Though the Grizzlies took an early 1-0 lead, it was the Rangers who came up on top, erasing two deficits and scoring three unanswered goals in the second half to win 5-2.
Mesa Ridge wasn’t getting much into the final third early on, but a header from junior JJ Dickerson in the 15th–minute gave the Grizzlies their first lead of the game.
“Just working on set pieces and keeping it to the outside (were our goals),” said Grizzlies head coach Mario Sigala. “(We were) trying to penetrate them. They’re a tough defense so they came out the better team today.”
Mesa Ridge almost doubled their lead in the 27th minute when Rangers goalie Aidan McGonagle mistimed his punch on a cross. However, Lewis-Palmer was able to clear and ended up scoring on the counterattack via junior Charles Holland. Though Lewis-Palmer continue to threaten, the score was tied 1-1 at the half.
“They’re a very good team, Mesa Ridge is,” said Rangers head coach Brian Barkey. “They were very good, and they challenged us to do the things that we’ve been trying to do well over the season. What I spoke to the team at halftime about is ‘Can we just keep things simple?’ ‘Can we do the things that we’ve been doing all along successfully like defending well?’ because I feel like we were defensively a little bit disorganized in the first half. We missed a few early on and that tends to instill a little bit of panic in the tam and so we tried to just maintain calm.”
The game opened up a bit in the second half with both teams looking to take the lead. Mesa Ridge was able to take advantage in the 43rd minute, with senior Caleb DesBouillons running behind the defense and volleying home a high ball from senior Dorrien Hill.
As Lewis-Palmer pushed for an equalizer, Mesa Ridge’s goalkeeper, senior Kyle Costra, stood tall. Costra had 13 saves at the final whistle.
“Their goalkeeper is superb,” said Barkey. “The center of their team is superb. (DesBouillons) constantly moving and running posed challenges for us because we were a little bit disorganized.”
Lewis-Palmer was able to find an equalizer in the 59th minute, with Holland scoring his second of the game. Less than a minute later, junior Ethan Mann would give the Grizzlies the lead.
Senior Tyler Davis added another goal in the 67th minute and senior Nate Jeffson gave the Grizzlies some insurance with a goal of his own in the 73rd minute.
“I’m really proud of the team for being resilient,” said Barkey. “You look at the body language when teams go down, their body language changes and there were probably a few moments of that but then they got it together so (I’m) really proud of that aspect.”
“We broke down defensively,” said Sigala. “We weren’t tracking the runners and so it was one of those things where defensively when you do that, they’re going to penetrate you and that’s what happened.”
No. 1 University 12, No. 16 Lamar 2. Kyra McFarland and Tayler Frank hit home runs for the Bulldogs.
No. 8 Limon 8, No. 9 Lyons 7. Limon walked it off with an extra-inning win in the eighth.
No. 4 Strasburg 14, No. 13 Fort Lupton 2. Strasburg broke up a game that was 3-2 in the fourth to advance. Jodie Archuleta hit a three-run homer in the win.
No. 5 Riverdale Ridge 7, No. 12 The Academy 2. Sienna Mullin homered as Riverdale Ridge won a state tournament game for the first time in school history.
No. 3 Brush 11, No. 14 Cedaredge 1. Brush jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the second inning en route to the win.
No. 6 Eaton 8, No. 11 Rocky Ford 2. Jennifer Jarnagin homered and Alexis Schmitt allowed just one earned run in the win.
No. 2 Basalt 13, No. 15 La Junta 12. In a wild game, Basalt scored eight runs in the the first inning, then La Junta came storming back to go ahead 12-11 in the top of the sixth. Basalt tied the game in the bottom of the sixth, and won it in the seventh.
No. 7 Sterling 10, No. 10 Montezuma Cortez 5. Sterling rallied from down 2-1 through three innings to go ahead 6-3 after four, and pushed its lead to 9-4 after five in the win.
In quarterfinal games:
No. 1 University 12, No. 8 Limon 3. Andi Padilla and Kyra McFarland each homered for the Bulldogs, who led 9-3 after five innings.
No. 4 Strasburg 6, No. 5 Riverdale Ridge 5. Strasburg used a two-run home run to take a 4-3 lead, then held on for the 6-5 win over the Ravens.
No. 3 Brush 12, No. 6 Eaton 2. Allie Christensen homered, and Brooke Rule drove in four runs for the Beetdiggers.
No. 7 Sterling 10, No. 2 Basalt 0. Emi Reeves homered, and the Tigers scored four runs in both the fourth and sixth innings.
Semifinals (10 a.m. Saturday, Complex A):
No. 1 University vs. No. 4 Strasburg
No. 3 Brush vs. No. 7 Sterling
[divider]
Class 4A
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
In first round games:
No. 1 Golden 4, No. 16 Evergreen 3. Marla Goodspeed and Molly Hord each had two RBIs in the extra-inning win.
No. 8 Roosevelt 9, No. 9 Pueblo County 1. Marin Lovern hit a three-run home run to help the Roughriders advance.
No. 4 Wheat Ridge 15, No. 13 Rifle 4. Izzie Quezada and Cassandra Uhl both went deep for the Farmers.
No. 5 Silver Creek 1, No. 12 Coronado 0. Ashley Gaccetta hit a walk-off home run to lift the Raptors.
No. 14 Erie 18, No. 3 Pueblo South 14. In a marathon game with a number of twists and turns, Jen Williams drove in five runs.
No. 11 D’Evelyn 16, No. 6 Mead 1. Kylee Ornstein and Aubrey Garabeck each homered in the big win.
No. 2 Holy Family 19, No. 15 Mesa Ridge 0. Holy Family plated 13 runs in the first inning as the Tigers rolled.
No. 10 Pueblo Central 7, No. 7 Elizabeth 5. Thalia Amaro hit a three-run home run to help Central advance.
In quarterfinal games:
No. 1 Golden 14, No. 8 Roosevelt 5. Kayla Middleton went 3-for-4 with four RBI’s and she scored four runs for the Demons.
No. 5 Silver Creek 9, No. 4 Wheat Ridge 4. Down 1-0 in the second, Silver Creek tied the game, then went ahead with three runs in the third. The Raptors added four more in the fourth and another in the sixth.
No. 14 Erie 10, No. 11 D’Evelyn 4. Lauren Russel’s home run to start the third inning gave the Tigers some breathing room. They held on despite a late rally attempt from the Jags.
No. 2 Holy Family 5, No. 10 Pueblo Central 3. Annika Manzanares homered and drove in two runs for the Tigers.
No. 16 Ralston Valley 6, No. 1 Rock Canyon 3. In a game that was the talk of the morning, Sydney Wilken hit a three-run home run to tie the game in the top of the fourth, and then Ralston Valley went ahead for good with a double from Ashley West later in the inning. Photos from the game are available here.
No. 9 Loveland 7, No. 8 Brighton 1. Loveland went ahead 3-0 after the first inning, tacked on two more on a home from Allison Westbrook, and secured a spot in the quarters.
No. 4 Broomfield 13, No. 13 Legend 5. Broomfield raced out to a 5-0 lead in the first, held on as Legend cut it to 5-4, and then went back up 8-4 after four in the win.
No. 5 Fossil Ridge 9, No. 12 Lakewood 5. Katelyn Hays went deep and drove in two runs for the Sabercats.
No. 3 Rocky Mountain 5, No. 14 Ralston Valley 4. Kaia Cobb homered and the Lobos edged out the close win.
No. 6 Arapahoe 12, No. 11 Smoky Hill 1. Down 1-0, Arapahoe exploded for 12 runs in the bottom of the sixth as they won.
No. 2 Columbine 10, No. 15 Valor Christian 0. Ally Distler doubled, homered and drove in three runs for the Rebels. Find a photo gallery from the game here.
No. 7 Legacy 3, No. 10 Chatfield 2. Legacy walked it off in the bottom of the eighth with a bases-loaded wild pitch.
No. 16 Ralston Valley 4, No. 9 Loveland 1. The Mustangs continued their tear through the 5A tournament with another big upset. RV jumped out to a 1-0 lead after the first inning, and pushed it to 4-0 after four.
No. 5 Fossil Ridge 6, No. 4 Broomfield 4. Fossil Ridge jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the first inning, and went up 4-1 after two, but Broomfield battled back to tie it at 4in the third. Fossil Ridge played two in the top of the seventh to win.
No. 3 Rocky Mountain 11, No. 6 Arapahoe 1. Chloe Pentico hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the first, Cora Aguirres homered twice, and Brooklyn Himmelberg drove in three runs for the Lobos. Photos from the game are available here.
No. 2 Columbine 7, No. 7 Legacy 5. Ally Dister’s 3-run home run capped a four-run fourth inning for the Rebels. Korbe Otis scored twice in the win.
The 2019 all-state girls soccer teams honor the best players in the sport as judged by the leagues and coaches. They are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.
These teams were created following a lengthy process which included nominations from leagues, and then a vote of head coaches.
Player and coach of the year was also selected by a vote of the coaches.
Highlands Ranch (5A), Air Academy (4A), Colorado Springs Christian (3A), Del Norte (2A) and Kit Carson (1A) have all stayed on top of their respective girls basketball rankings this week.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. During the regular season, they are released each Monday.
Ponderosa 17, Green Mountain 16, Pueblo East 9, Skyline 5, Eagle Valley 3, George Washington 3, Sierra 3, Skyview 2, Thomas Jefferson 2, Pueblo County 1, Thompson Valley 1.
Dropped out
None.
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Colorado Springs Christian (12)
18-0
129
1
2-0
2
St. Mary’s
17-1
110
2
2-0
3
Pagosa Springs (1)
15-2
107
3
1-0
4
Delta
16-1
88
4
2-0
5
Eaton
17-1
74
5
2-0
6
Alamosa
14-5
51
7
1-1
7
Centauri
13-5
43
6
1-1
8
Lutheran
13-4
31
8
2-0
9
Platte Valley
16-2
29
9
3-0
10
The Academy
17-1
23
10
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Moffat County 22, Cedaredge 4, Grand Valley 2, Manitou Springs 1, SkyView Academy 1.
Dropped out
None.
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Del Norte (8)
17-0
106
1
2-0
2
Limon (2)
17-1
90
3
3-0
3
Wray (1)
15-2
82
2
2-0
4
Swink
16-1
72
4
2-0
5
Yuma
14-3
62
6
3-0
6
Heritage Christian
17-0
56
5
2-0
7
Meeker
17-1
52
7
3-0
8
Rye
17-1
36
9
2-0
9
Peyton
13-3
14
–
2-0
10
Soroco
15-3
13
10
1-1
Others receiving votes:
Holyoke 9, Simla 9, Sanford 3, Ignacio 1.
Dropped out
Simla (8).
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Kit Carson (15)
17-0
151
1
1-0
2
South Baca
16-0
133
2
2-0
3
Briggsdale
16-1
106
3
1-0
4
Genoa-Hugo/Karval
15-2
101
4
1-1
5
Sangre de Cristo
15-2
96
5
3-0
6
Fleming
15-3
74
7
2-0
7
Haxtun
14-4
62
6
2-1
8
De Beque
14-3
38
8
2-0
9
Cotopaxi
16-2
25
9
2-0
10
North Park
13-3
21
10
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Springfield 14, Longmont Christian 12, Sierra Grande 10, Wiley 10, Belleview Christian 7, Cheraw 7, Lone Star 6, Hanover 5, Elbert 1, Merino 1.
Lutheran (4A) and North Park (1A) have each joined this week’s girls basketball rankings.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. During the regular season, they are released each Monday.
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
First-place votes are in parentheses.
Coaches and media members looking to vote should email rcasey@chsaa.org.
Class 5A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Highlands Ranch (9)
18-1
134
1
4-0
2
Regis Jesuit (5)
17-2
131
2
4-1
3
Grandview
16-3
110
3
4-0
4
Cherry Creek
14-4
92
4
4-0
5
Fossil Ridge
16-2
84
5
4-1
6
Valor Christian
17-2
73
6
4-0
7
Horizon
15-4
53
7
3-0
8
Broomfield
16-3
38
9
4-0
9
Ralston Valley
13-5
33
8
3-1
10
Vista Peak
17-1
10
10
3-0
Others receiving votes:
Windsor 6, Mountain Vista 4, Legend 2.
Dropped out
None.
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Air Academy (17)
18-0
178
1
6-0
2
Pueblo West (1)
17-2
149
2
4-0
3
Pueblo South
16-2
131
3
3-1
4
Evergreen
14-3
113
4
3-1
5
Mullen
12-7
85
5
3-1
6
Holy Family
13-5
81
6
6-0
7
Greeley Central
18-1
60
7
5-0
8
Montrose
17-2
56
8
3-0
9
Berthoud
16-3
43
10
5-1
10
Mesa Ridge
15-3
40
9
5-0
Others receiving votes:
Ponderosa 15, Green Mountain 9, Pueblo East 9, Skyline 7, Eagle Valley 3, Sierra 3, Roosevelt 2, Thomas Jefferson 2, Denver West 1, D’Evelyn 1, Pueblo County 1, Thompson Valley 1.
FOUNTAIN — Kylee Shook hasn’t been around for years. Chloe Welch, the standout guard who led Mesa Ridge to the Class 4A Final 4 a year ago, has graduated and moved on.
Before the year started Jeff Beatty, the colorful personality who led the Grizzlies from the sideline opted to not return.
Yet, the Mesa Ridge girls basketball has sustained the success it has come to know in recent years and is enjoying every second of it.
“They’re good kids and they’re good basketball players,” coach Monte Fetters said. “They’re really competitive and the effort is there. They have great attitudes and they cheer for each other.”
This year should’ve been different from the outside looking in. Welch was Mesa Ridge’s leading scorer last year but currently she’s finding minutes at the Division I level for the Davidson Wildcats.
The only other player to average double figures was Ashley Bowen, but the day after the 2017-18 season ended, her family moved to Texas.
So now it’s Serin Dunne who’s leading the charge and who has helped the Grizzlies (14-3 overall, 11-0 4A Colorado Springs Metro League) once again climb into the CHSAANow.com 4A rankings.
“We just switched our mindset from last year,” Dunne said. “We did have those two primary scorers and we were relying on them and this year everyone has stepped up in leadership, scoring, rebounding and everything.”
It’s eerily similar to a year ago just with different pieces. Mesa Ridge gets the bulk of their scoring from a talented guard and support from down low. It’s not Bowen this year, but rather Angelina Jackson who scores over 10 a game and pulls down six rebounds in the process.
It would appear that the kind of engine that drives this team could look entirely different, but the destination – and the journey in getting there – appears to be the same.
But that mentality isn’t what pushes the Grizzlies. This is a different team than it was a year ago and while the ultimate goal of a state championship might be the same, these girls are looking to establish an identity independent of what past teams have been.
“There’s a good tradition here,” Fetters said. “They’ve won a lot and these girls want to be the team that wins a lot too. They don’t want to be the team that lets that down.”
To a degree, it started with Fetters. Beatty stepped down from the program and Fetters didn’t accept the position until October. For now he’s taking the approach of focusing on this season and not the long-term future.
It’s no secret however, that he cares for his players and is relishing the opportunity to help him succeed.
“That was a lot of it,” he said. “Those kids that were seniors deserved to have a good, positive year and deserved to have basketball be a positive experience for them.”
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
He is a coach at heart. His father, Carl, was the longtime football coach at Cheyenne Mountain and currently serves as linebackers coach at Colorado State University-Pueblo. Both Carl and Monte have been around their share of high school basketball teams.
Fetters has coached girls golf at Mesa Ridge for seven years so when the season was itching closer he became the ideal candidate to fill the hole.
And he hasn’t missed a beat as far as the success of the team is concerned. The Grizzlies can clinch the 4A CSML title as soon as Feb. 8 they it can beat Mitchell, Woodland Park and The Classical Academy, teams they have already beaten this year.
From there, only time will tell what this version of Mesa Ridge is capable of once the postseason begins.
“We’ll go deep if we stay focused,” Dunne said. “We have to play our roles, of course, and just step up for the rest of the season.”
