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Tag: Arvada West

  • Chatfield and Dakota Ridge grab team titles at 5A Jeffco League XC Championships

    ARVADA — Pomona sophomore Emma Stutzman added to her growing resume Friday afternoon during the Class 5A Jeffco League Cross Country Championships.

    Stutzman easily cruised to the girls individual title with a time of 18 minutes, 57.7 seconds on the grounds of the Standley Lake Basketball Barn near Stoney Creek Golf Course in north Arvada.

    Chatfield freshman Reese Tucker helped the Chargers bring home the 5A Jeffco League girls team title. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    “It means a lot because last year I came in third and blew the finish a little bit,” said Stutzman, who broke the school cross country record at Pomona earlier this season. “It feels really good to be able to win this one.”

    The sophomore didn’t mind the several surface changes and uneven ground of the new course that hosted the 4A Jeffco League championships the day before.

    “It was good. It’s a nice course. It was kind of lonely, but you just got to work with you got,” said Stutzman, who’s time was nearly 40 seconds faster that second-place. “It hits home a little bit. I train a lot in the mountains. It was nice to have a similar surface and not have a concrete course.”

    Chatfield grabbed the team title with 55 points. Freshmen Reese Tucker (2nd) and Aspen Webb (4th) led the Chargers to the team victory.

    Now it’s onto regionals next week. Stutzman and the Panthers will head to Monarch High School for the 5A Region 3 meet on Thursday, Oct. 8.

    “It’s definitely to win regionals,” Stutzman said of her goal next week.

    Dakota Ridge senior Jacob White is alone as he nears the finish-line during the 5A Jeffco League XC Championships on Friday. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    On the boys side, Dakota Ridge senior Jacob White continued his winning ways. The three-time state placer grabbed his first individual conference title with a time of 15:52.1.

    “I just ran,” said White, who was all by himself for the majority of the race defeating the rest of the field by nearly a minute. “I feel ready for regionals.”

    Dakota Ridge grabbed it third straight 5A Jeffco team title with four runners — White, Ethan Straub, Chance Heisler and Silas Thompson — all finishing in the Top-10. Ralston Valley boys finished second with seniors James Ramey (2nd) and Jack Donze (4th) leading the way for the Mustangs.

    White is looking forward the facing some tough competition at the 5A Region 1 meet Friday, Oct. 9, at Clement Park. Mountain Vista senior Harrison Witt will give White a good gage of where he is at heading into state.

    “It will be so much fun. I can’t wait for next week,” White said. “It will truly be something.”

  • Cross country team rankings by region

    Wiggins Invite girls cross country
    (Brent Murphy/brentmurphyphoto.com)

    The 2020 cross country regional fields will be determined, in part, by a coaches poll within each region.

    The official vote will be held this coming weekend. The coaches held a trial vote last weekend, and the results of that vote is below.

    [divider]

    [cbtabs][cbtab title=”Class 2A”]

    Region 1 (Boys)
    Rank Team Points
    1 Heritage Christian 123
    2 Lyons 107
    3 Yuma 90
    4 Wiggins 73
    5 Lake Couty 56
    6 Byers 53
    7 Twin Peaks Charter 52
    8 Clear Creek 51
    9 Front Range Christian 41
    10 Dawson School 40
    11 Rocky Mountain Lutheran 33
    12 Strasburg 31
    13 Merino 24
    14 Shining Mountain 22
    15 Nederland 19
    16 Aurora West College Prep 14
    17 Highland 12
    18 Front Range Baptist 11
    Region 1 (Girls)
    Rank Team Points
    1 Heritage Christian 108
    2 Lyons 82
    3 Lake Couty 81
    4 Yuma 73
    5 Clear Creek 64
    5 Strasburg 64
    7 Shining Mountain 51
    8 Merino 40
    9 Byers 39
    10 Wiggins 34
    11 Aurora West College Prep 28
    12 Nederland 22
    13 Dawson School 20
    14 Highland 16
    14 Rocky Mountain Lutheran 16
    16 Front Range Baptist 14
    16 Front Range Christian 14
    18 Twin Peaks Charter 11
    Region 2 (Boys)
    Rank Team Points
    1 Golden View Classical Academy 80
    2 Peyton 78
    3 Lotus School for Excellence 71
    4 Wray 57
    5 Vanguard 51
    6 Colorado Springs Christian 46
    7 Limon 41
    8 Ellicott 40
    9 Dolores Huerta 20
    10 Addenbrooke Classical 16
    11 Colorado Springs School 14
    12 Denver Christian 8
    13 Denver Academy 5
    14 Fountain Valley 4
    15 CIVA Charter 3
    16 Two Roads Charter 2
    17 Pikes Peak Christian 1
    18 Denver Academy of Torah 0
    18 Stratton/Liberty 0
    Region 2 (Girls)
    Rank Team Points
    1 Wray 82
    2 Golden View Classical Academy 76
    3 Colorado Springs Christian 71
    4 Peyton 60
    4 Vanguard 60
    6 Ellicott 48
    7 Limon 41
    8 Denver Christian 35
    9 Colorado Springs School 26
    10 Stratton/Liberty 14
    11 Lotus School for Excellence 10
    12 Addenbrooke Classical 3
    12 Fountain Valley 3
    12 Pikes Peak Christian 3
    15 Denver Academy of Torah 2
    16 CIVA Charter 0
    16 Denver Academy 0
    16 Dolores Huerta 0
    16 Two Roads Charter 0
    Region 3 (Boys)
    Rank Team Points
    1 Rocky Ford 68
    2 Buena Vista 67
    3 Thomas MacLaren 59
    4 St. Mary’s 57
    5 Centauri 56
    6 Sargent 43
    7 Platte Canyon 31
    8 Custer County 29
    9 Rye 27
    10 Antonito 24
    11 Monte Vista 19
    12 Center 14
    13 Sierra Grande 13
    14 Centennial 9
    15 Kim 8
    16 Cripple Creek-Victor 7
    17 Del Norte 5
    18 Moffat 3
    19 Primero 1
    Region 3 (Girls)
    Rank Team Points
    1 Buena Vista 48
    2 Centauri 44
    3 Rocky Ford 40
    4 Rye 36
    5 Platte Canyon 30
    6 Custer County 24
    7 Thomas MacLaren 20
    8 St. Mary’s 18
    8 Springfield 18
    10 Antonito 12
    11 Del Norte 4
    11 Sierra Grande 4
    13 Kim 3
    13 Moffat 3
    15 Sargent 2
    16 Center 1
    17 Centennial 0
    17 Cripple Creek-Victor 0
    17 Monte Vista 0
    Region 4 (Boys)
    Rank Team Points
    1 Caprock Academy 154
    2 Meeker 130
    3 Grand Valley 129
    4 Ouray 119
    5 Olathe 107
    6 Paonia 99
    7 Crested Butte Community 77
    8 Colorado Rocky Mountain School 68
    8 West Grand 68
    10 Rangely 34
    11 Soroco 28
    12 Dolores 23
    13 Mancos 17
    14 Ignacio 12
    15 Telluride 11
    16 Hotchkiss 10
    17 DeBeque 5
    18 Lake City 1
    Region 4 (Girls)
    Rank Team Points
    1 Ignacio 159
    2 West Grand 149
    3 Soroco 138
    4 Meeker 120
    5 Caprock Academy 119
    6 Hotchkiss 116
    7 Paonia 87
    8 Colorado Rocky Mountain School 84
    9 Telluride 52
    10 Crested Butte Community 49
    11 Mancos 45
    12 Rangely 31
    13 Ouray 15
    14 Olathe 4
    15 Dolores 1
    15 Grand Valley 1
    17 DeBeque 0
    17 Lake City 0

    [/cbtab][cbtab title=”Class 3A”]

    Region 1 (Boys)
    Rank Team Points
    1 Alamosa 47
    2 Aspen 39
    2 Gunnison 39
    4 Moffat County 28
    5 Basalt 25
    5 Coal Ridge 25
    7 Rifle 24
    8 Pagosa Springs 18
    9 Delta 13
    10 Bayfield 12
    11 Montezuma-Cortez 4
    12 Middle Park 1
    Region 1 (Girls)
    Rank Team Points
    1 Basalt 39
    2 Aspen 35
    3 Alamosa 34
    4 Moffat County 25
    5 Delta 23
    6 Gunnison 20
    7 Pagosa Springs 17
    8 Coal Ridge 12
    9 Middle Park 6
    10 Montezuma-Cortez 4
    10 Rifle 4
    12 Bayfield 1
    Region 2 (Boys)
    Rank Team Points
    1 The Classical Academy 80
    2 Salida 68
    3 Lutheran 59
    4 Woodland Park 55
    5 Elizabeth 45
    6 Manitou Springs 42
    7 Harrison 26
    8 Lamar 23
    9 Banning Lewis Prep 15
    10 La Junta 12
    11 James Irwin 8
    12 Sierra 4
    13 Florence 3
    Region 2 (Girls)
    Rank Team Points
    1 The Classical Academy 60
    2 Elizabeth 53
    3 Salida 49
    4 Lutheran 40
    5 Woodland Park 30
    6 Lamar 26
    7 Manitou Springs 22
    8 James Irwin 17
    9 Florence 13
    10 Sierra 8
    11 Banning Lewis Prep 6
    11 Harrison 6
    Region 3 (Boys)
    Rank Team Points
    1 Holy Family 100
    2 Jefferson Academy 89
    3 Peak to Peak 80
    4 Prospect Ridge 68
    5 Stargate 59
    6 DSST: Conservatory Green 49
    7 The Academy 41
    8 Arvada 35
    9 Arrupe Jesuit 31
    10 DSST: Montview 25
    11 The Pinnacle 14
    12 DSST: Green Valley Ranch 6
    13 Denver West 5
    14 Lincoln 3
    Region 3 (Girls)
    Rank Team Points
    1 Holy Family 85
    2 Jefferson Academy 71
    3 Peak to Peak 63
    4 Prospect Ridge 54
    5 Stargate 53
    6 The Academy 42
    7 DSST: Montview 38
    8 The Pinnacle 23
    9 Arrupe Jesuit 21
    10 Denver West 20
    11 Arvada 16
    12 DSST: Green Valley Ranch 4
    13 Lincoln 3
    14 DSST: Conservatory Green 2
    Region 4 (Boys)
    Rank Team Points
    1 Frontier Academy 119
    2 Liberty Common 109
    3 Berthoud 86
    4 Northridge 80
    5 Brush 69
    6 Eaton 56
    7 Estes Park 52
    8 University 38
    9 Resurrection Christian 26
    10 Severance 13
    11 Valley 11
    12 Platte Valley 1
    Region 4 (Girls)
    Rank Team Points
    1 Berthoud 104
    2 Liberty Common 102
    3 Frontier Academy 86
    4 University 69
    5 Northridge 68
    6 Brush 54
    7 Estes Park 49
    8 Resurrection Christian 33
    9 Eaton 24
    10 Severance 14
    11 Platte Valley 2
    Region 5 (Boys)
    Rank Team Points
    1 Faith Christian 54
    2 Colorado Academy 47
    3 D’Evelyn 43
    4 Kent Denver 39
    5 SkyView Academy 38
    6 Machebeuf 33
    7 Ridge View Academy 17
    8 DSST: Byers 13
    8 Englewood 13
    10 DSST: College View 12
    11 Jefferson 8
    11 Sheridan 8
    13 Englewood/St. Mary’s Academy 3
    14 KIPP Denver Collegiate 1
    14 STRIVE Prep – Smart 1
    Region 5 (Girls)
    Rank Team Points
    1 D’Evelyn 27
    2 Faith Christian 25
    3 Colorado Academy 23
    4 Machebeuf 21
    5 Englewood/St. Mary’s Academy 16
    6 Kent Denver 12
    7 Sheridan 9
    8 Jefferson 7
    9 Ridge View Academy 6
    9 SkyView Academy 6
    11 Englewood 5
    12 DSST: Byers 3
    12 KIPP Denver Collegiate 3
    14 DSST: College View 2

    [/cbtab][cbtab title=”Class 4A”]

    Region 1 (Boys)
    Rank Team Points
    1 Battle Mountain 74
    2 Conifer 73
    3 Grand Junction Central 70
    4 Eagle Valley 57
    5 Green Mountain 52
    6 Mullen 46
    7 Golden 30
    8 Evergreen 26
    9 Grand Junction 20
    10 Summit 18
    11 Steamboat Springs 14
    12 Palisade 9
    13 Glenwood Springs 6
    Region 1 (Girls)
    Rank Team Points
    1 Battle Mountain 69
    2 Eagle Valley 47
    2 Golden 47
    4 Glenwood Springs 41
    5 Evergreen 33
    6 Palisade 32
    7 Green Mountain 25
    8 Mullen 24
    9 Grand Junction Central 19
    10 Grand Junction 18
    11 Summit 14
    12 Conifer 9
    13 Steamboat Springs 7
    Region 2 (Boys)
    Rank Team Points
    1 Air Academy 74
    2 Palmer Ridge 70
    3 Palmer 57
    4 Lewis-Palmer 55
    5 Coronado 46
    5 Littleton 46
    7 Falcon 39
    8 Discovery Canyon 34
    9 Ponderosa 23
    9 Wheat Ridge 23
    11 Aurora Central 12
    12 Sand Creek 10
    13 Gateway 6
    Region 2 (Girls)
    Rank Team Points
    1 Air Academy 89
    2 Palmer Ridge 69
    3 Discovery Canyon 62
    4 Lewis-Palmer 58
    5 Coronado 50
    6 Littleton 37
    6 Palmer 37
    8 Falcon 21
    9 Ponderosa 20
    10 Wheat Ridge 19
    11 Aurora Central 14
    12 Gateway 10
    13 Sand Creek 9
    Region 3 (Boys)
    Rank Team Points
    1 Centaurus 52
    2 Niwot 49
    3 Denver South 43
    4 George Washington 39
    5 Denver North 31
    6 Northfield 25
    6 Standley Lake 25
    8 Thomas Jefferson 21
    9 Vista Peak 17
    10 Regis Groff 11
    10 Skyview 11
    12 Alameda 6
    Region 3 (Girls)
    Rank Team Points
    1 Niwot 70
    2 George Washington 59
    3 Centaurus 56
    3 Northfield 56
    5 Denver South 47
    6 Standley Lake 37
    7 Denver North 34
    8 Thomas Jefferson 25
    9 Vista Peak 23
    10 Regis Groff 15
    11 Skyview 11
    12 Alameda 7
    Region 4 (Boys)
    Rank Team Points
    1 Thompson Valley 108
    2 Mead 107
    3 Longmont 94
    4 Mountain View 77
    5 Erie 65
    6 Thornton 57
    7 Riverdale Ridge 41
    8 Silver Creek 40
    9 Roosevelt 29
    10 Greeley Central 18
    11 Fort Morgan 11
    12 Frederick 6
    13 Windsor 5
    14 Skyline 2
    Region 4 (Girls)
    Rank Team Points
    1 Silver Creek 127
    2 Thompson Valley 115
    3 Roosevelt 91
    4 Erie 87
    5 Mead 82
    6 Longmont 64
    7 Mountain View 58
    8 Riverdale Ridge 31
    9 Fort Morgan 28
    10 Windsor 17
    11 Frederick 6
    11 Skyline 6
    13 Greeley Central 2
    14 Thornton 1
    Region 5 (Boys)
    Rank Team Points
    1 Cheyenne Mountain 70
    2 Durango 62
    3 Montrose 47
    4 Mesa Ridge 45
    5 Widefield 41
    6 Pueblo South 38
    7 Pueblo West 35
    8 Canon City 16
    8 Pueblo County 16
    10 Pueblo Centennial 9
    11 Pueblo East 5
    12 Mitchell 1
    Region 5 (Girls)
    Rank Team Points
    1 Durango 66
    2 Cheyenne Mountain 61
    3 Pueblo West 56
    4 Montrose 43
    5 Mesa Ridge 34
    6 Pueblo County 32
    7 Pueblo South 29
    8 Widefield 28
    9 Canon City 23
    10 Pueblo Centennial 6
    10 Pueblo East 6
    12 Mitchell 1

    [/cbtab][cbtab title=”Class 5A”]

    Region 1 (Boys)
    Rank Team Points
    1 Cherokee Trail 83
    2 Cherry Creek 81
    3 Arapahoe 70
    4 Grandview 69
    5 Regis Jesuit 45
    5 Smoky Hill 45
    7 Eaglecrest 43
    8 Overland 25
    9 Rangeview 23
    10 Hinkley 11
    Region 1 (Girls)
    Rank Team Points
    1 Cherry Creek 83
    2 Arapahoe 81
    3 Cherokee Trail 76
    4 Regis Jesuit 62
    5 Grandview 55
    6 Smoky Hill 41
    7 Eaglecrest 40
    8 Rangeview 27
    9 Hinkley 17
    10 Overland 13
    Region 2 (Boys)
    Rank Team Points
    1 Mountain Vista 30
    2 Dakota Ridge 26
    3 Heritage 25
    4 Valor Christian 21
    5 Arvada West 16
    6 Fruita Monument 15
    7 Highlands Ranch 11
    8 Chatfield 8
    9 ThunderRidge 7
    10 Lakewood 5
    11 Columbine 1
    Region 2 (Girls)
    Rank Team Points
    1 Valor Christian 60
    2 Mountain Vista 55
    3 Heritage 47
    4 Chatfield 46
    5 Dakota Ridge 42
    6 Fruita Monument 41
    7 Columbine 31
    8 ThunderRidge 22
    9 Arvada West 16
    10 Lakewood 13
    11 Highlands Ranch 7
    12 Bear Creek 5
    Region 3 (Boys)
    Rank Team Points
    1 Boulder 69
    1 Ralston Valley 69
    3 Fairview 67
    4 Legacy 57
    5 Broomfield 52
    6 Denver East 41
    7 Monarch 33
    8 Pomona 28
    9 Northglenn 10
    10 Adams City 7
    10 Westminster 7
    Region 3 (Girls)
    Rank Team Points
    1 Broomfield 70
    1 Fairview 70
    3 Denver East 58
    4 Boulder 54
    5 Monarch 53
    6 Legacy 37
    7 Pomona 36
    8 Ralston Valley 33
    9 Northglenn 14
    10 Westminster 9
    11 Adams City 6
    Region 4 (Boys)
    Rank Team Points
    1 Fossil Ridge 68
    2 Rocky Mountain 64
    3 Poudre 51
    4 Horizon 49
    5 Fort Collins 46
    6 Loveland 36
    7 Mountain Range 27
    8 Brighton 22
    9 Greeley West 11
    10 Prairie View 9
    11 Far Northeast 2
    Region 4 (Girls)
    Rank Team Points
    1 Loveland 69
    2 Fossil Ridge 64
    3 Rocky Mountain 54
    4 Fort Collins 45
    5 Brighton 40
    6 Horizon 34
    7 Poudre 33
    8 Mountain Range 20
    9 Greeley West 14
    10 Prairie View 10
    11 Far Northeast 2
    Region 5 (Boys)
    Rank Team Points
    1 Chaparral 56
    2 Liberty 53
    3 Rock Canyon 45
    4 Pine Creek 40
    5 Castle View 39
    6 Rampart 35
    7 Douglas County 18
    8 Doherty 14
    8 Legend 14
    10 Fountain-Fort Carson 11
    11 Vista Ridge 5
    Region 5 (Girls)
    Rank Team Points
    1 Pine Creek 68
    2 Douglas County 50
    3 Chaparral 49
    4 Rock Canyon 48
    5 Castle View 42
    6 Rampart 39
    7 Doherty 26
    8 Fountain-Fort Carson 24
    9 Vista Ridge 18
    10 Legend 11
    11 Liberty 10

    [/cbtab][/cbtabs]

  • Video: Jeffco Preps With Pleuss (September)

    Jeffco Preps With Pleuss is a monthly roundup of Jeffco prep highlights hosted by Dennis Pleuss, Jeffco Public Schools’ sports information director. In the first edition of the 2020-21 prep sports season, we dive into softball action with the Dave Sanders Invitational along with Green Mountain and Wheat Ridge facing off in a Class 4A Jeffco League showdown. The 5A Jeffco boys golf season was entertaining with several top golfers in the state competing during the five league tournament schedule. D’Evelyn boys tennis made a good run at its regional tournament at Colorado Academy. Arvada West cross country team hosted the Durden Invitational that featured Dakota Ridge senior Jacob White as he makes another push toward a top finish at the state tournament coming up in mid-October.

  • Dakota Ridge senior Jacob White dominates at Durden Invitational

    ARVADA — There were a couple of significant changes during the annual cross country Wildcat Invitational hosted by Arvada West High School.

    First, races began at 8:30 a.m. with the idea to beat the afternoon heat. With Jeffco Public Schools’ high schools all on remote learning on Fridays it was more feasible to have a morning start.

    It was a morning start at the Durden Invitational at Stenger Soccer Complex in Arvada. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    The second change was a name change. The Wildcat Invitational was renamed the Durden Invitational this year. A-West decided to honor Benji and Amie Durden, both have been very impactful on the running community in Colorado. Benji Durden was 2nd at the U.S. Olympic Trails back in 1980. If not for the U.S. boycotting the Olympic games in Moscow that year, Durden would have run for U.S. at the Olympics.

    One thing that was the same was Dakota Ridge’s Jacob White crossing the finish-line first. The Dakota Ridge senior won the boys race in a time of 15 minutes, 55 seconds. Ralston Valley senior James Ramey placed 2nd, more than 50 seconds behind White.

    However, White wasn’t completely trilled with his time on the course run at Stenger Soccer Complex in Arvada.

    “I wasn’t happy with it,” White said of his sub-16 minute time. “I have been kind of off for the last couple of months. I feel myself getting back on track. Hopefully next week I’ll get that low 15-minute time.”

    White has his sights on a fourth straight appearance at the state meet coming up Oct. 17 at the Norris Penrose Event Center in Colorado Springs. White has finished in the Class 5A Top-6 individually the past two years, along with helping the Eagles to back-to-back 5A team titles.

    The senior and one of the top distance runners in the state does give a lot of credit to former teammates like Austin Vancil (University of Colorado) and Connor Ohlson (Air Force Academy).

    Standley Lake senior Sophia Abernethy led the pack during the girls race Friday. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    “It has been very helpful,” White said of his experiences of back-to-back team 5A team state title at Dakota Ridge. “I’m so grateful. I would never be where I’m at today with those guys (Austin Vancil and Connor Ohlson). Without them none of this would have happened.”

    Ralston Valley did edge Dakota Ridge for the team title at the Durden Invitational. Ralston Valley seniors James Ramey, Jack Donze, Ethan Grolnic and Aiden Logan all finished Top-10.

    On the girls side, Standley Lake senior Sophia Abernethy claimed another individual crown this season with a time of 20:17.8. D’Evelyn girls won the team title with sophomore Jayden Miller, seniors Sonja Morin and Kati Livingood finishing Top-10.

    Coming up quickly is the 5A and 4A Jeffco League Cross Country Championships. The 4A Jeffco League championships is scheduled for Oct. 1 at Stoney Creek Golf Course. The 5A Jeffco League championships will run the following day on Oct. 2 at Stoney Creek.

    It has been a different season with new protocols and restrictions.

    “It has been difficult,” White said of the cross country season during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Honestly, there is no excuses for me. I just have to go out there and work on the process.”

  • Jeffco golfers wrap up league play at West Woods Golf Club

    Ralston Valley’s boys golf team captured the Class 5A Jeffco League title Monday at West Woods Golf Club in Arvada. The Mustangs will host the Western Regional on Monday, Sept. 21, at Raccoon Creek Golf Course in Littleton. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    ARVADA — The final Jeffco League boys golf tournament of the season had a very different feel than normal Monday afternoon at West Woods Golf Club in Arvada.

    There was no final gathering of Class 5A and 4A Jeffco teams to hand out individual all-conference awards and league team titles due to COVID-19 restrictions. However, golfers were able to successfully finish off the final Jeffco League tournament of the season.

    “I’m very pleased with how it turned out,” Ralston Valley boys golf coach Jeff Wasinger said. “There is a little letdown at the end of the tournament, even today. You finish your round, turn in your scorecard electrically and then go home. But we were allowed to play and actually had a season.”

    Ralston Valley junior Gage Messingham hits his approach shot on No. 1 Monday morning at West Woods GC. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    Ralston Valley wrapped up the 5A Jeffco League team title with the strong team of seniors Jack Larson, Trey Kirschner, junior Gage Messingham, along with sophomores Jordan McCaslin and Logan Forister. Messingham clinched the overall individual medalist title with a 4-under-par, 68.

    Messingham edged Lakewood senior Ryan Liao by two strokes over the five league tournaments.

    “It means a lot,” Messingham said of the Mustangs winning the league title. “Last year we couldn’t do it, but this year our team played really well throughout the season and pulled it off.”

    The Mustangs were able to hold off Lakewood thanks to Messingham and Kirschner both finishing in a three-way tie for second with round of 68. Liao also shot a 68. Larson fired an even-par, 72 to finished tied for sixth.

    “It’s a feel good thing. We set that out as a goal,” Wasinger said of Ralston Valley winning the league team title. “We knew we had a good team and it was kind of building over the years.”

    The 5A Jeffco League proved to be one of the strongest conferences in the state. In fact, a round in the 60s was shot during each of the five league tournaments. Arvada West senior Tyler Tyson, Columbine senior Drex Duffy, Lakewood junior Max Lange, Liao Messingham, Larson and Kirschner were the seven individuals who all had at least one round in the 60s this season during league play.

    “They are opening peoples’ eyes,” Wasinger said of the play of the top 5A Jeffco players this Fall. “Jeffco golf really has some powerful teams and impressive players. Going into regionals there is no reason to fear anybody.”

    Ralston Valley will host the 5A Western Regional on Monday, Sept. 21, at Raccoon Creek Golf Course in Littleton.

    “Of course we have to focus on regionals and qualifying as a team,” Messingham said. “Hopefully we win state. It is at a course we all know. Hopefully we can pull it off.”

    The 5A state tournament will be Oct. 5 and 6 at The Club in Rolling Hills in Golden.

    Lange — last year’s 5A Jeffco individual medalist — won the final league tournament with a 5-under-par, 67 at West Woods. The Lakewood junior will enter the 5A Central Regionals at Overland Golf Course on Wednesday, Sept. 23, coming off back-to-back tournament wins with rounds of 68 and 67 to close out league play.

    “I didn’t have the greatest league season,” admitted Lange, who shot a 75 and 77 in his first two league tournaments. “I wish I would have shot 10-under today, but I’m not too disappointed with 5-under.”

    Lange is excited about the location of the 5A state tournament in three weeks.

    Lakewood junior Max Lange head to regionals next week after back-to-back rounds in the 60s to close out conference play. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    “I’m going to try to finish (regionals and state) how I finished my league season,” Lange said. “State will be at my home course at Rolling Hills. I play there every day.”

    Liao — 5A Jeffco individual medalist as a freshman and sophomore — finished just behind Messingham for the title this season. The Lakewood senior has had back-to-back Top-4 finishes at the state tournament that past two years.

    With Liao’s history, he is very capable of contending with a number of other strong Jeffco players at state coming up the first week of October.

    “I was actually honestly expecting this low of golf scores last year,” Liao said of Jeffco. “Everyone had the talent last year. No one was really playing that well. Now this year everyone is playing to what they are supposed to and it’s looking good.”

    Liao is one of the longest hitting players in the state and he has some wishes for the setup at Rolling Hills in a few weeks.

    “I hope they play it longer to make it a little tougher,” Liao said. “I know the greens will be tough. Overall it’s a great course.”

    On the 4A Jeffco side, Evergreen captured the team title. Senior Jack Mitchell led the Cougars winning the final 4A Jeffco League tournament with a 2-over-par, 74.

    Green Mountain senior Oliver Gibbons is this year’s 4A Jeffco League individual champion. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    Green Mountain senior Oliver Gibbons just edged Conifer senior Dakota Dolph for the overall individual medalist title by a single stroke over the five tournaments. Gibbons shot a 76 and Dolph had a 77 on Monday at West Woods. Gibbons and Dolph entered the final conference tournament with identical 9-hole averages of 37.83 strokes.

    No matter what happens at regionals and state. Jeffco can say it completed a success conference season that might have looked a bit different.

    “We’ve got to be grateful that CHSAA gave this opportunity to us and we’ve had to adhere to the safety protocols that have been set. We didn’t want to mess it up,” Wasinger said. “CHSAA gave us a gift and we took it as a privilege.”

  • Race for Jeffco League boys golf individual and team titles heating up

    ARVADA — Friday at Indian Tree Golf Course was moving day of sorts for Class 5A and 4A Jeffco League boys golfers.

    In the fourth of six scheduled Jeffco League tournaments, golfers made moves to position themselves for the final stretch that will determine individual and team titles.

    Lakewood junior Max Lange, defending 5A Jeffco individual medalist, got himself in the mix to repeat as the conference champion. Lange shot the best round of the day with a 2-under-par, 68. The junior moved into seventh place for the individual medalist title.

    Ralston Valley junior Gage Messingham and Lakewood senior Ryan Liao are leading the pack with Arvada West senior Tyler Tyson currently in third place. Ralston Valley senior Jack Larson, Columbine senior Drex Duffy and Ralston Valley senior Trey Kirschner are also still in the mix for the conference title. The top six golfers in 5A are separated by just 1-stroke when it comes to their 9-hole average.

    Ralston Valley does have a sizable 47-shot lead in the team standings over second-place Lakewood.

    In 4A, Conifer senior Dakota Dolph and Littleton junior Emmett Loomis tied for the individual title at Indian Tree. Both shot 5-over-par rounds of 75. Dolph and Green Mountain senior Oliver Gibbons are title atop of overall individual standings with a 9-hole average of 37.83.

    The team race for the league title is just as tight. Evergreen and Green Mountain are tied with 1,310 total shots through the first four league tournaments.

    The final two Jeffco League tournaments are scheduled for the Broadlands (Wednesday, Sept. 9) and West Woods Golf Course (Monday, Sept. 14). However, the possible winter storm that is forecasting from 5 to 8 inches of snow in the Denver Metro Area on Tuesday could cancel the tournament at Broadlands. If that becomes the case the individual and team titles will be decided at West Woods on Sept. 14.

  • Standley Lake’s Abernethy claims Ralston Valley cross country invite title

    (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    Sophia Abernethy could cross the finish line and not have to worry about what was happening immediately behind her.

    The Standley Lake senior had pulled well ahead of the field and crossed the finish line in 20 minutes, 53.3 seconds to take the win at the Ralston Valley cross country invite. Arvada West’s Amelie Bauer finished in 22:17.3 to take second place.

    Ralston Valley claimed first place as a team thanks to getting five finishers in the top 10, including freshmen Teya Varela and Ainsley Kelver.

    The boys race was dominated by Arvada West. Senior Logan Deison crossed the finish line in 17:27.1 and was only in danger of getting caught by two of his teammates.

    Overall, the Wildcats had six runners finish in the top 10 of the race. Since only four get scored, Deison, David Rhoades, Dominic Danborn and Gabe Schultz gave the team 10 points, the absolute best score a team can record.

    Pomona got two top-10 finishers to take second place and host Ralston Valley finished third. Pomona junior Dylan Jenkins was the top non-Arvada West finisher at 18:28.3.

  • Photos from the 5A/4A Showdown softball tournament

    The 5A/4A Showdown softball tournament was held over the weekend.

  • Arvada West boys and Chatfield girls win XC team titles at D’Evelyn Dash

    DENVER — The annual D’Evelyn Dash Cross Country Invite looks a lot different this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    With new guidelines restricting the number of teams and runners allowed at cross country races, D’Evelyn split its cross country invite into two days. The first day of the varsity-only event featured seven teams — Arvada West, Bear Creek, Chatfield, Columbine, D’Evelyn, Longmont and Lutheran.

    Chatfield girls cruised to the team title led by a pair of impressive freshmen. Chatfield freshman Reese Tucker won the individual title with a time of 18 minutes, 28.4 seconds. Her mile pace with under six minutes. Teammate and fellow freshman Aspen Webb placed second with a time of 19:10.4.

    Columbine junior Elizabeth Fender placed third and a pair of D’Evelyn seniors — Sonja Morin and Kati Livingood — rounded out the top-5.

    On the boys side, Arvada West took the team title. A-West senior Logan Deison, junior David Rhoades and senior Gabe Schultz placed in the top-5 to pace the Wildcats. Longmont junior Connor McCormick won the boys individual title with a time of 16:26.

  • Conifer softball makes a statement with win over Arvada West

    ARVADA — Conifer’s young softball team showed its maturity and potential to be a Class 4A state contender Monday afternoon.

    The Lobos jumped out to an early 5-0 lead on the road against a historic-rich Arvada West program. The Wildcats rallied, but Conifer held its ground to take a 6-4 victory.

    “It means a lot. We’ve worked so hard this year to get everything together. We have such a strong team this year,” Conifer junior Cheyenne Prieto said. “Winning against a 5A team gives us a lot of confidence. It’s something to be excited about.”

    Conifer junior Cheyenne Prieto struck out 12 batters and also had a pair of hits in the Lobos’ 6-4 victory over Arvada West. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    Prieto was solid in the circle for the Lobos (2-1 record). The hard-throwing righty retired the first nine A-West batters she faced, striking out seven. She finished the game in style striking out A-West sophomore Peyton Raley to end the game.

    “I couldn’t get it to work at all this game,” Prieto said of her change-up that she threw to catch Raley looking at strike-three. “That was the point that I needed it. It worked out perfectly and I was really, really happy with it. It was really exciting to throw one in the strike zone to get the final out.”

    Prieto finished with a dozen strikeouts. The only A-West batter who really hurt Prieto was Savannah Clausen. The senior had a pair of triples, driving in two runs and scoring twice.

    “It was nice to be a spark for the team,” Clausen said of her two triples. “I wish we would have taken the momentum a little further.”

    Clausen led off the bottom of the sixth inning with her second triple and would eventually score on an RBI single by sophomore Kendall Mulvaney to cut the Lobos’ lead to 6-4.

    However, Conifer closed the door in the bottom of the seventh.

    “This one feels good,” Conifer coach Carrie Oletski said. “People are going to take notice of this win.”

    Oletski has a junior-loaded squad with a sprinkle of freshmen and sophomores. The Lobos have just two seniors in Sunny Aikin and Amber Prescott. Prescott had a key two-run single in the third inning to extend Conifer’s lead to 5-0.

    Conifer junior Amelia Tatro puts down a bunt during the Lobos’ road victory against Arvada West on Monday. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

    “They decided as seniors they were going to be the leaders, not followers,” Oletski said of her two seniors Sunny Aiken and Amber Prescott. “They were not going to let what happened to them last year happen this year.”

    The Lobos had a 16-win season in 2019, but finished second in the Colorado 7 League behind Riverdale Ridge and failed to advance to the 4A state tournament after losses to Elizabeth and Pueblo County in regionals.

    Conifer returns to the 4A Jeffco League that features No. 3-ranked Wheat Ridge, along with 4A state runner-up Golden, perennial state qualifier D’Evelyn and rival Evergreen.

    “We are expecting the extra challenge going back to 4A Jeffco,” Prieto said.

    The Lobos begin conference play against Standley Lake on Sept. 8.

    “We would love to come back in and take it,” Oletski said of returning to the 4A Jeffco League. “We took 3-of-4 (Colorado 7) league titles the last four years. It would be nice to comeback and win league.”

    A-West (1-2) will try to bounce back playing in the 5A/4A Showdown Tournament hosted by Broomfield and Erie coming up on Aug. 28 and 29.

    “We’ll come back tomorrow to practice and work our butts off,” Clausen said. “We are going to have to figure out what we are doing wrong. We have a short season and we can’t take too long to figure things out.” 

    Arvada West senior Savannah Clause celebrates after scoring. The senior had a pair of triples, but the Wildcats’ came up short against the visiting Conifer Lobos. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)