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.
Regis Jesuit’s Diani Akigbogun is the 5A girls basketball player of the year. (Ray Chen/arrayphoto.com)
The 2013-14 all-state girls basketball teams are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.
These teams were created following a lengthy process which included nominations from leagues and coaches, and then a vote of coaches.
The players who received the most votes in their classification were selected as the player of the year in their class.
Those players of the year: Regis Jesuit’s Diani Akigbogun (5A), Mesa Ridge’s Gabby Purnell (4A), Holy Family’s Katie Chavez (3A), Akron’s Jordan Baer (2A) and South Baca’s Allyson Grahn (1A).
Use the menu below to navigate to the class of your choosing.
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.
Mesa Ridge senior Tiffani Jackson’s layup at the buzzer Thursday at the Coors Event Center in Boulder gave the Grizzlies a dramatic 40-38 victory over the defending Class 4A state champion Pueblo South Colts.
“I knew we only had five seconds,” Jackson said when asked if she knew how much time was on the clock with the game tied at 38. “I figured I had about two seconds when I got the ball. I just went straight in.”
The spectacular final play started when Mesa Ridge’s 6-foot-4 sophomore Kylee Shook blocked Pueblo South junior Sissy Hall’s shot from under the basket. Shook struggled offensively with just two points on 1-of-7 shooting, but her nine rebounds and final block were key.
“No matter what else she (Shook) does she can play defense,” Mesa Ridge coach Jeff Beatty said. “If she wasn’t the defender she is I would probably sub a kid like that out, but she does so much on the defensive end for us. She affects so many shots.”
After Shook’s block, senior Samantha Rudd grabbed the loose ball for the Grizzlies and fed it ahead to senior Gabby Purnell. Purnell, who finished with a team-high 12 points, stumbled as she crossed midcourt, but was able to feed a pass to Jackson near the free-throw line.
Jackson released the uncontested shot just before the buzzer sounded and the layup kept Mesa Ridge perfect on the season with a 27-0 record heading into the title game.
“It was so great, especially since (Pueblo South) beat us last year in the Great 8,” Rudd said. “We are so excited.”
Pueblo South (24-3) was attempting to punch its second straight ticket to the championship game to defend its title.
The first half was a struggle for the Colts. Not only did Mesa Ridge’s defense hold Pueblo South to 4-for-24 shooting in the opening half, but also senior Shannon Patterson picked up her third foul midway through the second quarter. The Grizzlies led 20-13 at halftime.
“We hit enough free throws down the stretch maybe and kept (Pueblo South’s) scoring down enough to overcome our lack of scoring today,” Beatty said. “We play fairly good defense ourselves. We pride ourselves on that.”
Mesa Ridge’s trio of seniors — Rudd, Jackson and Purnell — all finished in double-digit points, combining for 33 of the Grizzlies’ 40 points. The Grizzlies were 14-for-20 from the free-throw line and held the Colts to 25 percent shooting from the field.
“Our defense has been phenomenal this year,” Rudd said. “That is what has taken us to the championship game on Saturday.”
Mesa Ridge plays in the 4A championship game scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday, March 13, at the Coors Events Center in Boulder. The Grizzlies will face the winner of Valor Christian/Broomfield.
Mesa Ridge defeated Valor Christian by a point earlier in the season and scrimmaged Broomfield this year.
“It’s going to be a good game regardless of who we play,” Rudd said.
Patterson’s 14 points led Pueblo South. The senior was in foul trouble the whole game. Patterson picked up her fourth foul with 2:41 left in the third quarter, but never fouled out despite playing the entire fourth quarter.
“I know she (Patterson) has signed at Pueblo (CSU-Pueblo), but I think she could play D-1 if she wanted to,” Beatty said. “She is one of the best players in the state, regardless of classification. She has been special forever.”
Pueblo South senior Kendra Jesik finished with 11 points and junior Jaylyn Duran pitched in eight points for the Colts.
DENVER — Pueblo South’s defense kept dreams alive of earning back-to-back Class 4A girls’ basketball championship state trophies.
“We are just trying to do what we did last year,” Pueblo South senior Shannon Patterson said after the Colts’ 36-21 victory. “It’s a great atmosphere and our team did really well. We showed a lot of heart on the court and that is what counts.”
The No. 1 seed Colts (24-2) dominated No. 2 seed Elizabeth Cardinals (23-3) in the Great 8 game Saturday night at the Denver Coliseum. Pueblo South’s victory was spearheaded by the Colts’ defense that held Elizabeth to just five points in the first half.
The Cardinals finished the game 8-for-35 from the field for 22.9 percent shooting. The familiar face of Elizabeth senior Tatum Neubert was the key defensively for Pueblo South.
Pueblo South downed Elizabeth 56-41 earlier in the year on Feb. 1. Patterson had 24 points in the victory, while Neubert had 25 points in the loss for the Cardinals.
“I knew I had to shut her (Neubert) down,” Pueblo South junior Sissy Hall said. “If she was getting the ball she would be scoring and it would be a different game.”
Hall used her length to deny the 6-foot-2 Neubert the ball down low the entire game. Neubert was held to two points through three quarters. She eventually finished with a team-high nine points for the Cardinals.
“Sissy did a really good job and the guards did a really good job putting pressure on,” Patterson said. “We knew she (Neubert) was going to try to take over.”
Elizabeth rallied with 13 points in the fourth quarter after trailing 25-8 after three quarters. The Cardinals went on a 10-0, but it was just too late to overcome the 20-point led Pueblo South had built by the end of the third quarter.
The Colts didn’t have a stellar shooting night shooting 12-for-43 from the field for 27.9 percent, but it was good enough with their solid defense.
Patterson finished with a game-high 17 points, including going 9-for-13 from the free-throw line. Hall added eight points and Jaylyn Duran and Kendra Jesik had five points each for the Colts.
“We just knew would couldn’t let our tiredness get to us,” said Hall, who only left the floor in the final seconds. “We had to keep going hard. We only had 32 minutes to give it our all.”
The defending 4A state champions will have the opportunity to win its six girls hoops title in the school’s history as the Colts head to the Final Four for the third straight season.
Pueblo South will face Mesa Ridge in the semifinals Thursday, March 13, at the Coors Events Center in Boulder. Mesa Ridge defeated D’Evelyn 47-41 earlier in the day at the Coliseum.
“It feels great. We are ready,” Hall said about another trip to Boulder. “We know what we have to do to win.”
PUEBLO — There’s no question Thomas Jefferson High School’s boys basketball team is loaded with talent and athletic ability.
Those attributes were too much for Pueblo South, the top seed in the Class 4A Maceo Brodnax Region, to handle.
Treyvon Andres poured in 23 points and Jalen Rose added 22 points off the bench, powering the No. 4-seeded Spartans to a 71-66 upset of the Colts in the Sweet 16 at the Southwest Motors Events Center.
“Our coach (Grant Laman) gave us some good pointers at halftime and we moved the ball more and that helped us get this big win,” Andres said.
Thomas Jefferson (17-8) advances to play Denver South (17-8) in the Great 8 March 8 at the Denver Coliseum. The Colts (22-3) had their season and 20-game winning streak come to an end.
TJ and Denver South split games this season. The Spartans won 59-57 on Jan. 15 and Denver South claimed a 71-64 victory on Jan. 31. Denver South defeated Greeley Central 75-60 Saturday.
“I think this year if we played Denver South 50 times it would be 25-25,” Laman said. “We’re excited to be in the Great 8 to see what we can do.”
The Colts actually had a 39-34 halftime edge on strength of seven 3-pointers, three from Brian Pratt who had a team-high 19 points.
“(Pueblo) South hit so many 3s in the first half,” Laman said. “I told the kids, hopefully they can’t do that again (in the second half). We just tried to change up our zone which really doesn’t make a whole lot of sense when they were shooting that well, but it slowed them down just enough.”
South still had the momentum when Isiah Pannunzio’s bucket put his team up 46-38 at the 5:35 mark of the third quarter.
The Spartans answered with a 10-0 run to grab a 48-46 lead on Rose’s conventional 3-point play at 2:06 of the third quarter.
Both teams stepped up defensively and when Pratt made a driving lay-up, the Colts trailed just 58-56 with just 2:52 to play.
That’s when the 6-foot-7 Andres and 6-foot-5 Rose took control each converting 3-point plays on the Spartans’ next two possessions. Rose’s free throw with 2:04 left on the clock put TJ up 64-57.
“I was just trying to stay focused and stay in my zone,” Rose, a junior, said. “If my team needs me to score I will score. If my team needs me to rebound and play defense that’s what I will do. I just wanted to do whatever possible to help my team win.”
The Colts tried to make a frantic comeback and cut the deficit to 67-64 on Bryson Smith’s trey with 33.9 seconds remaining.
“Once we got behind, we had to force the tempo a little bit and change kind of what we were doing defensively,” South coach D. J. Johnson said. “We didn’t rebound very well in the fourth quarter. They got a lot of easy buckets off of putbacks. I also don’t think we did a very good job of keeping our composure at times.”
The Spartans secured the victory when Sergio Garcia and Domenik Brewer made four consecutive free throws. Brewer’s came with 22.8 seconds left to put TJ ahead 71-66.
Thomas Jefferson made 8-of-9 free throws in the fourth quarter.
“We practice our free throws a lot and that made a difference (Saturday),” Andres said.
Haley Smith is the 5A softball player of the year. (Pam Wagner)
The 2013 all-state softball teams are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.
These team were created following a lengthy process which included nominations from leagues and coaches, and then a vote of coaches. Find more information here.
The players who received the most votes in their classification were selected as the player of the year in their class.
Scroll down to see the teams, or use the menu below to navigate to the class of your choosing.
Mountain Vista is a No. 1 seed in the Ray Ball Region. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Ball Fever is a regular installment written by Thomas Trotman which rounds up boys basketball action in Class 5A and 4A.
Colorado prep hoop fans! What an exciting time in Colorado as our big school divisions have produced one memorable regular season with some excellent team play and amazing individual performances, as well.
The buzz about Colorado hoops is legit and we can thank a growing basketball community for that from our peewee rec leagues to competitive club ball, increasing individual personal training opportunities and truly dedicated high school staffs. The basketball product hitting the Colorado hardwood is improving and colleges of all levels are taking notice! Great time to be a part of Colorado hoops and now lets get to the madness!
Now, on to the tournament previews:
[divider]
Class 5A
Ray Ball Region
The top seed coming out of this region is an extremely hot Mountain Vista (22-1) squad which is riding a 14-game winning streak. That includes their Continental League-clinching overtime thriller vs. Highlands Ranch to cap the regular season. The confident, Denver-bound Jake Pemberton leads Vista’s fast-paced attack which keeps opponents gasping for air.
Our Fever Crew discussed Chatfield playing with a bit of a chip on their shoulder in this region after going 14-2 in league and winning the Jeffco but earning a No. 3 seed.
Eaglecrest celebrates winning the last year’s 5A basketball championship. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
The defending champs? Oh yes, the Eaglecrest Raptors again have a balanced attack with numerous athletes who are likely very hungry to taste the title again. Junior Blend Advili continues to be a jack of all trades for the Raptors, while LaDerian King and Jaisean Jackson’s senior leadership will make the defending champ a scary matchup.
Favorites: Mountain Vista and Eaglecrest. In our opinion, both are Boulder-capable teams but only one will get there.
Watch out for: Fort Collins can be a sneaky No. 4 seed here in our opinion. Colorado State commit Toby Van Ry and his running mate Will Duggan (Black Hills State commit) will not go down without a fight. Possible Sweet 16 match-up with Mountain Vista for Fort Collins.
Chatfield was discussed above and they may have to face a tough, well-coached ThunderRidge squad right away. Coach Joe Ortiz and crew will use the lessons learned in the tough Continental League and be prepared should that game become reality.
Chauncey Billups Region:
Fossil Ridge is No. 1 seed in the Chauncey Billups Region. (Pam Wagner)
One year ago, we sat in the Fossil Ridge gym and watched that 2013 team battle Arapahoe to exciting last-second finish. While looking at their roster all one could think was, “This squad is going to be tough next year!”
That turned out to be a huge understatement as the SaberCats have posted a perfect 23-0 season with their first league title and many voting them as our state’s No. 1 team. The SaberCats’ lead man is Alex Semadeni, who leads their balanced attack with 14 points per game. Our Fever Crew got to see many of these young men playing club ball together as well in tough venues such as Indianapolis and Las Vegas.
Regardless of how things end up for the SaberCats, congrats are in order for coach Matt Johannsen and the entire Fossil Ridge hoops family.
With all the attention Mountain Vista and Highlands Ranch got towards the end of the season, it may have been easy to overlook Regis Jesuit but don’t make that mistake as coach Ken Shaw will have his crew prepped for postseason action. The Raiders have a No. 2 seed but some tough potential opponents in Smoky Hill, Standley Lake and possibly an Arapahoe if both can advance to Sweet 16.
Favorites: Fossil Ridge and Regis. After a tough two-point loss to Mountain Vista, Regis has quietly ran off seven in a row. Many feel Fossil Ridge/Regis have similar rosters and would love to see the two great coaches match wits as well.
Watch out for:
A fun first-round match up in Rock Canyon and Lincoln. If you like guard play check out Lincoln’s leader Michael Sparks vs. the Jaguars tandem of Tyler Garcia and Mitch Lombard.
Arapahoe and Smoky Hill have impressive “Centennial-tough” league wins and wouldn’t mind playing for a rubber match after splitting their season matchups.
Jim Baggot Region:
Denver East’s Dom Collier. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
The season had to have a bit of a “rock star” feel for this region’s top seed Denver East Angels while they had the opportunity to play top national competition in Utah, Florida and Nebraska.
The Angels finished the season with a 19-4 mark with each loss coming out of state. CU-bound Dominique Collier and Creighton commit Ronnie Harrell lead a very celebrated starting five who all have NCAA Division I college interest and potential.
East tasted great success last year but as we all know they came up short in the title game. They haven’t lost in Colorado this year and we’re sure coach Rudy Carey’s Angels don’t plan on it.
Highlands Ranch suffered a 20-point post-winter break loss to Denver East in January and they would love a rematch now that the Falcons are healthy and at full strength. The No. 2 seed is led by big Zach Braxton (Weber State commit) and he has serious perimeter help with a healthy Evan Motlong along with Riley Stewart playing well.
Favorites: Clearly Denver East and Highlands Ranch in this region. Lots of work to be done but the city vs. suburbs fanatics would love to see this possible Sweet 16 matchup happen.
Watch out for:
Horizon will have its hands full with No. 10 seed George Washington.
Thomas (20 points per game) and Luke Neff over at Arvada West can heat up and cause lots of trouble in the bottom half of this region.
Twitter-verse seemed to show a lot of surprise at Grandview earning a No. 3 seed and they will be tested right away if the Arvada West match up plays out.
Heard a lot of good things about Broderick Robinson, senior averaging 20 points per for Grand Junction, and a possible match-up vs. Cherokee Trail young guns could be intriguing.
Bill Weimar Region:
Rangeview is on a 10-game winning streak. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
The Danny Fisher-coached Overland Trailblazers (17-6) suffered a tough one-point home loss to Eaglecrest in January, but have since run off seven straight, including avenging that loss to the Raptors to lock up the Centennial League title in OT last Friday.
The young Blazers talent is well documented with two-sport stud Austin Conway running the show, big De’Ron Davis on the inside, and guards Reggie Gibson, Jervae Robinson making more consistent impact. Don’t be surprised if you hear that senior T’Aren Williams steps up for Overland somewhere during this playoff journey.
The EMAC conference hasn’t gotten a lot of respect lately but one player who could make us all take notice on any given night is future CSU Ram Jeremiah Paige. The Rangeview Raiders look good as a No. 2 seed on a 10-game win streak which includes a road victory over 4A’s No. 1 ranked squad Valor Christian to finish the season.
The Raiders could be in for a real battle if Montbello can get the win over visiting Liberty. Montbello is playing much improved ball lately and have a starting five that can compete with any in the state. The question with the Warriors will be their depth.
Favorites: Going with the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds as the favorites here as well. Giving a slight edge to Rangeview over No. 3 seed Chaparral here as they beat them head-to-head, but that was a very different Chap team early in the season. Overland carrying some serious momentum into tourney.
Watch out for:
Speaking of young talent, Overland may just see some if Aurora Central and their young guard Ladarius Thomas can lead the Trojans to a win over Boulder.
More strong guard play with Dakota Ridge potentially facing Monarch.
As mentioned above, Chaparral could easily be a favorite in this region. Jake Holtzman, who reportedly just picked up an offer from Denver University, leads a Chap squad who won seven of their last eight. Only recent loss coming to Continental champ Vista.
Senior DJ Miles is a player to watch as Bear Creek visits Cherry Creek to see who gets Chap. The Creek Bruins had a fast start and proved they can play with the best (senior Griffin Parr at 12 points per game, Ceasar Jones and Will Bower lead the strong junior class). Lets see if they can regain the steam at the right time.
[divider]
Class 4A
All season, Valor Christian has been looked at as the favorite in 4A. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Richard Tate Region:
The consistent No. 1-ranked team most of the season in 4A has been Valor Christian and that’s hard to argue with. The Eagles have a senior-heavy roster that has gotten close to that “gold ball” and seem primed to make another Boulder run this year.
Senior Chase Foster (San Francisco commit; 20 points per game) is Mr. Versatility for the Eagles and he has a strong cast of sweet-shooting Garrett Baggett along with the toughness football studs Christian McCaffrey and Marcus Wilson bring.
Valor hoops is 19-4 and their only Colorado loss comes to 5A Rangeview.
Pueblo East got the No. 2 seed in this region. Dylan Gavin is averaging 20 points per game for East and had the team on a five-game winning streak before a season-ending loss to league champ Pueblo South.
A player who can spark his team to a run in this region is Vista PEAK’s Romello Washington. Washington can light it up, has recent games of 25, 31, 27, with a season average of 18 per game for Vista, who are undefeated league champs.
Favorites: Valor Christian and Pueblo East.
Watch out for: Ponderosa played in the brutal 5A Continental League but now look to make some noise in the 4A tourney. Will be interesting to see how Valor handles one of our states best “bigs” in 6-foot-10 Wyoming commit Jonathon Barnes should Pondo get by Mountain View.
Guy Gibbs Region:
D’Evelyn is the No. 1 seed in the Guy Gibbs Region. (Dennis Pleuss)
The D’Evelyn Jaguars have a strong duo who have both averaged close to 20 points per game the entire season in Ty McGee and Grant Witherspoon. The 18-5 Jags had two late season losses to Thomas Jefferson and Wheat Ridge but their 13-1 Jeffco 4A league record won the league title and got them the No. 1 seed.
The No. 2 seed Sand Creek in this region has a real play maker of their own in Air Force commit Dylan Clark (averaging 20 points per game, as well).
Favorites: Have to add Denver West as a serious problem for folks in this region along with the two top seeds. Coach Ray Valdez has the Cowboys playing fundamentally sound and with a lot of fight. Sophomore Alpha Diallo is an up and coming play maker with nice court vision, scoring ability for West.
Watch out for: Would love to have a front row seat for a potential Sweet 16 match up of Denver West vs. Sand Creek.
Mark Randall Region:
Thompson Valley’s Collin Smith. (Brock Laue)
Two more deserving, tough Nos. 1 and 2 seeds here as well.
Thompson Valley, 22-1 with only loss coming to 5A’s Fossil Ridge, haven’t tasted defeat since mid-December. 6-foot-5 senior Collin Smith paces the Eagles with 19 points and six rebounds per game.
Got to take a look at Thompson Valley’s balanced play when they visited a squad with a strong senior leader of their own in Cheyenne Mountain’s Ghassan Nehme (Montana State commit). Nehme, who averages almost 27 points per game, has the Indians on a five-game streak headed into tourney play.
Favorites: Top two seeds look good here but Longmont and Mesa Ridge very capable of mixing things up. Senior Austin Kemp will attempt to get Longmont back on track after two late-season losses.
Watch out for: Ghassan Nehme is an electric scorer who can put his squad on his shoulders if needed.
Maceo Broadnax Jr. Region:
Denver South is the No. 2 seed in the Maceo Broadnax Jr. Region. (Mark Adams)
Pueblo South lost their first two games of the season and have impressively ran off 21 wins in a row. Now that’s momentum headed into the tourney.
Another impressive stat is that the Colts have four players averaging double figure scoring, led by Brian Pratt and Jared Baros right at 13 each per game.
Denver South holds this region’s No. 2 seed and their big man in the middle, Ibrahim Sylla (Northern Colorado commit), is a double-double highlight machine above the rim. Sylla averages 14 points and 14 rebounds per game.
Favorites: Hard to call in this extremely tough region. Stacked with competitive teams like Golden (won 10 of their last 11 games with sophomore Ryan Blodgett at 12-point and eight-rebound average) at the No. 3 seed and a No. 4 seed in Thomas Jefferson who could beat any of the top 3 if they bring their “A” game as they did in a late season win over No. 1 seed D’Evelyn.
Watch out for: “Watch your head” as the players would say when South’s Sylla or Thomas Jefferson’s Trey Andres take flight. Two of our state’s “freakish” athletes. Denver South played a strong season finale vs. 5A No. 1 Denver East. They could carry that momentum into a tourney run. Guards Lorenzo Snoddy and Tyson Purifoy capable of big games as well. This region is tough!
[divider]
Whew! Get ready for some fun tourney action folks.
Denver East/Fossil Ridge in 5A? Valor/Thompson Valley in 4A? Many have said it could play out just that way. Those have been your top big school squads all season, but we happen to remember a young man by the name of TreShawn Wilford who led the Eaglecrest Raptors on a special tournament run in 2013.
Who could be the Wilford of this years playoffs? We’ll be watching to find out! Enjoy …
