The 2019 all-state softball teams are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.
These team were created following a process where the coaches voted upon a list of nominees. Players who were named first-team all-league are eligible for the all-state ballot.
Coaches also voted specifically for player and coach of the year.
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Class 5A
(Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Player of the year: Korbe Otis, Columbine Coach of the year: Jim Santaniello, Columbine
North Park raced out to a 20-6 lead, weathered a second-quarter comeback from Granada, and then scored three third-quarter touchdowns in pulling off the upset.
According to Colorado Preps, it is just the second postseason victory in program history as No. 11 North Park advanced in the 6-man playoffs over the No. 6 Bobcats.
“It’s huge for us — we’ve just got to keep taking steps forward,” coach Chad Carlstrom told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “I think the program’s in the right spot. The kids are excited. The young kids are excited. That’s just building a little bit of a tradition. I hope I’ve done that.”
North Park had six rushing touchdowns in the game, including three from Destry Schmidt, two from Cordell Garriott and one from Brock Follett.
“We just overpowered them on our running game,” Carlstrom said. “We’ve got three dynamic running backs that they all provide something different, that change of pace, and our blocking up front has been solid. It makes it tough to figure out who’s going to get the ball and which way we’re going to go.”
Dominic Coleman, just a sophomore, led the way for Granada with four total touchdowns, two rushing and two passing.
In other 6-man playoff games on Friday:
No. 1 Kit Carson beat No. 16 Peetz 73-7.
No. 4 Fleming beat No. 13 Deer Trail 72-27.
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Playoff brackets
The 8-man, 1A, 2A, and 5A state playoff brackets will be seeded and released on Sunday. The 3A and 4A brackets are due out on Nov. 9.
Ponderosa (6-3) got the only score of the game midway through the fourth quarter, and set up a showdown for the 4A Metro League title with Heritage next week.
“It was just a total team effort,” Ponderosa coach Jaron Cohen told the Scoreboard Show. “When we needed it, our offense got a drive to score, and they got a couple of first downs to ice it.”
Mustangs quarterback Jack Hanenburg scored on a three-yard rush with eight minutes remaining to provide the game’s only points. It was set up by a great scramble and throw on third down from Hanenburg, Cohen said.
“Jack got behind our big boys and got it in,” Cohen said.
Montrose nearly responded but a Ponderosa defender tracked down a Montrose player at the five, and then the Mustangs’ defense held firm on 4th-and-goal from the 1.
Montrose is now 8-1 this season.
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1A: (2) Holyoke 14, (3) Limon 12
Holyoke (9-0) scored twice in the first half for a 14-0 lead, then held off a fourth-quarter rally from Limon (7-2) to secure the North Central League title.
“It was a very exciting game,” Holyoke coach Dustin Sprague told the Scoreboard Show. “It was a championship game, and our kids came up with some big plays.”
Blake Mosenteen opened the scoring with a 6-yard rush in the second quarter, and then Miles Sprague added a 61-yard dash for a two-score Holyoke lead.
Things stayed 14-0 until the fourth quarter, when the Badgers scored with nine minutes remaining. A two-point conversation attempt was no good, making the score 14-6.
Kory Tacha then added a rushing touchdown for Limon with three minutes left, but the Badgers couldn’t convert a two-point attempt to tie the game.
“This is what we set out to do,” Sprague said. “But we didn’t come this far just to come this far.”
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5A: (10) Cherokee Trail 36, (9) Eaglecrest 32
In a wild game, Cherokee Trail (7-3) rallied from a huge 29-0 hole in the third quarter to pick up a big win over the Raptors (7-3).
The Cougars scored 21 unanswered points in the later part of the third to cut the Eaglecrest lead to 29-21 going to the fourth. The Raptors added a field goal, and went up 32-21 with nine minutes left in the fourth.
Then Jayden Lavigne hit Samuel Hart for a 45-yard touchdown pass, and the Cougars converted a two-point attempt to make it 32-29.
Lavigne then found Donovan Swift with three minutes remaining on a 34-yard TD to give CT its first lead of the game — and it proved to be the winning score.
Lavigne finished with three touchdown passes.
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5A: (1) Cherry Creek 44, (7) Grandview 21
Cherry Creek built a quick 17-0 lead, and the Bruins were up 20-7 at halftime en route to the win.
Grandview did cut it to 20-14 early in the third quarter following a blocked punt, but Cherry Creek reeled off 24 unanswered points into the fourth to make it 44-14.
The Bruins finish the regular season 10-0. Grandview is 8-2.
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1A: (7) Florence 13, (5) Colorado Springs Christian 10
Florence (8-1) stormed back from a 10-0 halftime deficit to secure the win, and the Tri-Peaks League title.
“That’s a dang good football team, and we were just able to grind it out,” coach Jeremy Nix told the Scoreboard Show.
The Huskies tied the game in the third quarter with a passing score and a field goal, and then took the lead with a 27-yard field goal from Jenkins Phillips with less than a minute to play to win.
Here’s video of the winning kick, from KOAA:
HS FOOTBALL GAME WINNER: Florence sophomore Jenkins Phillips nails the biggest kick of his football life, a 27-yard GW FG. This gave the Huskies a 13-10 win over @CSCSLIONS to win the Tri-Peaks title. @KOAA#coprepspic.twitter.com/kR5v0Nj1GS
Peyton Brones had a rushing touchdown for CSCS (7-2).
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8-man: (1) Sedgwick County 60, (9) Merino 0
Sedgwick County (9-0) cruised to an unbeaten regular season.
The Cougars led 32-0 at halftime, and had six rushing scores and two passing in the win.
Merino ends the regular season 6-3.
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Notables:
In a top-10 1A matchup, No. 6 Meeker beat No. 8 Hotchkiss 42-26 to win the 1A Western Slope League. “We’re excited about having the opportunity to get out there and compete next week,” coach Shane Phelan told the Scoreboard Show. “We’ll see where it goes from there.”
Yuma upset 1A No. 10 Wray 27-7 in their rivalry game, the Harvest Cup.
In another rivalry contest, No. 9 Basalt got a last-second stop on fourth down to preserve a 17-14 win over Aspen.
DENVER — Greeley West’s Nico Jamison burst his way onto the No. 1 singles scene during the first day of play at the Class 5A boys tennis state tournament.
Jamison, the lone freshman in the No. 1 singles draw, beat two juniors as he clinched a spot in Friday’s semifinals. He opened his day with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Denver East’s Louis Salfi, and then followed it with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Ralston Valley’s Dayton Fisher in the quarterfinals.
In just his first state tennis meet, Jamison is seeking to join some rare company: Greeley West has had just one singles champion in school history, and it’s someone Nico is familiar with — Nick Jamison, Nico’s father, won in 1990.
Morgan Schilling. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Jamison will face Regis Jesuit’s Morgan Schilling in the semifinals. Schilling, a junior, was runner-up at No. 1 singles last season, and won his first two matches 6-1, 6-1 (against Arapahoe’s Jared Green) and 6-3, 6-2 (against Monarch’s Michael Conde).
Schilling and Jamison have already met this season, having played in regionals. Schilling won that match 7-5, 6-2.
Also punching a semifinal ticket at No. 1 singles were:
Cherry Creek junior George Cavo, who beat Rock Canyon’s Chris Swanson (6-3, 6-1) and Mountain Vista’s Trevor Fone (6-3, 6-1). Cavo was also a semifinalist last season, where he dropped a match to Schilling.
Fairview junior Luke Silverman, who beat Poudre’s Sam Knape (6-2, 6-0) and Heritage’s Braeden Thomas (6-0, 4-2, withdraw). Silverman advanced to the quarterfinals in No. 1 singles last season.
Cavo and Silverman met way back on Aug. 28 in a match that went three sets. Cavo won, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4.
In terms of the team race, defending champion Regis Jesuit leads the way with 21 points. Perennial power Cherry Creek is just behind with 19 points, Valor Christian is in third with 14, Denver East is fourth with 13, and Fairview is fifth with 10.
The tournament continues on Friday at Gates Tennis Center with semifinals at 9 a.m. in all positions. Playback matches will follow immediately.
THORNTON — It wouldn’t be uncommon to hear high school coaches say that they’re players are going to give them a heart attack. For Greeley West boys swimming coach Colin Shaha, there’s nothing to laugh about when thinking about that scenario.
Shaha watched anxiously, paced nervously and smiled proudly through the final day of the Class 4A boys state swim meet. When the night was over, his Spartans were state champions. But there was a point in the season where there was genuine concern that Shaha would see the season through.
There was concern that his life was in danger.
What felt like heartburn for months turned out to be something more serious than that. When Shaha finally saw a doctor, it was revealed that he had an artery with a 98 percent blockage. He wasn’t having heartburn. He was having a heart attack.
“When we were first heard, I mean I was stunned,” senior Nathan Kenigsberg said. “I didn’t know the severity of it. I was scared and really worried for him.”
A stent was placed and Shaha was on his way to recovery. Word eventually got around in Greeley and Kenigsberg and his teammates were given some good news.
“Luckily my dad is a doctor,” Kenigsberg said. “I got an update fairly quickly.”
Shaha felt good enough to make it to the Spartans next meet, but the doctors advised against it. He listened. And not too long later, he was watching his athletes hoist a state championship trophy, the first in program history.
And he’ll quickly point out that it wasn’t motivation after a heart attack that brought home gold, it was the drive and determination of the Spartans to do something special for the community.
“Greeley is a punchline to a national joke,” Shaha said. “‘What’s the opposite of Hawaii?’ ‘Greeley.’ I’ve been working around swimming most of my adult life. I think about Greeley swimmers; I think a lot about Greeley kids. And this is huge.”
It took a little bit of good fortune for the Spartans to get themselves into contention. In the 200-yard medley relay, the first event of the day, two Discovery Canyon swimmers jumped in the pool at the conclusion of the race. The infraction meant they were disqualified from each of their next event.
Those DQ’s took precious points on the board and Greeley West knew it had to capitalize on it.
“We got a lucky break,” Kenigsberg said. “But there was nothing but happiness with the way the team put everything into it. Caden Gillmore had the best meet I’ve ever seen from anybody. He did incredible.”
The Spartans finished with 323 points to Discovery Canyon’s 307. It’s the second-straight runner-up finish for the Thunder.
Broomfield’s Harrison Lierz had a standout day. He claimed two individual titles for the Eagles and helped them win the 200 freestyle relay. He swam that relay race then came right back to win the 100 backstroke.
“I feel like I swam really well this week,” Lierz said. “I was really happy with how I did, especially with that being like five minutes after the relay.”
