CHSAANow

Tag: Legend

  • Photo gallery: Legend boys basketball tops Rangeview

    PARKER — Zach Mihalicz had 18 points and 10 rebounds as Legend beat Rangeview in boys basketball on Wednesday, 61-55.

  • Photo gallery: Girls swimming’s Coaches Invite

    THORNTON — Fairview won girls swimming’s annual Coaches Invite at VMAC on Saturday. The Knights’ 271 total team points bested second-place Cherry Creek (238) and third-place Regis Jesuit (217).

    Team results are below. Find complete results on MaxPreps.

    Coaches Invite: Team scores
    Place Name Dive Total Total
    1 Fairview 271
    2 Cherry Creek 238
    3 Regis Jesuit 31 217
    4 Heritage 155
    5 Ralston Valley 147
    6 Fossil Ridge 9 145
    7 ThunderRidge 125
    8 Mountain Range 13 120
    9 Mountain Vista 112
    10 Chaparral 98
    11 Niwot 83
    12 Arapahoe 60
    13 Broomfield 53
    14 Monarch 6 45
    15 Rock Canyon 7 39
    T16 Highlands Ranch 36
    T16 Grandview 36
    T18 Silver Creek 35
    T18 Boulder 35
    20 Lakewood 2 33
    21 Mullen 28 28
    22 Brighton 26
    23 Pine Creek 1 25
    24 Windsor 24
    25 Legend 20
    26 Chatfield 19 19
    T27 St. Mary’s Academy 17 17
    T27 Smoky Hill 17
    29 Castle View 15 15
    30 Greeley West 14
    31 Golden 9
    32 Thompson Valley 8
    33 Northglenn 7
    34 Dakota Ridge 6
    35 Fort Collins 3 3
    36 Legacy 2
    37 Skyline 1

    [divider]

  • Arapahoe, Grand Junction join 5A boys basketball ranking

    Thomas Jefferson Pueblo County boys basketball
    Thomas Jefferson remained in the No. 3 spot in the 4A poll. (Pam Wagner)

    Unbeatens Arapahoe and Grand Junction have joined this week’s CHSAANow.com boys basketball rankings in 5A.

    The Warriors (3-0) are No. 9, while Grand Junction (5-0) is No. 10. Highlands Ranch, last week’s No. 5, and Chaparral, last week’s No. 10, both dropped out this week.

    Elsewhere, Denver East maintained its grip on the top spot, and Fossil Ridge continued its climb up the poll. The SaberCats are No. 2 this week, moving up two spots from No. 4. Fossil Ridge went 3-0 last week, including a 66-48 win over Highlands Ranch.

    Overland fell one spot to No. 3, and is followed by No. 4 Mountain Vista and No. 5 Regis Jesuit. Mountain Vista moved up from eighth; Regis up from No 6.

    Eaglecrest is sixth in this week’s 5A poll, Legend is seventh and Rangeview fell five spots to eighth.

    In addition to Denver East, the other four No. 1 teams remained the same this week: Valor Christian (4A), Holy Family (3A), Sanford (2A) and Caliche (1A).

    The 4A poll added Air Academy at No. 10 this week. That ranking also saw Thompson Valley jump from fifth to second following wins over three 5A teams. Thomas Jefferson is third.

    Complete rankings for all classes are below.

    [divider]

    CHSAANow.com Boys Basketball Polls

    Voted upon by coaches and 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

    Class 5A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 Denver East (22) 5-0 220 1 2-0
    2 Fossil Ridge 6-0 186 4 3-0
    3 Overland 2-2 155 2 1-0
    4 Mountain Vista 4-0 126 8 3-0
    5 Regis Jesuit 4-1 125 6 2-1
    6 Eaglecrest 6-1 118 7 3-0
    7 Legend 4-0 66 9 2-0
    8 Rangeview 4-1 60 3 2-1
    9 Arapahoe 3-0 31 – 0-0
    10 Grand Junction 5-0 23 – 2-0
    Others receiving votes:
    Fairview 20, Chaparral 16, Grandview 16, Monarch 15, Highlands Ranch 14, Chatfield 6, Cherry Creek 5, Ralston Valley 4, ThunderRidge 4.
    Dropped out
    Highlands Ranch (5), Chaparral (10).

    Class 4A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 Valor Christian (16) 6-0 177 1 4-0
    2 Thompson Valley (2) 6-0 135 5 3-0
    3 Thomas Jefferson 3-0 129 3 3-0
    4 Longmont 5-0 109 6 3-0
    5 Pueblo East 5-2 99 4 3-1
    6 Sand Creek 3-0 85 7 1-0
    7 Golden 6-1 55 10 3-1
    8 D’Evelyn 4-2 46 9 2-1
    9 Cheyenne Mountain 3-1 45 2 2-1
    10 Air Academy 6-1 40 – 4-1
    Others receiving votes:
    Falcon 35, Greeley Central 11, Lewis-Palmer 8, Mountain View 7, Frederick 6, Mesa Ridge 2, Palmer Ridge 2, Glenwood Springs 1, Ponderosa 1, Pueblo South 1.
    Dropped out
    Denver South (8).

    Class 3A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 Holy Family (8) 5-0 98 1 2-0
    2 Colorado Academy (1) 4-0 81 3 2-0
    3 Brush (1) 2-0 77 2 1-0
    4 Jefferson Academy 4-0 69 9 4-0
    5 Bishop Machebeuf 4-0 67 6 3-0
    6 Faith Christian 4-3 36 4 3-1
    7 Moffat County 3-1 29 7 3-1
    8 The Pinnacle 3-1 22 – 1-0
    9 Kent Denver 3-1 20 10 2-0
    10 Colorado Springs Christian 1-2 19 5 1-2
    Others receiving votes:
    Denver Science & Tech 10, St. Mary’s 6, Valley 6, Aspen 4, Monte Vista 4, Cedaredge 2, Sterling 1.
    Dropped out
    Aspen (8).

    Class 2A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 Sanford (12) 4-0 155 1 4-0
    2 Yuma (3) 3-0 125 2 2-0
    3 Akron 2-0 110 4 1-0
    4 Lutheran 2-1 106 3 1-0
    5 Ignacio (1) 5-0 101 5 2-0
    6 Resurrection Christian 4-2 75 6 3-0
    7 Limon 3-1 39 9 2-0
    8 Simla 3-1 31 10 2-0
    9 Rye 4-1 30 – 1-1
    10 Denver Christian 1-3 24 7 1-1
    Others receiving votes:
    Swink 23, Peyton 22, Haxtun 13, Alexander Dawson 11, Sedgwick County 6, Crowley County 3, Front Range Christian 3, Custer County 1, Paonia 1, Rangely 1, Sierra Grande 1.
    Dropped out
    Peyton (8).

    Class 1A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 Caliche (6) 4-0 60 1 2-0
    2 Hi-Plains 3-1 50 2 1-1
    3 McClave 4-0 49 3 2-0
    4 Shining Mountain 4-0 42 5 2-0
    5 Vail Christian 3-1 37 6 2-0
    6 Norwood 2-2 25 4 1-1
    7 Prairie 3-1 21 7 2-0
    8 Holly 2-1 14 8 1-0
    9 Cheyenne Wells 3-0 10 – 1-0
    10 Jim Elliot Christian 2-1 8 9 1-1
    Others receiving votes:
    Fleming 5, Stratton 3, Cheraw 2, Granada 2, Walsh 2.
    Dropped out
    Granada (10).

  • Rangeview, Fossil Ridge move up in 5A boys basketball ranking

    (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
    (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)

    Rangeview and Fossil Ridge both made big jumps in this week’s CHSAANow.com 5A boys basketball poll.

    Rangeview, ranked fifth last week, is up to No. 3 following a 2-0 week. Included was a 74-70 win over then-No. 9 Chaparral.

    Fossil Ridge, meanwhile, went from sixth to fourth after going 3-0 last week. The standout win was a 58-51 win over then-No. 3 Eaglecrest.

    The 5A ranking continued to be led by Denver East, which has also started 3-0 at the Great Western Shootout in Utah. Overland remained in the No. 2 spot despite going 1-2 at the same tournament.

    Highlands Ranch rounds out the 5A top 5.

    The other No. 1 teams also stayed the same this week: Valor Christian (4A), Holy Family (3A), Sanford (2A) and Caliche (1A).

    Complete rankings for all classes are below.

    [divider]

    CHSAANow.com Boys Basketball Polls

    Voted upon by coaches and 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

    Class 5A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 Denver East (18) 3-0 180 1 3-0
    2 Overland 1-2 137 2 1-2
    3 Rangeview 2-0 125 5 2-0
    4 Fossil Ridge 3-0 124 6 3-0
    5 Highlands Ranch 1-0 95 4 1-0
    6 Regis Jesuit 2-0 84 7 2-0
    7 Eaglecrest 3-1 59 3 3-1
    8 Mountain Vista 1-0 58 8 1-0
    9 Legend 2-0 30 10 2-0
    10 Chaparral 1-1 27 9 1-1
    Others receiving votes:
    ThunderRidge 23, Arapahoe 18, Cherry Creek 7, Fort Collins 6, Grandview 6, Monarch 6, Grand Junction 3, Chatfield 2.
    Dropped out
    None.

    Class 4A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 Valor Christian (11) 2-0 119 1 2-0
    2 Cheyenne Mountain (1) 1-0 96 3 1-0
    3 Thomas Jefferson 0-0 78 5 0-0
    4 Pueblo East 2-1 76 2 2-1
    5 Thompson Valley 3-0 58 8 3-0
    6 Longmont 2-0 57 7 2-0
    7 Sand Creek 2-0 51 9 2-0
    8 Denver South 1-2 44 4 1-2
    9 D’Evelyn 2-1 28 6 2-1
    10 Golden 3-0 25 – 3-0
    Others receiving votes:
    Falcon 16, Ponderosa 7, Air Academy 3, Mesa Ridge 3, Lewis-Palmer 2, Greeley Central 1, Palmer Ridge 1, Pueblo West 1.
    Dropped out
    Lewis-Palmer (10).

    Class 3A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 Holy Family (7) 3-0 96 1 3-0
    2 Brush (3) 1-0 90 2 1-0
    3 Colorado Academy 2-0 73 3 2-0
    4 Faith Christian 1-2 61 4 1-2
    5 Colorado Springs Christian 0-0 55 5 0-0
    6 Bishop Machebeuf 1-0 34 – 1-0
    7 Moffat County 0-0 28 7 0-0
    8 Aspen 0-0 23 10 0–1
    9 Jefferson Academy 0-0 19 9 0-0
    10 Kent Denver 1-1 16 6 1-1
    Others receiving votes:
    Sterling 11, Denver Science & Tech 10, Valley 8, Pagosa Springs 7, Eaton 6, The Pinnacle 4, Centauri 3, University 3, Platte Valley 2, Grand Valley 1.
    Dropped out
    Eaton (8).

    Class 2A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 Sanford (9) 0-0 108 1 0-0
    2 Yuma (2) 1-0 93 5 1-0
    3 Lutheran 1-1 81 2 1-1
    4 Akron 1-0 74 7 1-0
    5 Ignacio 3-0 67 6 3-0
    6 Resurrection Christian 1-2 41 4 1-2
    7 Denver Christian (1) 0-2 35 3 0-2
    8 Peyton 1-0 34 – 1-0
    9 Limon 1-1 24 8 1-1
    10 Simla 1-1 22 9 1-1
    Others receiving votes:
    Swink 16, Rye 13, Haxtun 11, Sedgwick County 6, Alexander Dawson 5, Byers 5, Heritage Christian 5, Meeker 5, Paonia 5, Crowley County 4, Hayden 3, Dayspring Christian 2, Sangre de Cristo 1.
    Dropped out
    Swink (10).

    Class 1A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW
    1 Caliche (6) 2-0 69 1 2-0
    2 Hi-Plains (1) 2-0 63 2 2-0
    3 McClave 2-0 53 5 2-0
    4 Norwood 1-1 48 3 1-1
    5 Shining Mountain 2-0 32 4 2-0
    6 Vail Christian 1-1 29 8 1-1
    7 Prairie 1-1 17 – 1-1
    8 Holly 1-1 13 6 1-1
    9 Jim Elliot Christian 1-0 12 – 1-0
    10 Granada 0-0 10 10 0-0
    Others receiving votes:
    Walsh 9, Fleming 8, Cheyenne Wells 6, Denver Jewish Day 5, Ouray 3, Primero 3, Stratton 3, Arickaree 1, Pawnee 1.
    Dropped out
    Fleming (7), Otis (9).

  • Denver East leads preseason 5A boys basketball poll

    (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
    Denver East begins the season ranked atop the 5A poll. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)

    Denver East, Valor Christian, Holy Family, Sanford and Caliche are the preseason boys basketball favorites in their respective classifications.

    Those teams were the No. 1 picks in the 5A through 1A CHSAANow.com rankings released Monday morning.

    Denver East received 19 of 20 first-place votes in the 5A poll. The Angels return their top five scorers from last season’s runner-up squad, including University of Colorado commit Dominique Collier and his 20.1 points per game.

    Overland is No. 2 in the 5A ranking, and is following by defending champion Eaglecrest at No. 3. Highlands Ranch is fourth, and Rangeview rounds out the top 5.

    Fossil Ridge is sixth in the 5A poll, Regis Jesuit is seventh, Mountain Vista is eighth, Chaparral is ninth and Legend is tenth. Monarch narrowly missed the top-10.

    A total of 23 teams appeared on preseason ballots in the 5A ranking.

    (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
    Valor Christian is 4A’s preseason No. 1 team. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)

    Another runner-up from a season ago, Valor Christian, heads the 4A preseason ranking. The Eagles return their top eight scorers from last season. That includes Chase Foster, who averaged 20.0 points per game last season.

    Pueblo East is second in the 4A ranking, and is followed by No. 3 Cheyenne Mountain, No. 4 Denver South and No. 5 Thomas Jefferson. Two-time defending champion Lewis-Palmer is ranked 10th to begin the 2013-14 season.

    Holy Family heads the 3A poll, though No. 2 Brush received an equal amount of first-place votes (five). The Tigers reached the Great 8 last season.

    Defending 3A champion Pagosa Springs is unranked to begin the year.

    In 2A, Sanford is the No. 1 pick. The Indians reached the Final 4 last season. Denver Christian, last season’s champion, is ranked third.

    Caliche heads the preseason 1A poll. The Buffaloes were in last season’s semifinals. Defending champion McClave is ranked fifth.

    Complete rankings for all classes are below.

    [divider]

    CHSAANow.com Boys Basketball Polls

    Voted upon by coaches and 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

    Class 5A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS
    1 Denver East (19) 0-0 199
    2 Overland 0-0 148
    3 Eaglecrest (1) 0-0 106
    4 Highlands Ranch 0-0 100
    5 Rangeview 0-0 87
    6 Fossil Ridge 0-0 79
    7 Regis Jesuit 0-0 72
    8 Mountain Vista 0-0 52
    9 Chaparral 0-0 51
    10 Legend 0-0 44
    Others receiving votes:
    Monarch 41, Chatfield 22, Fort Collins 19, Cherokee Trail 17, ThunderRidge 11, Montbello 10, Abraham Lincoln 9, Grandview 9, Fairview 7, Cherry Creek 6, Dakota Ridge 5, Grand Junction 5, Arapahoe 1.

    Class 4A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS
    1 Valor Christian (12) 0-0 151
    2 Pueblo East 0-0 101
    3 Cheyenne Mountain (2) 0-0 100
    4 Denver South (1) 0-0 87
    5 Thomas Jefferson 0-0 84
    6 D’Evelyn 0-0 63
    7 Longmont 0-0 59
    8 Thompson Valley 0-0 58
    9 Sand Creek (1) 0-0 48
    10 Lewis-Palmer 0-0 32
    Others receiving votes:
    Broomfield 25, Falcon 13, Ponderosa 9, Windsor 9, Mesa Ridge 8, Elizabeth 6, Sierra 5, Durango 4, Frederick 4, Pueblo West 4, Greeley Central 3, Pueblo South 3, Green Mountain 1, Kennedy 1, Palisade 1, Widefield 1.

    Class 3A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS
    1 Holy Family (5) 0-0 100
    2 Brush (5) 0-0 85
    3 Colorado Academy (1) 0-0 84
    4 Faith Christian 0-0 66
    5 Colorado Springs Christian 0-0 54
    6 Kent Denver 0-0 32
    7 Moffat County 0-0 31
    8 Eaton 0-0 28
    9 Jefferson Academy 0-0 27
    10 Aspen 0-1 21
    Others receiving votes:
    Sterling 14, Denver Science & Tech 12, Manitou Springs 12, Pagosa Springs 12, The Pinnacle 12, Bishop Machebeuf 5, Centauri 5, Fort Lupton 2, Alamosa 1, Frontier Academy 1, Roaring Fork 1.

    Class 2A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS
    1 Sanford (8) 0-0 130
    2 Lutheran (1) 0-0 124
    3 Denver Christian (3) 0-0 110
    4 Resurrection Christian (1) 0-0 77
    5 Yuma (1) 0-0 74
    6 Ignacio 0-0 69
    7 Akron (1) 0-0 59
    8 Limon 0-0 50
    9 Simla 0-0 34
    10 Swink 0-0 30
    Others receiving votes:
    Peyton 18, Paonia 9, Crowley County 6, Rocky Ford 6, Meeker 5, Rye 5, Byers 4, Hayden 4, Sierra Grande 4, Haxtun 3, Heritage Christian 3, Sangre de Cristo 1.

    Class 1A
    RK TEAM W-L PTS
    1 Caliche (3) 0-0 48
    2 Hi-Plains (1) 0-0 39
    3 Norwood 0-0 34
    4 Shining Mountain 0-0 30
    5 McClave (2) 0-0 26
    6 Holly 0-0 25
    7 Fleming 0-0 23
    8 Vail Christian 0-0 22
    9 Otis 0-0 19
    10 Granada 0-0 18
    Others receiving votes:
    Prairie 8, Denver Jewish Day 6, Pawnee 6, Elbert 5, Primero 5, Jim Elliot Christian 4, La Veta 4, Bethune 3, Stratton 3, Deer Trail 2.

  • Photo gallery: Douglas County tops Legend in 5A football playoffs

    CASTLE ROCK — Trey Smith rushed for 216 yards and four touchdowns as No. 16 Douglas County handled No. 17 Legend 64-34 to move on in the 5A football playoffs.

  • 5A football playoff bracket

    Football’s 2013 state playoff bracket for Class 5A.

    2013 CHSAA State Football Championships CHSAA 5A Football Championship

  • Fairview grabs 5A’s top seed as football brackets are released

    (Courtesy photo)
    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.

    Other qualifiers were No. 17 Legend, No. 18 Arapahoe, No. 19 Overland, No. 20 Grandview, No. 21 Gateway, No. 22 Heritage, No. 23 Westminster, No. 24 Rocky Mountain, No. 25 Fountain-Fort Carson, No. 26 Hinkley, No. 27 Arvada West, No. 28 Castle View, No. 29 Fort Collins, No. 30 Lakewood and No. 31 Eaglecrest.

    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

  • Legacy, yet again, wins 5A softball championship

    (Pam Wagner)
    More photos. (Pam Wagner)

    AURORA — After a year away, Legacy’s softball team is back on top of the Class 5A mountain.

    The Lightning won their sixth title in seven years, edging Legend 6-4 at a chilly Aurora Sports Park on Sunday.

    “We see everybody’s Sunday best,” Legacy coach Dawn Gaffin, who has been the head of the Lightning softball program for 14 years. “Everybody comes to play us. People from other teams line up on the other side and cheer against us, and we are getting used to it. We set this goal at the beginning of the year, every year. We don’t think about anything else, except this. We know it is a progression. Even though we lost five games I would say we probably played the toughest schedule in the state. We didn’t get rewarded for that, but I didn’t care where we were seeded because we have to play everybody anyway.”

    (Pam Wagner)
    More photos. (Pam Wagner)

    Legacy, which was seeded No. 5 in the 16-team state tourney, ended its season with a 21-5 record. Legend (20-6), which started playing varsity sports in 2009, was trying to win the school’s first state team title.

    “They put the bat on the ball and put pressure on us,” Legend coach Shelly Boyd said. “They are experienced and have been here before and they are a much older team than we are. We are a very young team. We started three freshmen and a sophomore out there.”

    Legend’s varsity softball program had compiled a 31-36 record since its inception before its 2013 breakout season.

    Legacy moved into the state championship game by edging Brighton 5-3 in the semifinals Sunday morning. Legend muscled past Fossil Ridge 9-4.

    Legend actually jumped out to quick 1-0 lead on Kaley Garcia’s RBI single in the top of the third inning. Garcia brought home Steph Cardona who doubled.

    “I felt like falling behind kind of lit a fire under us,” Legacy pitcher Haley Smith, a junior, said. “We started hitting the ball.”

    Legacy’s offense came alive in the bottom of the fourth, scoring four runs on four hits. The Lightning’s Shania Leon had an RBI single and Jordan Sheard brought home another run on a squeeze bunt.

    (Pam Wagner)
    (Pam Wagner)

    “At this point it is just muscle memory,” said Leon, a senior, about her hit which sparked the Lightning’s offense. “You just have to calm the adrenaline down and then let it take over. We are pretty confident. We have amazing coaches who led us this far.”

    In the sixth inning, thanks to some Legend miscues Legacy took a 6-1 advantage. Those two insurance runs proved to be crucial as Legend’s Karlee Arnold blasted a three-run homer to get the Titans within 6-4 in the seventh.

    “I wasn’t nervous after that three-run homer,” Smith said. “I knew we had one out and we just had to go back to work. This is crazy (to win another state title). It is indescribable, the feeling after you win.”

    Leon also was thrilled to help her team back on the 5A prep throne.

    “Every year is a different year,” Leon said. “We have to start off the same as any other team. No team has it from the beginning, you have to work hard. This team just meshed together.”

    (Pam Wagner)
    More photos. (Pam Wagner)
    (Pam Wagner)
    More photos. (Pam Wagner)
    (Pam Wagner)
    More photos. (Pam Wagner)
    (Pam Wagner)
    More photos. (Pam Wagner)
    (Pam Wagner)
    More photos. (Pam Wagner)

  • Softball roundup: Fossil Ridge scores a semifinal ticket

    (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
    Aurora Sports Park sits quiet prior to Saturday’s action. More photos. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

    A roundup of Saturday’s action at the state softball tournaments at Aurora Sports Park.

    Class 5A

    Bracket

    State softball
    Fossil Ridge. More photos. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)

    AURORA — Fossil Ridge won its first two games at Saturday’s opening rounds of the 5A state softball tournament by a combined score of 29-7. It now finds itself in the semifinals for the first time in school history.

    In fact, Fossil Ridge had never even won a game at the state tournament before Saturday.

    The third-seeded SaberCats beat No. 14 Pine Creek in the opening round, 10-3, then followed with a 19-4 mercy-rule-shortened win over No. 6 Eaglecrest which ended on Haley Donaldson’s walk-off three-run home run.

    Legacy softball coach Dawn Gaffin goes over instructions between innings Saturday afternoon during the Lightning's 8-1 quarterfinal victory against Dakota Ridge. Legacy, 5-time Class 5A state champion, will face Brighton in the 5A state semifinals 10 a.m. Sunday at Aurora Sports Park. (Dennis Pleuss)
    Legacy softball coach Dawn Gaffin goes over instructions between innings Saturday afternoon during the Lightning’s 8-1 quarterfinal victory against Dakota Ridge. Legacy, 5-time Class 5A state champion, will face Brighton in the 5A state semifinals 10 a.m. Sunday at Aurora Sports Park. More photos. (Dennis Pleuss)

    Fossil Ridge is 22-1 in 2013. The SaberCats’ lone loss this season came to Legacy on Sept. 16. They could get a rematch on Saturday — but first they’ll need to get past No. 7 Legend, another first-timer in the semis.

    Legend (19-5) dispatched No. 10 Grandview 13-8 to open the tournament, then beat No. 2 Rock Canyon 6-1 in the quartefinals.

    No. 9 Brighton was the lone team to knock off a No. 1 seed on Saturday. The Bulldogs, now 22-2, beat No. 1 Douglas County 8-4 in the quarterfinals. That followed an 11-1 win over No. 8 Loveland, the defending champion.

    In the semis, Brighton will get No. 5 Legacy, which beat a pair of Jeffco squads (Chatfield and Dakota Ridge) to earn its seventh consecutive berth into the state tournament semifinals.

    No. 12 Chatfield gave Legacy a tough test before the Lightning pulled away in the late innings for a 6-2 win.

    “I think we kind of learned from it,” Legacy senior pitcher Haley Smith said. “Our bats were kind of cold at first, but we had everybody set up.”

    Legacy used some “small ball” tactics in the third inning against No. 4 Dakota Ridge to score four runs on the way to an 8-1 victory.

    Despite the rich tradition of winning five straight 5A state crowns from 2007 to 2011, Smith doesn’t believe Legacy will be nervous going into the semifinals.

    “If anything I think there is less pressure because everyone thinks we can’t do it,” Smith said. “We are the underdogs.”

    Semifinal games:

    • (9) Brighton vs. (5) Legacy, 10 a.m.
    • (3) Fossil Ridge vs. (7) Legend, 10 a.m.

    [divider]

    4A state softball
    Broomfield is headed to the semifinals. More photos. (Pam Wagner)

    Class 4A

    Bracket

    Fifth-seeded Broomfield narrowly survived being No. 13 D’Evelyn’s second upset victim of the day. But the Eagles did survive, and advance, to the 4A semifinals on Sunday.

    Broomfield rallied from 2-0 and 4-2 holes to hold on and beat D’Evelyn 7-6 on Saturday. The Eagles had a four-run fifth-inning which led to the win. They will face top-seeded Wheat Ridge in the semifinals.

    Wheat Ridge junior Erin Dalton connects with a pitch during the Farmers' 5-0 win against Roosevelt in the opening round of the Class 4A state softball tournament Saturday at Aurora Sports Park. (Dennis Pleuss)
    Wheat Ridge junior Erin Dalton connects with a pitch during the Farmers’ 5-0 win against Roosevelt in the opening round of the Class 4A state softball tournament Saturday at Aurora Sports Park. More photos. (Dennis Pleuss)

    Wheat Ridge didn’t have much problem advancing.

    The Farmers shut out No. 16 Roosevelt by a 5-0 score in the opening round and cranked out 11 hits in a 9-4 quarterfinal victory against No. 8 Mountain View. Still, Wheat Ridge coach Marty Stricklett said there is “some improving to do” going into the final day of the season.

    The Farmers edged Broomfield 2-0 earlier this season. Sophomore Christina Nelson hit a two-run home run in the first inning and senior pitcher Jessica Salbato pitched a shutout against Broomfield back on Aug. 30.

    A 1-0 loss to Niwot in the 4A semifinals last year still motivates the Farmers heading into their eighth straight trip to the state semifinals.

    “Tomorrow we are still going off what happened last year,” Stricklett said. “We’ve got to show up and play our game. The name of our game is hitting. We’ve got to hit the ball.”

    On the other side of the bracket, No. 6 Erie beat No. 11 Silver Creek 11-1 and No. 3 Pueblo East 7-1 to advance to Sunday. The Tigers will face No. 2 Ponderosa, which escaped No. 15 Palmer Ridge’s upset bid, 5-4, to open the tournament, then beat No. 7 Berthoud 6-0 in the quarters.

    Semifinal games:

    • (1) Wheat Ridge vs. (5) Broomfield, 10 a.m.
    • (6) Erie vs. (2) Ponderosa, 10 a.m.

    [divider]

    Class 3A

    Bracket

    The four semifinalists at the 3A level each only played one game on Saturday. That’s because Strasburg, Sterling, Holy Family and Valley all had opening-round byes as seeds Nos. 1-4.

    Top-seeded Strasburg beat No. 9 Basalt 11-0, and will meet No. 4 Valley, which eeked past No. 5 Eaton 1-0.

    In the other semifinal, No. 2 Sterling will meet No. 3 Holy Family. Sterling beat No. 7 Lamar 5-0 and Holy Family beat No. 11 Dolores Huerta 3-0.

    Semifinal games:

    • (1) Strasburg vs. (4) Valley, 10 a.m.
    • (3) Holy Family vs. (2) Sterling, 10 a.m.

    — Reporting from Dennis Pleuss and Ryan Casey.