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com) Another runner-up from a season ago, Valor Christian, heads the 4A preseason ranking. The Eagles return their top eight scorers from last season. That includes Chase Foster, who averaged 20.0 points per game last season.
Pueblo East is second in the 4A ranking, and is followed by No. 3 Cheyenne Mountain, No. 4 Denver South and No. 5 Thomas Jefferson. Two-time defending champion Lewis-Palmer is ranked 10th to begin the 2013-14 season.
Holy Family heads the 3A poll, though No. 2 Brush received an equal amount of first-place votes (five). The Tigers reached the Great 8 last season.
Defending 3A champion Pagosa Springs is unranked to begin the year.
In 2A, Sanford is the No. 1 pick. The Indians reached the Final 4 last season. Denver Christian, last season’s champion, is ranked third.
Caliche heads the preseason 1A poll. The Buffaloes were in last season’s semifinals. Defending champion McClave is ranked fifth.
Complete rankings for all classes are below.
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CHSAANow.com Boys Basketball Polls
Voted upon by coaches and 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.
Class 5A RK TEAM W-L PTS 1 Denver East (19) 0-0 199 2 Overland 0-0 148 3 Eaglecrest (1) 0-0 106 4 Highlands Ranch 0-0 100 5 Rangeview 0-0 87 6 Fossil Ridge 0-0 79 7 Regis Jesuit 0-0 72 8 Mountain Vista 0-0 52 9 Chaparral 0-0 51 10 Legend 0-0 44 Others receiving votes: Monarch 41, Chatfield 22, Fort Collins 19, Cherokee Trail 17, ThunderRidge 11, Montbello 10, Abraham Lincoln 9, Grandview 9, Fairview 7, Cherry Creek 6, Dakota Ridge 5, Grand Junction 5, Arapahoe 1. Class 4A RK TEAM W-L PTS 1 Valor Christian (12) 0-0 151 2 Pueblo East 0-0 101 3 Cheyenne Mountain (2) 0-0 100 4 Denver South (1) 0-0 87 5 Thomas Jefferson 0-0 84 6 D’Evelyn 0-0 63 7 Longmont 0-0 59 8 Thompson Valley 0-0 58 9 Sand Creek (1) 0-0 48 10 Lewis-Palmer 0-0 32 Others receiving votes: Broomfield 25, Falcon 13, Ponderosa 9, Windsor 9, Mesa Ridge 8, Elizabeth 6, Sierra 5, Durango 4, Frederick 4, Pueblo West 4, Greeley Central 3, Pueblo South 3, Green Mountain 1, Kennedy 1, Palisade 1, Widefield 1. Class 3A RK TEAM W-L PTS 1 Holy Family (5) 0-0 100 2 Brush (5) 0-0 85 3 Colorado Academy (1) 0-0 84 4 Faith Christian 0-0 66 5 Colorado Springs Christian 0-0 54 6 Kent Denver 0-0 32 7 Moffat County 0-0 31 8 Eaton 0-0 28 9 Jefferson Academy 0-0 27 10 Aspen 0-1 21 Others receiving votes: Sterling 14, Denver Science & Tech 12, Manitou Springs 12, Pagosa Springs 12, The Pinnacle 12, Bishop Machebeuf 5, Centauri 5, Fort Lupton 2, Alamosa 1, Frontier Academy 1, Roaring Fork 1. Class 2A RK TEAM W-L PTS 1 Sanford (8) 0-0 130 2 Lutheran (1) 0-0 124 3 Denver Christian (3) 0-0 110 4 Resurrection Christian (1) 0-0 77 5 Yuma (1) 0-0 74 6 Ignacio 0-0 69 7 Akron (1) 0-0 59 8 Limon 0-0 50 9 Simla 0-0 34 10 Swink 0-0 30 Others receiving votes: Peyton 18, Paonia 9, Crowley County 6, Rocky Ford 6, Meeker 5, Rye 5, Byers 4, Hayden 4, Sierra Grande 4, Haxtun 3, Heritage Christian 3, Sangre de Cristo 1. Class 1A RK TEAM W-L PTS 1 Caliche (3) 0-0 48 2 Hi-Plains (1) 0-0 39 3 Norwood 0-0 34 4 Shining Mountain 0-0 30 5 McClave (2) 0-0 26 6 Holly 0-0 25 7 Fleming 0-0 23 8 Vail Christian 0-0 22 9 Otis 0-0 19 10 Granada 0-0 18 Others receiving votes: Prairie 8, Denver Jewish Day 6, Pawnee 6, Elbert 5, Primero 5, Jim Elliot Christian 4, La Veta 4, Bethune 3, Stratton 3, Deer Trail 2. -
State volleyball roundup: No. 9 seeds Elizabeth, Yuma into semis
Elizabeth is in the 4A volleyball semifinals. (Pam Wagner) DENVER — They weren’t supposed to be in the semis. Not as a No. 9 seeds.
Yet, Class 4A’s Elizabeth and 2A’s Yuma — ninth-seeded, both — were the first two teams to punch their tickets to Saturday’s semifinals during the first day of the state volleyball tournaments at the Denver Coliseum on Friday.
“Today, we’re just here,” Elizabeth coach Russ Haman said. “Nobody expects much out of us.”
Haman’s Cardinals topped No. 4 Montrose to start the day, 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-22, 25-10), then ruined No. 5 Thomas Jefferson’s coming-to-state party with another 3-1 win (25-22, 18-25, 25-23, 25-21).
“We felt we could compete with everybody,” Haman said. “We didn’t set expectations. We were just like, ‘We’re going to do the best we can and play together as a team.’ That’s what we’ve had to work on all year, is playing as a team. That’s what they’ve chosen to do.”
In preparation for big-time moments and teams his squad faced Friday, Haman scheduled matches and scrimmages with some of the elite programs in the state — including Lewis-Palmer, Cherry Creek, Cherokee Trail and Lakewood.
“You get with those big-hitting teams and we learned how to try to work a defense around that,” Haman said. “Ideally, we want to play the hard, hard teams and get better and better.”
Elizabeth could match up with Lewis-Palmer, 4A’s top seed, in the semifinals. It would be a fun personal matchup — Rangers coach Susan Odenbaugh “got me into coaching,” Haman said.
Yuma advanced to the 2A semifinals. (Pam Wagner) Yuma also took No. 4 and 5 seeds en route to the semis. The Indians beat No. 5 Sangre de Cristo 3-1 (25-12, 25-8, 24-26, 25-13) and No. 4 Paonia 3-0 (25-18, 25-8, 25-19).
“You know, we were a little disappointed in our seed, but I think it kind of lit a fire under the girls and they wanted to prove it a little bit more,” Yuma coach Megan Martinez said. “They came out ready to play.”
This week, Martinez scheduled early practices to help her girls acclimate to playing so early in the day.
“That got them ready to go,” Martinez said.
Elsewhere, 5A’s top seed Grandview swept Castle View in its only match of the day. The Wolves will face No. 8 Rampart for a semifinal berth on Saturday morning.
Cherry Creek. (Pam Wagner) No. 4 Mountain Vista and No. 5 Cherry Creek both beat No. 9 Fruita Monument, meaning their Saturday morning matchup will also determine a semifinal spot.
No. 2 Arapahoe and No. 7 Doherty will play for the semis on Saturday following their wins over No. 11 Cherokee Trail. Doherty rallied from a 2-0 hole to beat CT 3-2.
The final semifinal spot in 5A comes down to No. 3 Fossil Ridge and No. 6 Eaglecrest, who both topped No. 10 Pine Creek on Friday.
In 4A, No. 1 Lewis-Palmer beat No. 12 Coronado 3-1, and No. 8 Roosevelt swept Coronado. Those teams meet Saturday morning to determine the semifinalist from Pool I.
No. 2 Longmont and No. 7 Ponderosa will play for a semifinal berth out of Pool II. Both teams beat No. 11 Pueblo West.
Pool III has a Colorado Springs flavor, with No. 3 Cheyenne Mountain and No. 6 Air Academy battling for the semis after both beating No. 10 Valor Christian.
In 3A, No. 1 Eaton and No. 8 Bayfield both beat No. 12 Lamar, so they’ll play for a semifinal spot on Saturday. Out of Pool IV, No. 4 Platte Valley and No. 5 Holy Family both topped Coal Ridge and meet for a semifinal berth on Saturday.
Valley, seeded second, and No. 7 University will play for the semis on Saturday. Both teams beat No. 11 Machebeuf.
No. 3 Manitou Springs and No. 6 Gunnison are set to play for the final 3A semifinal spot after taking down No. 10 Sterling.
Dove Creek playing Kit Carson. (Pam Wagner) In 2A, No. 12 Meeker upset No. 8 Ridgway in Pool I. Couple with No. 1 Resurrection Christian’s later win over Meeker, it could make Saturday morning’s match between Ridgway and Resurrection Christian interesting. Should Resurrection Christian win, it’ll get the semifinal spot. But if Ridgway wins, the semifinalist will be determined on a tiebreaker.
No. 2 Lutheran and No. 7 Lyons will battle for the semis after both beat No. 11 C.S. School.
Pool III sets up like Pool I with No. 10 Akron beating No. 6 Swink on Friday. It means No. 3 Fowler can win the pool with a win over Swink, but a Swink win in that game sets up the tiebreaker scenario.
In 1A, No. 1 Dove Creek and No. 8 Vail Christian will play for a semifinal spot following wins over No. 12 Kit Carson. Out of Pool IV, No. 4 Fleming and No. 5 Eads will meet for that semifinal spot after both teams beat No. 9 Stratton.
No. 3 Otis and No. 6 Flager are set to play for the semis on Saturday. Both teams beat No. 10 Rocky Mountain Lutheran.
Pool II has a potential tiebreaker scenario. No. 11 Idalia beat No. 7 Hi-Plains but lost to No. 2 Caliche on Friday. That means if Caliche beats Hi-Plains on Saturday, it gets the semifinal berth. If Hi-Plains wins, the teams will go to the tiebreak.
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4A’s Windsor, 3A’s Lamar join this week’s volleyball polls
Windsor (4A), Lamar (3A), Vail Christian and Rocky Mountain Lutheran (1A) are newcomers to this week’s CHSAANow.com volleyball polls.
The five No. 1s from last week — Grandview (5A), Lewis-Palmer (4A), Manitou Springs (3A), Resurrection Christian (2A) and Caliche (1A) — all stayed put.
Complete rankings for all classes are below.
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CHSAANow.com Volleyball Polls
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
Class 5A RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW 1 Grandview (10) 16-2 109 1 2-0 2 Arapahoe (1) 16-2 100 2 2-0 3 Fossil Ridge 17-0 84 3 2-0 4 Regis Jesuit 16-2 71 5 2-0 5 Doherty 15-3 53 4 2-0 6 Cherry Creek 14-4 51 6 2-0 7 Mountain Vista 15-4 44 8 0-0 8 Eaglecrest 12-5 32 7 1-1 9 Lakewood 14-4 20 10 2-0 10 Fruita Monument 15-3 17 9 2-0 Others receiving votes: Rampart 15, Cherokee Trail 6, Ralston Valley 3. Dropped out None. Class 4A RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW 1 Lewis-Palmer (10) 17-1 136 1 2-0 2 Longmont (2) 17-0 120 3 2-0 3 Cheyenne Mountain (1) 15-2 119 2 1-1 4 Air Academy 18-4 79 4 5-1 5 Thomas Jefferson (1) 17-0 63 5 2-0 6 Montrose 15-3 60 7 3-0 7 Ponderosa 12-6 58 6 0-0 8 Valor Christian 14-4 38 8 4-2 9 Battle Mountain 18-1 32 9 6-0 10 Windsor 14-4 21 – 2-0 Others receiving votes: Coronado 15, Niwot 10, Elizabeth 8, Roosevelt 7, Pueblo West 5. Dropped out Niwot (10). Class 3A RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW 1 Manitou Springs (6) 19-0 94 1 1-0 2 Eaton (4) 19-1 93 2 3-0 3 Valley 15-5 75 3 2-1 4 Platte Valley 13-5 55 5 2-0 5 Holy Family 13-5 46 4 1-2 6 Bayfield 15-3 45 6 2-0 7 Gunnison 16-3 44 7 1-0 8 Lamar 17-2 27 – 2-0 9 Sterling 12-5 25 8 2-0 10 Coal Ridge 16-2 24 9 1-1 Others receiving votes: University 16, Fort Lupton 4, Olathe 3, Machebeuf 1, St. Mary’s 1. Dropped out University (10). Class 2A RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW 1 Resurrection Christian (7) 19-0 88 1 4-0 2 Fowler (2) 19-0 78 2 2-0 3 Lutheran 17-2 67 3 1-1 4 Paonia 19-0 66 4 3-0 5 Sangre de Cristo 18-1 39 6 2-0 6 Sargent 17-2 35 5 3-0 7 Swink 16-3 32 7 3-0 8 Yuma 14-5 26 8 3-1 9 Lyons 13-6 25 9 0-2 10 C.S. School 18-1 15 10 2-0 Others receiving votes: Dayspring Christian 7, Akron 5, Ridgway 4, SkyView Academy 3, Del Norte 2, Rye 2, Custer County 1. Dropped out None. Class 1A RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW 1 Caliche (6) 17-1 69 1 1-0 2 Otis (1) 18-1 63 2 3-0 3 Dove Creek 19-0 48 5 2-0 4 Fleming 16-3 47 3 2-0 5 Flagler 16-3 44 4 4-0 6 Eads 17-2 32 6 2-0 7 Hi-Plains 14-5 20 7 2-0 8 Idalia 10-5 15 8 0-0 9 Vail Christian 14-5 13 – 2-0 10 Rocky Mountain Lutheran 17-2 12 – 2-1 Others receiving votes: Edison 11, La Veta 7, Stratton 3, Cheraw 2, Belleview Christian 1. Dropped out Stratton (9), Edison (10). -
Five new teams join this week’s volleyball rankings
Battle Mountain (4A), University (3A), Swink (2A), Idalia (1A) and Edison (1A) are the newcomers to this week’s CHSAANow.com volleyball polls.
All five No. 1 teams stayed put.
Complete rankings for all classes are below.
[divider]
CHSAANow.com Volleyball Polls
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
Class 5A RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW 1 Grandview (10) 14-2 118 1 2-0 2 Arapahoe (1) 14-2 104 2 1-1 3 Fossil Ridge (1) 15-0 96 3 3-0 4 Doherty 13-3 72 5 2-0 5 Regis Jesuit 14-2 71 4 2-0 6 Cherry Creek 12-4 57 6 1-1 7 Eaglecrest 11-4 48 7 1-1 8 Mountain Vista 15-4 30 8 3-0 9 Fruita Monument 13-3 21 9 2-1 10 Lakewood 12-4 18 10 2-0 Others receiving votes: Rampart 9, Cherokee Trail 7, Rangeview 4, Ralston Valley 3, Fort Collins 2. Dropped out None. Class 4A RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW 1 Lewis-Palmer (7) 15-1 115 1 2-0 2 Cheyenne Mountain (4) 14-1 107 2 2-0 3 Longmont (1) 15-0 97 3 3-0 4 Air Academy 13-3 70 4 2-0 5 Thomas Jefferson 15-0 53 5 2-0 6 Ponderosa 12-6 51 6 2-1 7 Montrose 12-3 50 7 1-1 8 Valor Christian 10-2 43 8 2-0 9 Battle Mountain 12-1 20 – 2-0 10 Niwot 15-5 12 9 1-1 Others receiving votes: Windsor 11, Roosevelt 10, Coronado 7, Pueblo West 6, Elizabeth 4, Mead 3, Silver Creek 2, Pueblo Central 1, Thompson Valley 1. Dropped out Coronado (10). Class 3A RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW 1 Manitou Springs (7) 18-0 94 1 2-0 2 Eaton (4) 16-1 93 3 3-0 3 Valley 13-4 84 2 2-1 4 Holy Family 12-3 66 6 1-0 5 Platte Valley 11-5 57 4 1-1 6 Bayfield 13-3 55 5 2-1 7 Gunnison 15-3 42 7 1-0 8 Sterling 10-5 38 8 1-2 9 Coal Ridge 15-1 21 9 2-0 10 University 9-6 20 – 2-0 Others receiving votes: Lamar 14, Machebeuf 7, Olathe 7, Bennett 3, Clear Creek 2, St. Mary’s 2. Dropped out Lamar (10). Class 2A RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW 1 Resurrection Christian (5) 15-0 92 1 2-0 2 Fowler (3) 17-0 88 2 2-0 3 Lutheran (2) 16-1 83 3 3-0 4 Paonia 16-0 70 4 2-0 5 Sargent 14-2 45 6 2-0 6 Sangre de Cristo 16-1 38 5 2-0 7 Swink 13-3 29 – 5-1 8 Yuma 11-4 28 8 1-0 9 Lyons 13-4 27 7 3-0 10 C.S. School 16-1 24 9 3-0 Others receiving votes: Akron 10, Dayspring Christian 6, Kiowa 3, Ridgway 2, Byers 1, Rye 1. Dropped out Akron (10). Class 1A RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW 1 Caliche (8) 16-1 80 1 3-0 2 Otis 15-1 71 2 1-0 3 Fleming 14-3 57 4 3-0 4 Flagler 12-3 52 5 1-1 5 Dove Creek 17-0 46 6 1-0 6 Eads 15-2 41 3 2-2 7 Hi-Plains 12-5 27 7 0-1 8 Idalia 10-5 14 – 3-1 9 Stratton 10-5 12 8 3-1 10 Edison 16-0 11 – 2-0 Others receiving votes: Rocky Mountain Lutheran 10, Vail Christian 8, La Veta 5, Arickaree 3, Elbert 2, Cheraw 1, Kit Carson 1. Dropped out Rocky Mountain Lutheran (9), Vail Christian (10). -
Thomas Jefferson seeking elusive berth into state volleyball tournament
Thomas Jefferson’s Jessica Jackson receives a ball. (Henry Jackson) DENVER — Heartbreak can make for the best motivation.
A year ago, Thomas Jefferson volleyball was in a back-and-fourth match with Mountain View in Class 4A’s regional round. The Spartans were seeking the school’s first-ever state tournament appearance. Moreover, they were seeking to become the first Denver Public Schools member to reach the tournament since 1984.
Instead, TJ came as close as a team possibly could to the tournament — losing by two points in the fifth game.
“It was so heart-breaking,” said senior Celeste Henderson. “We don’t want that again this year.”
“That only made us want it this year even more,” junior Jessica Jackson said.
Thomas Jefferson’s Celeste Henderson. (Henry Jackson) TJ is 14-0 so far this season, ranked No. 5 in this week’s CHSAANow.com poll, and is aiming, once again, for a state tournament berth. And, yes, the girls are well aware that no city school has been there in 29 years.
“We know how long it’s been,” said sophomore Celeste James. “We talk about it all the time.”
“If there’s just one drill that we slack off,” Jackson said, “we’ll have a conversation after it, and we’ll be like, ‘Alright guys, this is it. This is where we prepare for state.’ ”
Coach Kathleen Nickless is trying to limit the mentions to her Spartans.
“We do bring it up,” she said, “but it’s nothing on a daily basis, because being undefeated and having this on our back is a lot of pressure.”
Even still, “It’s in our mind all the time,” James said.
“I go every year and I watch them,” Jackson said of the team procession at the Denver Coliseum prior to the state tournament, “and I’m like, ‘Man, I want to be there where they walk out.’ I just want to be part of that so bad.”
The trio of Henderson, Jackson and James are TJ’s leaders — statistically and emotionally. Henderson, the lone senior on the team, and Jackson are captains. James’ 218 kills (5.0 per set) and 135 digs (3.1 per set) lead the team, Jackson’s 207 and 128 are a close second in both categories. Both girls are outside hitters. Henderson, the setter, has a team-high 337 assists.
James, already 5-foot-11 as a sophomore, played on a national team with USA Volleyball this summer.
“They’re just growing with the punches and working hard at practice and doing what they need to do,” Nickless said.
Celeste James goes up for a kill. (Henry Jackson) Should TJ take the final step to the tournament this season, expect the city to fall in behind them — as it did during Denver South’s run to the 4A championship game in football last season.
“We’re the inner-city schools, and I think all of Denver would rally around us and support us,” Nickless said. “And I’ve heard that from many people. I come from a big family, and people are talking to my family and saying, ‘I can’t believe how well your sister’s team is doing.’ They’re like, ‘We’re going to be there.’ ”
“TJ itself and the community around TJ, they’re already so behind us, they’re rooting for us. They’re on our side,” Henderson said. “But the whole city? That would be amazing. I couldn’t even imagine what that would feel like.”
TJ first needs to get over the regional hump. Should they get a top-eight seed for regionals, the path would be a bit easier as a host.
“We’re trying to prepare them to handle the pressure as we get closer to the regional tournament and the state tournament,” Nickless said. “The girls that played last year, they’re remembering that game against Mountain View and how close we were and how it was right there and we couldn’t grasp it. Now is the time to take that challenge and make it happen this year.”
(Henry Jackson) -
5A volleyball poll adds Fruita Monument at No. 9
Fruita Monument is the lone newcomer to this week’s CHSAANow.com 5A volleyball poll.
All five No. 1 teams remained the same.
Complete rankings for all classes are below.
[divider]
CHSAANow.com Volleyball Polls
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
Class 5A RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW 1 Grandview (10) 12-2 134 1 2-0 2 Arapahoe (1) 13-1 124 2 2-0 3 Fossil Ridge (3) 12-0 114 3 2-0 4 Regis Jesuit 12-2 88 6 2-0 5 Doherty 11-3 78 7 1-0 6 Cherry Creek 11-3 72 4 1-1 7 Eaglecrest 10-3 54 5 1-1 8 Mountain Vista 12-4 43 8 3-0 9 Fruita Monument 11-2 25 – 1-0 10 Lakewood 10-4 14 10 2-0 Others receiving votes: Cherokee Trail 10, Rampart 10, Rangeview 8, Highlands Ranch 3, Fort Collins 2. Dropped out Cherokee Trail (9). Class 4A RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW 1 Lewis-Palmer (8) 13-1 142 1 2-0 2 Cheyenne Mountain (3) 12-1 130 2 2-0 3 Longmont (3) 12-0 123 3 2-0 4 Air Academy 11-3 91 4 1-2 5 Thomas Jefferson (1) 13-0 82 5 3-0 6 Ponderosa 10-5 58 7 2-0 7 Montrose 11-2 57 9 1-0 8 Valor Christian 8-2 37 6 0-1 9 Niwot 14-4 28 – 4-2 10 Coronado 10-3 19 – 2-0 Others receiving votes: Silver Creek 18, Battle Mountain 13, Elizabeth 10, Roosevelt 7, Pueblo West 5, Windsor 4, Fort Morgan 1, Pueblo Centennial 1. Dropped out Roosevelt (8), Silver Creek (10). Class 3A RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW 1 Manitou Springs (6) 16-0 77 1 2-0 2 Valley 11-3 65 2 2-1 3 Eaton (2) 13-1 57 3 7-0 4 Platte Valley 10-4 46 5 5-2 5 Bayfield 11-2 42 4 2-0 6 Holy Family 11-3 41 7 2-1 7 Gunnison 14-3 34 6 1-0 8 Sterling 9-3 28 8 2-1 9 Coal Ridge 13-1 20 9 2-0 10 Lamar 13-2 14 10 2-0 Others receiving votes: Fort Lupton 10, Olathe 3, University 3. Dropped out None. Class 2A RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW 1 Resurrection Christian (3) 13-0 73 1 2-0 2 Fowler (3) 15-0 72 2 3-0 3 Lutheran (2) 13-1 68 3 2-0 4 Paonia 14-0 54 4 3-0 5 Sangre de Cristo 14-1 36 5 2-0 6 Sargent 12-2 34 6 2-0 7 Lyons 10-4 23 8 2-1 8 Yuma 10-4 17 – 2-0 9 C.S. School 13-1 13 7 1-0 10 Akron 9-5 12 – 3-1 Others receiving votes: Swink 11, Simla 10, Dayspring Christian 9, Byers 2, Denver Christian 2, Rye 2, Del Norte 1, Ridgway 1. Dropped out Simla (9), Swink (10). Class 1A RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW 1 Caliche (7) 13-1 79 1 3-0 2 Otis (1) 14-1 71 2 2-0 3 Eads 13-0 58 3 4-0 4 Fleming 11-3 55 4 2-1 5 Flagler 11-2 50 5 3-1 6 Dove Creek 16-0 41 7 3-0 7 Hi-Plains 12-4 25 8 4-1 8 Stratton 7-4 18 6 1-2 9 Rocky Mountain Lutheran 12-1 13 10 3-0 10 Vail Christian 11-4 12 – 1-1 Others receiving votes: La Veta 8, Idalia 4, Cheraw 3, Edison 3, Genoa Hugo/Karval 1. Dropped out Edison (9).