Battle Mountain’s Sands Simonton. More photos. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
NEDERLAND — All season, Battle Mountain teammates Sands Simonton and Quintin Cook battled one another on the alpine courses.
One week, Simonton would win the giant slalom and Cook would finish second. The next, Cook would take the slalom and Simonton would finish second. It was a weekly occurrence, and the duo, who are close friends, would go 1-2 in every race they entered.
“That was definitely one of my top competitors throughout my whole entire season,” Simonton, a junior, said Friday afternoon.
So, it wasn’t much of a surprise Thursday when Simonton won the giant slalom at the state ski championships hosted at Eldora Mountain Resort. What was surprising was that it wasn’t Cook who won the slalom Friday, but instead Simonton again.
“When I won today, I felt really, really happy,” Simonton said, “but at the same time, I knew that he had deserved it with all the work that he had put it.
“Right now, it’s almost a little bit hard to celebrate. He’s one of my best friends. Something feels like he deserves it. I mean, I’m happy, obviously. It’s almost like an anti-climatic finish. It just doesn’t feel right.”
Cook, a sophomore, finished sixth in the slalom and fifth in the giant slalom. But he also competed in both Nordic events — finishing 44th in the classic event Thursday, and 26th in the skate Friday.
Simonton captured the giant slalom on Thursday with a two-run time of 1:36.06. Friday, he avoided near disaster on his first run of the slalom when he caught up to the skier on the course in front of him, Eagle Valley’s Austin Darrough.
“He hiked up the pitch, and when I came over the pitch, I actually saw that he was almost in front of me,” Simonton said. “The gates were wobbling just a little bit still, and I didn’t want to pull out quite yet, but if I got any closer, I would’ve.
“At the very end, I think he straddled a gate and pulled out and then gave me room, so I just kept on going. And it didn’t affect my speed at all, I almost felt like I was going faster.”
Simonton finished his first run in 41.83, 0.64 seconds faster than Cook, who had the second-best time. He then went 47.38 his second time down the mountain to win with a time of 1:29.21. Aspen’s Luca Woehrle, the runner-up to Simonton in the giant slalom, was also second in the slalom (1:31.13).
“Winning both of them? I don’t know, this is kind of the first time that this has ever happened to me,” Simonton said. “When I came here, I knew that it was going to be good. But I’d never really felt the feeling of actually winning.”
Simonton’s efforts helped Battle Mountain to a second-place finish in the boys’ team race. Aspen reclaimed the boys championship with 624 total points to Battle Mountain’s 613. Defending champion Summit was third (608).
The aptly-named Skiers won their most recent title in 2012, and now have seven boys championships — all since 2000.
Summit’s Cameron Bobb won the skate event in 14:39. The Tigers went 1-2-3 in the skate, with Henry Trowbridge finishing second (14:49) and Joel Sawyer third (15:14).
Steamboat Springs’ Peter White won the boys’ Skimeister award, given each year to the top overall skier based upon a season-long competition spanning all four ski events. Cook finished fourth in that competition.
Summit repeated its girls championship in totaling 665 points. Aspen was second with 648, followed by host Nederland with 599. Summit now has 19 girls titles.
This one was built on the strength of their Nordic team. A day after going 1-2-3 in the classic event, Summit had the top two finishers in the skate.
Taeler McCrerey won another individual title a day after winning her first. She finished the skate in 17:27, while teammate Ruthie Boyd tied for second with Vail Mountain’s Maddie Donovan in 17:43. Boyd was also second in the classic event.
Still, the Alpine team made major contributions. That included Anne Parker’s win the slalom on Friday. She finished with a combined time of 1:32:02. Nederland’s Keile Kropf was second (1:33.20).
Summit’s Taeler McCrerey. More photos. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
NEDERLAND — This time around, Taeler McCrerey walked away with a title.
A year after finishing runner-up in both Nordic events at the state skiing championships, the Summit junior captured the classic crown with a time of 18:25. She actually led Summit’s sweep of the podium in the event — teammates Ruthie Boyd (18:41) and Christa Gutzel (19:27) finished second and third, respectively.
“My goal was to just ski fast, get the team going so we can all do well,” McCrerey said afterward. “That’s what needed to happen. We needed to get at least a podium.”
A constant snow fell all day Thursday on Eldora Mountain Resort, though it was unseasonably warm even if racers had to fight off the occasional gust of wind.
Even still, McCrerey jumped out ahead of the classic field with a fast first lap.
“I think I might have started a little too hard,” she said. “I was excited, but I calmed down a bit and really just focused on skiing. I played with the conditions a little bit and adapted to that. Because it’s a little tough today: it’s warmer, but the wind’s blowing.”
McCrerey is also looked at as the favorite for Friday’s skate event, and with good reason. She recently returned from a trip to Finland, where she competed in the under-18 Scandinavian Cup with the U.S. National Team. That’s a squad comprised of the top six Nordic skiers nationally in that age group.
“It was awesome representing USA. It was interesting, it was very fun,” McCrerey said. “It was the best in the world for my age group. They’re fast, but I definitely know what I need to do to be closer to them.”
The experience also helped Thursday.
“It definitely boosts your confidence a bit,” McCrerey said. “Then again, it all comes down to the team. I’m proud of the girls. I think we can pull it off. It will be interesting to see, but I hope so.”
The podium sweep helped push Summit — the defending champion on both the girls and the boys side — into a tie for the girls team lead after the first day of competition. The Tigers and Aspen both have 325 points. Nederland, this year’s host, is in third with 303. (Find full results here.)
Battle Mountain’s Haley Frischholz won the giant slalom with a combined time of 1:38.47. Summit’s Anne Parker was second in 1:39.45.
Summit also heads the boys team standings after the first day. The Tigers have 317 points to second-place Aspen’s 315. Battle Mountain is third with 301.
Once again, it was the nordic side that led the way. Summit’s Henry Trowbridge won the classic event, finishing in 16:18, and teammate Cameron Bobb was second (16:58). Trowbridge was third last year, while Bobb was fourth.
Battle Mountain’s Sands Simonton won the giant slalom by going 1:36.06. Aspen’s Luca Woehrle was second in 1:38.15.
Grand Junction started the 2013-14 campaign 7-0. The Tigers then lost two straight just prior to the winter break. However, since that break, GJ is 9-0.
This week, the Tigers cracked the top-10. They are ranked No. 9 in CHSAANow.com’s 5A poll.
Elsewhere in 5A, Denver East extended its stay at No. 1. Fossil Ridge remained at No. 2, and Mountain Vista at No. 3.
Regis Jesuit moved back up to the No. 4 spot after a 2-0 week. Eaglecrest dropped one place, and rounds out the top 5.
Arapahoe is sixth, Overland is seventh and Chatfield is eighth. Highlands Ranch rounds out the ranking at No. 10.
The 4A poll added Golden at No. 10. Other newcomers included No. 8 Centauri in 3A, No. 10 Denver Christian in 2A and No. 8 Shining Mountain in 1A.
Valor Christian (4A), Holy Family (3A), Ignacio (2A) and Caliche (1A) held firm atop their respective polls.
Denver East received 13 of the 20 first-place votes this week. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
Denver East’s grip on the No. 1 spot in Class 5A boys basketball continues to grow tighter.
In this week’s CHSAANow.com rankings, the Angels received 13 of the 20 first-place votes. Last week, Denver East received 12 of 20.
The Angels are now 11-0 in Colorado, and have an average margin of victory of 19.8 points in those games. That includes a 3-point win over Cherry Creek on Dec. 13 and a one-point win over Eaglecrest on Dec. 16.
Since January, Denver East is winning in-state games by an average of 24.6 points.
Still, Fossil Ridge remains ever present. The second-ranked SaberCats are now 17-0, and received the other seven first-place votes this week. They are the only other team to be ranked No. 1 this season, holding that spot for one week in mid-January.
Eaglecrest is up to No. 3 in this week’s 5A poll. (Brock Laue)
The Centennial League is perhaps the strongest Class 5A boys basketball conference in the state. This week’s CHSAANow.com boys basketball poll continues to reflect that.
A poll-best four Centennial teams are ranked in the top-10 this week, led by Eaglecrest. The Raptors moved up to No. 3 following their fourth-consecutive win.
Cherry Creek is No. 6, Overland is No. 7 and Arapahoe is No. 8. Grandview, another Centennial team, also received votes.
"I’ve seen all of the teams in our league now," Arapahoe coach Dan Snyder said as Centennial League play was getting underway in early January, "and I can unequivocally say, without a doubt, this is the strongest the league has been — top-to-bottom — since I’ve been coaching at Arapahoe."
Still, the Continental has something to say when it comes to the strongest league this year. That league has three teams in this week’s 5A poll, led by No. 4 Mountain Vista. No. 5 Regis Jesuit and No. 10 Highlands Ranch — a newcomer this week — also hail from the Continental. So does Legend, which received votes this week.
Denver East stayed atop the 5A ranking, just ahead of No. 2 Fossil Ridge. The Angels got 12 first-place votes to Fossil’s eight.
Likewise, the other No. 1 teams also stayed put: Valor Christian in 4A, as well as Holy Family (3A), Ignacio (2A) and Caliche (1A).
Golden joined the 4A ranking at No. 10, while 3A added two new teams in No. 9 Moffat County and No. 10 St. Mary’s.
The 2A poll added Denver Christian (No. 9), and 1A added South Baca (No. 7).
