Pine Creek baseball is the new No. 1 team in Class 5A — one of three new teams atop the polls this week. (Josh Watt/CHSAANow.com)

Three out of the five No. 1 positions in the CHSAANow.com baseball rankings have a different look from a week ago.

Pine Creek takes over as the top team in Class 5A, Silver Creek returns to the top spot in 4A and Granada comes in as the new No. 1 team in 1A.

The Eagles take over as No. 1 in 5A after beating Palmer 10-0 last week, avenging a loss to the Terrors that occurred only days earlier. It is the only loss of the season for Pine Creek.

ThunderRidge is nipping right at the heels of the Eagles as they sit only nine points back in voting. The Grizzlies took down Douglas County last Wednesday in a big Continental League win.

Lakewood (No. 7) and Cherokee Trail (No. 8) are the new additions to the 5A rankings this week.

Silver Creek takes back the top spot in 4A only a week after losing a grasp on the position. The Raptors went 2-0 last week, topping Northridge and Longmont to improve their record to 9-2 overall.

The bottom half of the rankings saw an influx of new teams as Northridge comes in at No. 7, Pueblo South lands at No. 8 and Palmer Ridge rounds out the rankings at No. 10.

The still-undefeated Eaton Reds remain the unanimous No. 1 team in 3A this week.

St. Mary’s is the only new team to that poll coming off a double-header sweep of La Junta on Friday. The Pirates come in at No. 8 this week.

Paonia edged out Sedgwick County by three points to remain the No. 1 team in 2A this week. Akron and Dayspring Christian are the new additions in 2A, coming in at No. 9 and No. 10 respectively.

A 10-6 win over then No. 1 Holly on Friday was good enough to boost Granada to the top spot in the 1A poll.

Manzanola was able to break into the rankings at No. 6 while Stratton/Liberty is the other new addition, coming in at No. 10.

The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. During the regular season, they are released each Monday.

Complete rankings for all classes are below.

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CHSAANow.com Baseball Polls

Voted upon by coaches and select 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.

Go to: 5A | 4A | 3A | 2A | 1A

It’s still early in the 2016 baseball season, but there has already been some shakeup in the Class 1A CHSAANow.com baseball rankings.

Eads takes over the top spot in the state after a 1-0 start to their season. Former No. 1 Dove Creek, who has stumbled out of the gate fell to No. 2.

Cotopaxi and Manzanola played their way into the still young rankings, coming in at No. 6 and No. 9 respectively.

Nothing has changed at the top of the 5A rankings as Regis Jesuit and Cherry Creek remain the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in those rankings.

Ralston Valley joined the 5A baseball poll at No. 8 this week. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)

Columbine is one of two newcomers in the poll as they land at No. 8 with Ralston Valley, the other newcomer, joining at No. 9.

The top of the 4A rankings has the same story as the 5A poll. D’Evelyn and Lewis-Palmer remain the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the class, with both teams undefeated on the year.

Though, the 4A rankings did see more turnover this week than any other class as Silver Creek (No. 7), Denver North (No. 8) and Air Academy (No. 9) all broke their way into this week’s poll.

And it was 3A who saw the least turnover of the week. Eaton still holds the No. 1 spot, but nine of last week’s 10 ranked teams all stayed in the poll this week, although a few did jump up or down in ranking.

Buena Vista is the lone newcomer in the poll, coming in at No. 10.

The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. During the regular season, they are released each Monday.

Complete rankings for all classes are below.

[divider]

CHSAANow.com Baseball Polls

Voted upon by coaches and select 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.

Go to: 5A | 4A | 3A | 2A | 1A

The 2014 football league and classification alignment, as set by the football committee, and approved by CLOC and the legislative council.

Go to: 5A | 4A | 3A | 2A | 1A | 8-man | 6-man

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Class 5A

* – Denotes playing up

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Class 4A

** – Denotes playing down
# – Must qualify in the 5A playoffs

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Class 3A

* – Denotes playing up
** – Denotes playing down

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Class 2A

* – Denotes playing up
** – Denotes playing down
# – Must qualify in 3A playoffs

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Class 1A

* – Denotes playing up
** – Denotes playing down
# – Must qualify in 2A playoffs

[divider]

8-man

* – Denotes playing up
** – Denotes playing down

[divider]

6-man

** – Denotes playing down

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Wild Card points help determine the postseason fields in 3A, 4A and 5A, with 4A and 5A also using them for seeding. Find a more detailed breakdown here.

Baseball’s Wild Card point standings for April 17 are below.

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Go to: 5A | 4A | 3A | 2A | 1A

Powered by

Wild Card points help determine the postseason fields in 3A, 4A and 5A, with 4A and 5A also using them for seeding. Find a more detailed breakdown here.

Baseball’s Wild Card point standings for April 9 are below.

[divider]

Go to: 5A | 4A | 3A | 2A | 1A

Powered by

Wild Card points help determine the postseason fields in 3A, 4A and 5A, with 4A and 5A also using them for seeding. Find a more detailed breakdown here.

Baseball’s Wild Card point standings for April 2 are below.

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Go to: 5A | 4A | 3A | 2A | 1A

The Classification and League Organizing Committee meeting was Tuesday. (Jenn Roberts-Uhlig/CHSAANow.com)

AURORA — Valor Christian’s athletic programs will reside in the Jefferson County League for the 2014-16 cycle.

The school, which is independent of a league during the current two-year cycle, had requested to join the Centennial League. And though the Centennial previously denied Valor’s request through a vote at a league meeting, there was still a chance that move would be approved at Tuesday’s Classification and League Organizing Committee (CLOC) meeting.

However, at the meeting, CLOC voted to not approve Valor’s move to the Centennial. Instead, through a 6-4 vote, it placed the Eagles in the Class 5A Jeffco League. Valor previously played in the 4A Jeffco from 2010-12. Their teams will continue to compete at the 4A level.

“That’s our job: to put them in a league. They had to be in a league,” CLOC chair Tom Arensdorf said after the meeting. “Every member has the right to be in a league after they’ve done their probationary period. They were not placed in a league two years ago … because basically their membership was in jeopardy. We felt it was best at that time not to put them in a league. No one wanted them, but the reasons for not wanting them were based on past issues that were pretty valid.

“In this past two-year cycle, Valor has done a lot of things to correct those issues. And they deserve to be placed in a league. That’s this committee’s job, to get them in a league.”

So Valor, finally, has a league for all of it’s sports — excepting football, which is still awaiting a conference. (That alignment will be finalized later in November.)

But that doesn’t mean it was easy.

(Jenn Roberts-Uhlig/CHSAANow.com)

Valor athletic director Rod Sherman spoke briefly at the meeting about the reasons his school sought to join the Centennial. He also said, in part, “We believe now is the time for Valor’s transition from an independent status to being a full-time member of a league. It would be an honor for us to be a member of the Centennial League; there’s much we can learn. We believe we have respected the process of being placed and we humbly request placement in the Centennial League.”

A long discussion ensued, with Centennial and Jeffco reps also speaking, and emphasizing Valor Christian’s private status. Then, CHSAA commissioner Paul Angelico spoke up.

“We’ve had a public-private school discussion going on for over two years now,” Angelico said. “I’m afraid I’m to blame for that because I wanted that to be an open and above-board discussion, rather than all the back-biting that was going on behind the scenes. If I would have known that it would have turned into this bickering that will never end, I think I would have stopped it … and not allowed it to start. There’s no end to this.

“A couple of points I need to make: There is no written or unwritten policy of any sort regarding public and private schools and league placement,” Angelico continued. “Secondly, in the last 24 months, I would say to you, that since that discussion started, it’s not the private schools I’m worried about. … The private school people have heard loudly your message of discontent. Their response has been one of that I can’t complain about. Whatever it takes to be above-board and avoid issues, they’re doing. That applies to Valor doubly. They’ve hired a consultant, they’ve done everything I’ve asked. To the point that last night, in our discussions, we talked about, ‘Well Valor had four ADs show up at the (All-School) Summit.’ I said, ‘Yeah, they did. I told them to, and they did what they were told.’

“I think we have our priorities goofed up and have kind of started turning around what we’re supposed to be about,” he added. “This isn’t a public/private school issue. I hear loudly that it’s an issue about unfair advantage or differences in schools. … Frankly, I would just like to get this conversation back to what it’s about: somebody needs a home. The fact that they’re a public or private school is not the reason you place them in a conference. Nor has it ever been. Let’s talk about what’s the best fit.

“The association has certainly survived with several public and private schools together in the same league. I just want to center this. This becomes a ‘Who can win the argument?’ not, ‘What’s the best thing?’ And I think we need to go back to what are we supposed to be doing here. The committee is charged with placing a school, and they will place a school, and they’ll have to do it to somebody’s chagrin.”

Shortly after, the committee broke into a private session, and then for lunch. When they came back, the vote on Valor request to join the Centennial League was quickly called. Three CLOC members abstained, three voted in favor of the request, and seven against.

Moments later, committee member Rich Wildenhaus from Erie proposed moving Valor to the 5A Jeffco League. There was no discussion from the audience, and the vote ended with six agreeing with the move, four against it and three abstaining. The entire process was swift.

(Jenn Roberts-Uhlig/CHSAANow.com)

“Honestly, that surprised me,” Arensdorf said afterward. “Over the last two days, we probably discussed this issue as a committee for three-and-a-half hours — because whatever decision was made by the committee was going to be unpopular with some schools and cause some angst within leagues. There is no perfect fit.

“We went through a process that, if the first request did not pass, we — as a committee, it’s our responsibility to come up with something before the end of the day. And different committee members had different proposals,” he continued. “I was surprised that we finished that quickly. And I was surprised there was no feedback from the floor when that proposal was made by Richie Wildenhaus. I didn’t know what to expect at that point, because, as a committee, no one felt comfortable with any solution. There were no solutions that were going to make everybody happy.

“But, in the end, it is what it is, and all these people are professionals and they’ll deal with what they have to deal with and hopefully make the best situation for all the kids that participate in those programs.”

Valor Christian did approach Jeffco about joining the league prior to the CLOC meeting. Jeffco has 5A and 4A leagues.

“Right now, the CLOC committee voted for them to be in 5A Jeffco. I think that discussion still needs to happen,” Jim Thyfault, Jefferson County’s district athletic director, and a member of CLOC, said after the meeting. “Since we do have a 4A option, I think that needs to be discussed.

“I respect Rod Sherman and the people at Valor, I really do. They were in our league before. And, you know what? We’ll all be very professional about it, and I’m sure they will be, too.”

CLOC’s actions on Tuesday still need to be confirmed by the Legislative Council in January.

More league changes

Earlier, Burlington’s request to join the Lower Platte League was denied. That league had previously voted 9-0 against allowing Burlington admittance. CLOC voted 11-2 against overruling that vote. So Burlington will stay in the Union Pacific League.

Approved league changes:

(Jenn Roberts-Uhlig/CHSAANow.com)

• Broomfield (Northern to Front Range)
• Canon City (South Central to Colorado Springs Metro)
• The Classical Academy (Tri-Peaks to Colorado Springs Metro)
• Clear Creek (3A Frontier to 2A Frontier)
• Ellicott (Tri-Peaks to Black Forest)
• Highland (Patriot to Mile High)
• Holy Family (Metro to Tri-Valley)
• Littleton (Continental to Jeffco)
• Lyons (Patriot to Mile High)
• Manzanola (Southeastern to High Plains)
• Northridge (Tri-Valley to Northern)
• Skyview Academy (Independent to Metro 3A)
• Swallows Charter Academy (Independent to Santa Fe)
• Twin Peaks Charter (New school, joining Mile High)
• Vanguard (Black Forest to Tri-Peaks)

New members

Vail Ski & Snowboard Academy’s request for membership was denied. The school has a unique schedule to allow its students to train on the mountain during the week — training from 8 a.m. to noon, and then attending classes from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. each Tuesday through Friday during the winter.

However, after a lengthy discussion, the committee said they were uneasy going down the road of adding a sports academy as a member.

“It seems so fundamentally different than what our membership is now,” said committee member Mark Kanagy, Windsor’s athletic director.

The committee did approve membership for Caprock Charter Academy in Grand Junction, as well as Denver School of Science & Technology – Green Valley Ranch, and Venture Preparatory School in Denver.

Playdowns

The overwhelming majority of playdowns were approved, save for Abraham Lincoln football (5A to 4A), Estes Park football (2A to 1A) and Palmer football (5A to 4A). Approved playdowns:

(Jenn Roberts-Uhlig/CHSAANow.com)

• Adams City football (5A to 4A)
• Alameda football (5A to 4A)
• Antonito football (8-man to 6-man)
• Aurora Central football (5A to 4A)
• Boulder softball (5A to 4A)
• Centaurus volleyball (4A to 3A)
• Central (Grand Junction) football (4A to 3A)
• Civa Charter boys/girls basketbal, volleyball (2A to 1A)
• Denver North football (3A to 2A)
• Dolores Huerta girls basketball (3A to 2A)
• Greeley Central softball (4A to 3A)
• Greeley West boys soccer (5A to 4A)
• Miami-Yoder football (8-man to 6-man)
• Mitchell football (4A to 3A)
• Montbello girls soccer (5A to 4A)
• Montezuma-Cortez soccer (4A to 3A)
• Montezuma-Cortez football (3A to 2A)
• Nederland football (1A to 8-man)
• Niwot football (4A to 3A)
• Rifle boys/girls soccer (4A to 3A)
• Roosevelt boys soccer (4A to 3A)
• Skyline softball (4A to 3A)
• South Park football (8-man to 6-man)

Noteable

The committee set the 1A/2A cutoff at 92 students. So schools with 92 and below will be 1A in basketball and all other sports, while those with 93-240 students will be 2A.

Ninth-ranked Regis Jesuit beat No. 1 ThunderRidge in 5A on Friday night. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)

It was not a good night to play at the top.

The No. 1 teams in CHSAANow.com’s football polls for classes 5A, 4A and 3A all lost on Friday night. ThunderRidge, top-ranked in 5A, lost to No. 9 Regis Jesuit 35-12. Monarch, atop 4A, lost to No. 2 Montrose in a wild game, 39-34. And 3A Silver Creek was taken down 31-28 on a last-second field goal from Frederick.

“They believed in themselves and were able to play as one unit and we were able to come up with a big win,” Frederick coach Thad Lear told ColoradoPreps.com’s Built Ford Tough Scoreboard Show on Friday night.

Frederick trailed 14-0 in its game but was able to cut things to 14-7 before the half. Then, the Warriors scored on their first possession in the second half to make it 14-13.

“We missed the PAT, but the kids were excited, they believed in one another and they never let up,” Lear told the Scoreboard Show. “They never stopped.”

Frederick would eventually take a 28-21 lead before Silver Creek tied things at 28-all with 1:28 remaining. That set the stage for one more drive — and the game-winning 30-yard field goal from sophomore Dalton Nelson.

“They tried a pooch kick and we were able to get the ball on the 30, and we decided to run the ball a few times to see where we could get it to,” Lear told the Scoreboard Show. “We got a first down and completed a couple of short passes, and we had a couple of timeouts. … I think it ended up being a 30-yard field goal and we were excited to have the opportunity.

“I can’t say enough about our kids, and our kicker, he stepped in. He’s a sophomore, first year playing football, and he kicked the game-winner.”

Likewise, Montrose had to dig its way out of a hole, this one 21-0 to top-ranked Monarch midway through the second quarter.

The Indians clawed their way back to 21-18 with 2:16 to play in the third, but Monarch responded with a quick touchdown which made it 28-18.

Montrose had an answer of its own, and cut things to 28-25 before recovering an onside kick and scoring again. At that point, it was 32-28 Indians and 8:30 remained in the game.

Monarch marched down and regained the lead at 34-32 with 3:47 to go, but it was short-lived. Montrose countered with a scoring drive, and took the lead at 39-34. Monarch had one final drive, but fell just short deep in Montrose territory. Read a full recap of the game here.

Regis Jesuit’s upset of ThunderRidge in 5A was a different story. The Raiders led from the outset and were up 28-0 at the half.

ThunderRidge got within 28-6 in the third, but Regis put things out of reach on Jalen Williams’ five-yard run with 11 minutes remaining. Find photos from the game here.

It wasn’t all bad for No. 1 teams on Friday night. Top-ranked Brush beat University in 2A, 56-13; 8-man’s Hoehne handled Manzanola 55-8; and 6-man’s Liberty/Stratton beat Cheraw 74-6. Buena Vista, No. 1 in 1A, plays Salida on Saturday.

In other top-10 action, 5A No. 7 Fairview beat No. 4 Ralston Valley 43-18; 4A No. 6 Montbello beat No. 5 Wheat Ridge 20-0; 2A No. 5 Manitou Springs beat No. 4 Florence 26-14; and 1A No. 4 Hotchkiss beat No. 3 Cedaredge. Find a complete top-10 scoreboard here.