Tim Yount of On The Mat provides weekly wrestling rankings for teams and individuals in all weight classes. To see individual rankings, you can subscribe to On The Mat’s full rankings.
To subscribe via PayPal, choose your subscription option on this page click on the corresponding PayPal button. To subscribe by mail or fax and pay by personal check, click here for a printable subscription form. Email Tim Yount at tim@onthematrankings.com with questions.
To purchase individual weeks of the rankings (as opposed to the entire season), you will need to use the printable subscription form and pay by check. The season ranking subscriptions are offered at a discounted rate.
Arvada West, which placed eighth at last season’s Class 5A state wrestling tournament, begins the season atop the On The Mat rankings.
Defending champions Broomfield (4A) and Paonia (2A) also open the season as preseason No. 1s. Brush, a fifth-place finisher last season, is atop the 3A ranking.
Pomona, the defending 5A champion, opens the season at No. 4.
Alamosa won the 3A title last year, and is No. 5 in that preseason ranking.
Tim Yount of On The Mat provides weekly wrestling rankings for teams and individuals in all weight classes. To see individual rankings, you can subscribe to On The Mat’s full rankings.
To subscribe via PayPal, choose your subscription option on this page click on the corresponding PayPal button. To subscribe by mail or fax and pay by personal check, click here for a printable subscription form. Email Tim Yount at tim@onthematrankings.com with questions.
To purchase individual weeks of the rankings (as opposed to the entire season), you will need to use the printable subscription form and pay by check. The season ranking subscriptions are offered at a discounted rate.
AURORA — Claire Erickson, a senior at Buena Vista, has won CHSAA’s national anthem competition. She will sing prior to the 4A/5A football championship games on Saturday at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
Erickson was named one of five finalists last week, along with Sand Creek’s Qirsten Carter; Kylie Griggs, Sarah Hoogerwerf, Brenna Sauer and Alex Van Velkinburgh from St. Mary’s Academy; Pueblo County’s Monica Valdez; and Monarch’s Kate Yeash. A total of 18,704 votes were cast through Sunday night, and Erickson garnered the most to emerge as the winner.
“It was funny because I kind of just put (the audition) out there,” Erickson said on Monday morning. “I thought it would be cool if I made the top five, but I figured it’s a state thing and I’m from Buena Vista and nobody really knows who I am. For me to even win this is mind-blowing, and I don’t really know what to say.”
Erickson is part of her school’s choir, jazz band and takes part in drama. She also plays the Saxophone and piano.
“In choir, if she picks a song that doesn’t have a piano arrangement, I’ll arrange it and play a compliment while our choir sings,” Erickson said. “It’s fun. I just like music.”
Erickson has sung the national anthem prior to Buena Vista’s basketball games before, as well as other public events in the city. Saturday will mark her first trip to Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
“I’m used to singing in front of people,” Erickson said. “I play at things around town, I sing my choir and I’m in musicals and stuff. So I’m used to singing in front of people, but not like a lot of people. I’m not really nervous, but it’s kind of mind-blowing. I feel like I’ll be nervous, but then I have to remember why I’m doing this.”
ThunderRidge claimed the final semifinal spot with a 13-9 win over Grandview. Backup quarterback Branden Brenning led the Grizzlies to the win. Read the full story here.
[divider]
Class 4A
Pueblo South is headed to the semifinals for the first time since 2004 with a 27-21 win over Dakota Ridge.
“We got them to fumble in their first possession, and we marched it right down and got a big score, got some momentum going in our favor,” Pueblo South coach Ryan Goddard told Colorado Preps’ Scoreboard Show. “Then we had a big interception and a long return, and were able to make some plays off of that and turn that into points, as well. We’ve been pretty successful this year in winning the turnover battle. If you win turnovers and third downs, you’re going to be OK most of the time.”
Pueblo South will face Montrose in the semifinals.
“Our kids were excited after the game, and I was excited for them,” Goddard said. “I told them they did a good job, and that they’re a special team and they have an opportunity to do something special here, and they’re making their impact on the program. But it’s time to go to work on Monday and we’ve got to start thinking about Montrose.”
Montrose beat Denver South 47-27 on Saturday. The Indians led 33-6 at halftime.
“Our guys did a great job of just executing. We were able to get on them on some special teams stuff and get a couple of short fields,” Montrose coach Todd Casebier told the Scoreboard Show. “We had some good special teams in the first half.
“South kept playing until the very end, but we were just too much for them today.”
[divider]
Class 3A
Defending champion Silver Creek rolled into the semifinals. The Raptors handled Pueblo East, 34-14.
“It was a really big win. That Pueblo East team was as good a team as we’ve played,” Silver Creek coach Mike Apodaca told the Scoreboard Show. “We’re real fortunate to get a win.”
Silver Creek will play Delta in the semifinals. Delta beat Glenwood Springs 13-9 on Saturday.
“We’re excited about the trip,” Apodaca said. “Western Slope football is good football. … It’s exciting. It’s good 3A football, and a good community, so it’s an exciting trip for our kids.”
Coronado beat Roosevelt 29-27 to claim a spot in the other semifinal. It will meet The Classical Academy, which upset Palisade on Friday.
“There’s special things happening with these young men,” Coronado coach Bobby Lizzarraga told the Scoreboard Show. “It’s showing up on the field.”
[divider]
Class 2A
The 2A title matchup is set: Faith Christian will play Platte Valley. Both teams upset higher-seeded opponents on Saturday.
“In the first half, it was one of those games where it looked like neither team was going to punt, because we couldn’t stop each other,” Faith Christian coach Blair Hubbard told the Scoreboard Show. “Then, the adjustments and the turnovers in the second half were just a big part of it.”
No. 3 Platte Valley beat No. 2 Manitou Springs, 13-7. The Broncos are making a second-consecutive trip to the title game.
“We made some mistakes that have been uncharacteristic of what we’ve been doing the last few weeks,” Platte Valley Troy Hoffman told the Scoreboard Show, “but we fought back, we regrouped very well in the fourth quarter and the kids fought through this barrier, this obstacle and they came through with a victory today. I’m very proud of them.”
[divider]
Class 1A
Paonia will face Centauri in the 1A championship next week.
Centauri topped Limon 21-8 to reach the title game for the first time in school history.
“We’re ready to play this,” Centauri coach Kyle Forster told the Scoreboard Show. “This was a goal we had 14 weeks ago, and it’s come true. Now we’re just going to have to go in and play our best because Paonia is playing their best football of the year right now, too. So it’s going to be a real big dog-fight.”
Paonia beat Buena Vista 28-14 on Saturday.
“We came out and we were ready to go,” Paonia coach Brent McRae told the Scoreboard Show, “but getting (an early) score and then the first three-and-out we got and scoring again — just the confidence. Our kids knew they would be able to run the ball and that just carried us the whole game.”
Of the title game, McRae said, “It’s going to be a fun day.”
[divider]
8-man
Caliche and Dayspring Christian will play for the 8-man title.
Caliche topped top-seeded Hoehne 44-40, while Dayspring Christian edged Norwood 44-43 with a 22-yard field goal in the final moments.
“We made big plays. That’s probably what the difference was,” Dayspring Christian coach Mick Holmes told the Scoreboard Show. “It came down to a field goal with seven seconds left. It’s kind of funny — we talked about it all week: ‘It may come down to a field goal.’ And we put it through the uprights.”
[divider]
6-man
Liberty/Stratton captured the 6-man title with a 44-40 win over Hi-Plains. Read the full story here.
Fairview is the No. 1 seed in 5A. (Courtesy photo)
The groundwork, as is so often the case, was laid four years ago. Tom McCartney saw it in his freshmen then. Those freshmen are now seniors, and that group has Fairview seeded No. 1 overall in the Class 5A football playoffs.
“We knew that it was a special group,” McCartney, Fairview’s coach, said Sunday morning. “We also knew that for them to do the things and reach some of the goals they’ve set, you’ve got to have junior compliments. You want to know that your juniors are also part of that.
“We’ve been kind of waiting on this group of seniors for a while, and a lot of them have gotten a lot of playing time as sophomores and juniors,” he continued. “When you get in those kinds of battles against teams like Pomona and Ralston Valley, and Legacy and Arvada West and Boulder — and Grandview in the playoffs last year, and Regis the year before — all of those experiences help. So, yes, to be honest with you, we’ve seen this coming from this particular group. We knew this was a talented group.”
The Knights were the lone 5A team to finish the regular season unbeaten (9-0). They were ranked No. 2 in the CHSAANow.com football poll in recent weeks, but were No. 1 in Wild Card points during that stretch, and finished atop the final Wild Card standings released Sunday morning.
And so, when the 5A bracket was unveiled, it was Fairview in the No. 1 spot. (See the full bracket.)
“It feels awesome,” McCartney said. “It’s playoff football. We’re just going to prepare. We understand that if you win you move on, and if you don’t you’re done. We want to keep playing. The best way to keep playing is to be prepared and to improve.”
Fairview draws No. 32 Mountain Vista (3-6) in the first round. The two teams played in 2010 and 2011, both Mountain Vista wins.
“Our seniors, when they were freshmen, played them. And so we know a little bit about them,” McCartney said. “We’ve got a ton of respect for coach (Ric) Cash. His teams are always prepared. They’re always hard-nosed.”
Rounding out the top-5 seeds in 5A were No. 2 Valor Christian, No. 3 Cherry Creek, No. 4 Regis Jesuit and No. 5 ThunderRidge.
The top 16 seeds host in the first round, meaning No. 6 Cherokee Trail, No. 7 Columbine, No. 8 Pomona, No. 9 Chatfield, No. 10 Grand Junction, No. 11 Mountain Range, No. 12 Doherty, No. 13 Prairie View, No. 14 Rangeview, No. 15 Ralston Valley and No. 16 Douglas County will get home games.
The 2A, 1A, 8-man and 6-man brackets were also released on Sunday.
Brush is 2A’s top seed. As the top-8 host in the first round, No. 2 Manitou Springs, No. 3 Platte Valley, No. 4 Faith Christian, No. 5 Gunnison, No. 6 Bennett, No. 7 Kent Denver and No. 8 Florence will all get home games.
Also qualifying in 2A were No. 9 Strasburg, No. 10 Lamar, No. 11 Olathe, No. 12 Fort Lupton, No. 13 Aspen, No. 14 Ridge View Academy, No. 15 Jefferson and No. 16 The Academy.
In 1A, Buena Vista got the top seed. No. 2 Limon, No. 3 Centauri, No. 4 Paonia, No. 5 Monte Vista, No. 6 Hotchkiss, No. 7 Yuma and No. 8 Platte Canyon will also host first-round games.
Additional 1A qualifiers were No. 9 Resurrection Christian, No. 10 Rye, No. 11 Burlington, No. 12 Cedaredge, No. 13 Colorado Springs Christian, No. 14 Wray, No. 15 Lyons and No. 16 Front Range Christian.
Hoehne is 8-man’s top seed. Also hosting in the first round will be No. 2 Dayspring Christian, No. 3 Norwood, No. 4 Simla, No. 5 Caliche, No. 6 Kiowa, No. 7 Sargent and No. 8 Dove Creek. Also qualifying were No. 9 Sanford, No. 10 Vail Christian, No. 11 Merino, No. 12 Walsh, No. 13 Akron, No. 14 West Grand, No. 15 Fowler and No. 16 Granada.
Liberty/Stratton grabbed 6-man’s top seed. Also qualifying were No. 2 Hi-Plains, No. 3 Eads, No. 4 Prairie, No. 5 Otis, No. 6 Peetz, No. 7 Hanover and No. 8 Flagler
Mountain Range is ranked 10th this week. (Pam Wagner)
Mountain Range, 7-1 this season, has joined this week’s CHSAANow.com football poll in Class 5A.
The Mustangs, ranked No. 10, are riding a four-game winning streak, including a 22-16 decision against Rocky Mountain last week. Their lone loss this season came at Grand Junction on Sept. 20.
Valor Christian remained atop the 5A ranking with 19 of the 22 first-place votes. Fairview, which got the other three first-place votes, stayed in the No. 2 spot following its big win over Pomona, and continued to be followed by No. 3 Regis Jesuit, No. 4 Cherry Creek and No. 5 ThunderRidge.
Columbine stayed in sixth this week, while Cherokee Trail bumped up two spots to seventh. Pomona remained in eighth and Grand Junction moved up to ninth after beating 4A No. 1 Montrose.
Despite the loss, Montrose remained atop the 4A ranking. Pine Creek moved up to No. 2, jumping Monarch, which fell to No. 3.
Coronado is now atop the 3A poll after Palisade’s loss to Delta. Discovery Canyon is second and Palisade dropped to third.
Delta joined the ranking at No. 7, as did Roosevelt (No. 9) following its win over then-No. 3 Silver Creek. Silver Creek dropped to No. 8 this week.
Grand Junction is ranked No. 10 this week. (Courtesy photo)
Grand Junction was idle last week. No matter, the Tigers have rejoined this week’s CHSAANow.com football poll in Class 5A.
Grand Junction (5-2), last ranked Sept. 9, is No. 10 in the poll. The Tigers took the spot vacated by Arapahoe after the Warriors were upset by Lakewood last week. Up next for GJ: Unbeaten Montrose, which is No. 1 in 4A.
Valor Christian continued to lead the 5A poll, and received 22 of the 23 first-place votes. Fairview remained in second, and Regis Jesuit in third. Cherry Creek is fourth and ThunderRidge fifth after the two schools swapped places.
Columbine (No. 6) and Chatfield (No. 7) also stayed put, while Pomona moved up to No. 8. The Panthers, coming off a win over rival Ralston Valley, have a big showdown with Fairview on Friday afternoon.
Montrose is a unanimous pick atop 4A, and Monarch remained in that poll’s No. 2 spot. Pine Creek bumped up to No. 3, Falcon is fourth and Pueblo South rounds out the top 5.
Conifer joined the 3A poll. The Lobos are No. 9 following consecutive wins over ranked opponents Lutheran, D’Evelyn and Rifle. Rifle, No. 3 last week, dropped to No. 10 this week.
Gunnison (No. 10) is the lone newcomer to 2A, while 1A added Yuma (No. 9) and Platte Canyon (No. 10). 8-man added Sargent at No. 10, and 6-man added Otis (No. 5).
Palisade is now the No. 1 team in Class 3A. (Betsy McLaughlin/Palisade Tribune)
Palisade edged then-No. 1 Rifle last Friday after rallying from a 27-14 halftime deficit. Tuesday, Palisade is on top of CHSAANow.com’s Class 3A football poll.
The Bulldogs received all 13 first-place votes in moving up from No. 2 taking over at No. 1. Rifle dropped to third. Unbeaten Coronado, which has the most wins in the state at 7-0, is second.
The 3A ranking added Roosevelt (No. 10) this week.
In the 5A poll, Fairview has moved up to No. 2 from No. 3.
The Knights (5-0) are 5A’s lone remaining unbeaten team, and got one first-place vote. Valor Christian got the other 23 and remained atop the ranking.
Regis Jesuit is third this week, and is followed by No. 4 ThunderRidge and No. 5 Cherry Creek.
Montrose, idle last week, remained in 4A’s No. 1 spot. Monarch moved up to No. 2, and Standley Lake is No. 3 this week. That ranking added Pueblo South at No. 8 and Durango at No. 10.
