Voted upon by coaches and select 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.
Class 5A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Mountain Vista (8)
4-2
116
1
4-2
2
Heritage (4)
1-0
112
2
1-0
3
Cherry Creek
1-1
87
3
1-1
4
Pine Creek
1-0
75
4
1-0
5
Ralston Valley
3-0
49
–
3-0
6
Rocky Mountain
0-0
42
5
0-0
7
Legend
2-3
33
–
2-3
8
Rock Canyon
4-0
29
8
4-0
9
Valor Christian
0-0
28
9
0-0
10
Dakota Ridge
2-0
19
–
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Cherokee Trail 11, Regis Jesuit 9, Fort Collins 8, Arapahoe 7, Broomfield 6, Douglas County 6, Highlands Ranch 4, Mountain Range 4, Chatfield 3, Fruita Monument 3, Legacy 3, Chaparral 2, Grand Junction Central 2, Castle View 1, Columbine 1.
Dropped out:
Mountain Range (6), Cherokee Trail (7), Regis Jesuit (10).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Pueblo West (10)
5-2
116
1
5-2
2
Cheyenne Mountain
4-1
90
2
4-1
3
Holy Family (1)
0-0
87
3
0-0
4
Roosevelt
2-0
63
6
2-0
5
Lewis-Palmer
3-1
58
–
3-1
6
Longmont
1-1
43
4
1-1
7
Montrose (1)
5-1
29
–
5-1
8
Evergreen
1-1
27
5
1-1
9
Golden
1-0
23
–
1-0
10
Wheat Ridge
0-0
22
7
0-0
Others receiving votes:
Palmer Ridge 21, Pueblo Centennial 16, Air Academy 10, Pueblo Central 9, Denver North 8, Canon City 6, Pueblo South 6, Silver Creek 6, Thompson Valley 6, Centaurus 4, Elizabeth 4, Fort Morgan 3, Berthoud 1, Erie 1, Thomas Jefferson 1.
Dropped out:
Fort Morgan (8), Palmer Ridge (9), Canon City (10).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
University (9)
1-0
90
1
1-0
2
Faith Christian
0-0
76
2
0-0
3
Eaton
0-0
61
8
0-0
4
Sterling
0-0
50
9
0-0
5
Lutheran
0-0
46
3
0-0
6
Kent Denver
1-0
40
6
1-0
7
Lamar
1-3
31
5
1-3
8
Peak to Peak
0-1
26
7
0-1
9
Alamosa
2-1
23
10
2-1
10
Resurrection Christian
2-2
18
–
2-2
Others receiving votes:
Colorado Academy 11, Valley 9, Bayfield 5, Delta 5, Brush 2, La Junta 2.
Dropped out:
Delta (4).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Peyton (9)
0-0
90
1
0-0
2
Dayspring Christian
3-0
73
4
3-0
3
Yuma
4-0
70
8
4-0
4
Dawson School
0-0
58
6
0-0
5
Hotchkiss
0-0
48
2
0-0
6
Rocky Ford
2-2
39
5
2-2
7
Paonia
0-0
36
7
0-0
8
Front Range Christian
2-0
26
–
2-0
9
Swink
2-1
19
10
2-1
10
Rye
2-1
16
–
2-1
Others receiving votes:
Calhan 13, Limon 6, Burlington 1.
Dropped out:
Limon (3), Calhan (9).
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Nucla (3)
1-1
66
1
1-1
2
Cornerstone Christian (4)
2-0
65
3
2-0
3
Longmont Christian
2-0
58
2
2-0
4
Stratton/Liberty
0-0
49
4
0-0
5
Otis
0-0
42
5
0-0
6
Peetz
0-0
33
7
0-0
7
Dove Creek
0-0
30
9
0-0
8
Eads
0-0
16
10
0-0
9
Caliche
0-2
13
6
0-2
10
Cotopaxi
2-1
6
–
2-1
Others receiving votes:
Haxtun 4, Denver Jewish 2, Evangelical Christian 1.
The 2019 preseason baseball rankings are here. The No. 1 teams in each class: Nucla (1A), Peyton (2A), University (3A), Pueblo West (4A) and Mountain Vista (5A).
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association.
During the regular season, new polls are released each Monday.
Voted upon by coaches and select 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.
Class 5A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Mountain Vista (9)
0-0
115
2
Heritage (2)
0-0
85
3
Cherry Creek (1)
0-0
79
4
Pine Creek
0-0
72
5
Rocky Mountain
0-0
54
6
Mountain Range
0-0
44
7
Cherokee Trail
0-0
33
8
Rock Canyon
0-0
31
9
Valor Christian
0-0
22
10
Regis Jesuit
0-0
21
Others receiving votes:
Arapahoe 15, Ralston Valley 13, Chaparral 10, Legend 10, Broomfield 9, Castle View 8, Columbine 8, Fort Collins 8, Windsor 5, Dakota Ridge 4, Grandview 4, Fossil Ridge 3, Chatfield 2, Lakewood 2, ThunderRidge 2, Douglas County 1.
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Pueblo West (7)
0-0
92
2
Cheyenne Mountain (2)
0-0
79
3
Holy Family (1)
0-0
77
4
Longmont
0-0
63
5
Evergreen
0-0
60
6
Roosevelt
0-0
37
7
Wheat Ridge
0-0
27
8
Fort Morgan
0-0
23
9
Palmer Ridge
0-0
17
10
Canon City
0-0
13
Others receiving votes:
Mountain View 9, Mead 8, Pueblo South 7, Golden 6, Thompson Valley 6, Discovery Canyon 5, Palisade 5, Elizabeth 4, Greeley Central 4, Silver Creek 2, Thomas Jefferson 2, Air Academy 1, Denver North 1, Erie 1, Montrose 1.
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
University (5)
0-0
90
2
Faith Christian
0-0
74
3
Lutheran (5)
0-0
72
4
Delta
0-0
56
5
Lamar
0-0
51
6
Kent Denver
0-0
48
7
Peak to Peak
0-0
45
8
Eaton
0-0
40
9
Sterling
0-0
26
10
Alamosa
0-0
14
Others receiving votes:
Valley 12, Resurrection Christian 7, Cedaredge 4, Colorado Academy 4, La Junta 3, Bayfield 2, Brush 1, The Academy 1.
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Peyton (8)
0-0
106
2
Hotchkiss (1)
0-0
93
3
Limon (1)
0-0
86
4
Dayspring Christian
0-0
60
5
Rocky Ford
0-0
59
6
Dawson School (1)
0-0
57
7
Paonia
0-0
49
8
Yuma
0-0
42
9
Calhan
0-0
21
10
Swink
0-0
9
Others receiving votes:
Front Range Christian 8, Sargent 7, Holly 3, Highland 2, Dolores Huerta 1, Lyons 1, Meeker 1.
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Nucla (5)
0-0
68
2
Longmont Christian (1)
0-0
63
3
Cornerstone Christian (1)
0-0
58
4
Liberty/Stratton
0-0
48
5
Otis
0-0
42
6
Caliche
0-0
32
7
Peetz
0-0
27
8
Haxtun
0-0
14
9
Dove Creek
0-0
10
10
Eads
0-0
7
Others receiving votes:
Evangelical Christian 4, Manzanola 4, Elbert 3, Sierra Grande 2, Fleming 1, Prairie 1, Rocky Mountain Lutheran 1.
Peak to Peak senior Quinn McConnell was named Colorado’s girls cross country runner of the year by Gatorade on Monday.
She is the first-ever Peak to Peak athlete to win the Gatorade award in any sport.
McConnell finished third in the Class 3A state championship in the fall.
McConnell has signed with Furman, and has a 4.76 GPA. She volunteers locally on behalf of an animal hospital and a therapeutic horse-riding program for the disabled.
“Quinn McConnell is very competitive and obviously very talented,” said Centaurus head coach Devin Rourke. “She’s overcome a lot of challenges and has remained resilient and strong.”
The 2018 all-state softball teams are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.
These team were created following a process where the coaches voted upon a list of nominees. Players who were named first-team all-league are eligible for the all-state ballot.
Coaches also voted specifically for player and coach of the year.
[divider]
Class 5A
(Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
Player of the year: Laurin Krings, Loveland Coach of the year: Kristen Shirk, Legend
The Norman brothers have a stronghold on the state cross country competition at the Norris Penrose Event Center.
Mason, the younger sibling of Tanner, shattered the elder’s Class 3A course record of 15 minutes, 44 seconds from 2016 with a 15:33 in clinching back-to-back state crowns on Saturday. Salida senior Camden Gillis (16:18) was the runner-up.
The stalwarts from The Classical Academy have now won a combined four individual championships in a row as Tanner earned titles in 4A in 2015 and 3A in 2016.
In a bit of a surprise though, Kaylee Thompson matched the brothers with another crown for TCA, who was in for a championship frenzy as Titan competitors Katie Flaherty (5th place), Kennedy McDonald (6th), Rebecca Thompson (8th), and Sarah Burroughs (14th) also helped lift the program to their first team title since a 10-year winning streak from 2003-2012.
Their 34 points bettered Peak to Peak’s 97, the two-time defending champions.
But, before The Classical Academy girls left their mark on the 2018 state meet, Mason Norman entered the stadium ahead of the pack.
“It definitely did inspire me,” Mason said of seeing his brother taste victory at state. “I remember watching him win his junior year in a really tight race and his senior year, I ran with him and it was exciting where he had gone with running.”
Only a junior, Mason snatched his first cross country title with a six-second margin. His triumph was much more decisive this time around.
“Last year, coming into state I knew that I could maybe do it,” he said. “I knew I was going to have to gun it through to the finish to hang on to it. This year, I was really hoping to make a break early on in the race. Coming up to the first mile, I started to pull away a bit and I tried to stretch it out.”
With his sights set on winning more than time, Mason wasn’t sure of the classification course record mark.
“I didn’t really know exactly what it was,” the latest superstar harrier for TCA admitted.
Nonetheless, the record added to an illustrious career for Mason, who will be in search of a third individual crown as a senior. As a team, the Titans were the defending champions but settled for third (107 points) behind Peak to Peak (76) and Salida (80) on Saturday.
Now a veteran in the prep running scene, the younger Norman got a chance to watch a relative newcomer taste gold when Thompson (18:19) overtook the Peak to Peak twosome of Anna Shults (2nd place, 18:37) and Quinn McConnell (18:43, 3rd place).
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Thompson, with a background in soccer and basketball, signed up for cross country for the first time as a junior and earned 10th at the state meet. She wouldn’t be denied this year.
“I was just trying to catch Quinn McConnell and try to get up with her,” Thompson said. “I made my move in the last half mile. I was nervous that I might not have enough energy left to finish, but I just kept pushing.”
McConnell led much of the race before Thompson overtook her and even shattered the classification course record herself.
A Brigham Young University recruit, the senior was ecstatic seeing three other teammates finish in the top 10. One was her sister, Rebecca, who was eighth as a junior.
“It’s amazing,” Thompson said of her sister also nabbing all-state honors. “I wish I could run every season with her.”
The Classical Academy girls have now won 11 cross country championships, a Colorado record.
As for the Pumas of Peak to Peak, the boys secured their first state championship by a thin margin over Salida. An entire varsity contingent returned from last year’s third place team.
William Ledden (3rd place), Justin Hager (14th), Ethan Monarski (16th), Ryan Kuykendall (21st), and Cole Beasley (22nd) broke new ground for a standout program from Lafayette. Coach Kim McConnell has earned three overall team championships with the program.
The wave of green and white from the spring carried all the way into October for Heritage Christian.
After clinching their fifth 1A championship in boys track and field in May, the Eagles topped everyone in 2A cross country, winning the crown in Colorado Springs with a mere 12 points.
Seth Bruxvoort (1st place, 16:09) and Levi Killian (4th, 16:55) led the Eagles’ contingent as the long hair and smooth stride of Bruxvoort, and the more aggressive looking form of Killian (800, 1,600, 3,200 champion in 1A track), proved to be an overwhelming one-two punch. Keaton Case rounded up the scoring for the Eagles in eighth.
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Lyons girls were just as convincing in victory as junior Katie Fankhouser (19:24) and freshman Quin Gregg (19:36) crossed the finish line faster than anyone else in 2A, all but ensuring Lyons of a second girls team championship in school history (2014 winners).
Sophomore Hannah Thomas (12th) was the final scorer for Lyons, one of many Boulder County challengers throughout the divisions and a program that has also seized five boys titles in the past seven years. The boys were the runner-up this time with 38 points as Isaac Roberts finished third.
Platte Canyon (43 points), led by Emma Dikken (6th), was second in the girls team competition.
The Kent Denver senior, who was playing in the lead group and had put himself in position to win the tournament, wanted to have fun. In fact, he didn’t even check the leaderboard until the 16th hole.
By that time, Klutznick was four shots in the lead, well on his way to winning the individual championship.
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
“I just prepared myself to play golf,” Klutznick said. “In the past, I’ve really gotten in my own way, started thinking about other people and what they’re going to shoot, kinda trying to predict it. I just decided I’m gonna play golf today.
“The kids I was playing with were awesome,” he added. “I’m assumed they were the ones that are leading, so I was just kind of going in relation to them, and just tried to have fun. I figured at the end of the day, just go out and enjoy it.”
Well, mission accomplished.
Klutznick, who finished fourth a season ago, broke away from a tight leaderboard to win the 3A title by three strokes at 1-under. He becomes the sixth individual champion from Kent Denver.
Aspen’s Jack Hughes (2-over) was second. Peak to Peak’s Davis Long, last season’s champion, finished third at 3-over. Aspen’s Jack Pevny and Prospect Ridge Academy’s Walker Franklin tied for fourth at 4-over.
Hughes, a CU commit, and Pevny led an impressive Aspen contingent which captured the team title, the program’s first. The Skiers, who entered with a one-stroke lead after the first day, had a runaway performance on the second day of the tournament to win.
They were 5-under as a team at one point on Tuesday, and wound up winning by nine strokes, finishing at 14-over. Kent Denver (+23) was second.
“These boys have been outstanding players since the time they were freshmen,” said Aspen coach Mary Woulfe. “They knew this was in their blood, and they just didn’t know when it was going to happen.”
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Dawson Holmes (+8) anchored the team-score for Aspen, and Dominic Lanese IV shot 23-over.
“We were a team of six, not a team of four,” Woulfe. “We had two outstanding players that didn’t make it who would’ve been on that leaderboard. … They’re just smart players, they make good decisions all the way around the course.”
Eaton’s Peter Grossenbacher entered the day with a two-stroke lead, having shot 5-under on the first day. Klutznick entered in second at 3-under, and Pevny was third at 2-under.
The leaderboard tightened up almost immediately on the second day. A double-bogey from Grossenbacher on the second hole, along with a birdie from Pevny and a par from Klutznick, tied the trio at the top.
They spent the rest of the day in various positions of the lead, with Pevny each Klutznick each grabbing the individual lead at one point. By the time the lead group reached the ninth hole, there was a five-way tie atop the top: Pevny, Klutznick, Grossenbacher, Franklin and Telluride’s Carlo Pine all sat at even.
Thru 11 holes, Klutznick and Pevny were tied with Franklin (who had finished 12) at even. Klutznick then birdied his 12th hole to take a one-stroke lead. He held the lead from there on out, as Pevny, Grossenbacher and Franklin dropped strokes.
“I figured I was somewhere at the top, but there are so many great players, I didn’t want to assume,” Klutznick said.
Klutznick added another birdie on 16, and suddenly he led by four strokes. He made par on 17 and bogey on 18 to seal his championship.
“He rose to the occasion,” Woulfe said of Klutznick. “To see him win, and the way he did it, with such grace coming down the stretch, was great.”
Dillon Stewart stole the show on the second day of boys golf regionals around the state on Tuesday.
The Fossil Ridge senior, who finished second at the Class 5A state state championship last season, shot a 9-under 63 to win the Class 5A Northern Regional, held at Murphy Creek Golf Course in Aurora.
His performance helped the Sabercats win the regional by 11 strokes, as they finished at 6-under as a team. Lakewood (+5) was second.
Stewart wasn’t the only one under par at that regional, though: Lakewood’s Ryan Liao and Cherokee Trail’s Beam Boonta each were 4-under, and Stewart’s Fossil Ridge teammate Owen Cornmesser was 1-under.
Elsewhere, in 4A Region 4, Montrose teammates Jordan Jennings and Micah Stangebye battled for the individual regional crown after both finished at 3-under through their round. Stangebye won in a seven-hole playoff.
Montrose, the defending 4A champions, also won the region at 2-under. Mullen was second at 1-over.
(@HFHS_Golf/Twitter)
In the loaded 3A Region 2, Holy Family’s Jacob Mason won the event by finishing at 4-under, two strokes ahead of defending 3A champion Davis Long of Peak to Peak.
“When you are trying to qualify for something as big as the state championship, its always in the back of your mind that you could be close to the cutline,” Mason told HFAthletics.com. “There is always that chance of putting more pressure on yourself, but I like the pressure and I think our team lived up to it today.”
Prospect Ridge Academy’s Walker Franklin, last year’s runner-up, finished in a tie for third with Kent Denver’s Jackson Klutznick at 1-under. Klutznick finished in a tie for fourth at state last season.
Kent Denver, last year’s runner-up as a team, won the event. Holy Family placed second. Peak to Peak, the defending champions who beat Kent in a playoff last season, was third.
At 3A Region 1, La Junta’s Cody Schrock was the individual champion at 1-under. Lutheran’s Westin Pals (+1) was second.
Colorado Academy won the region by shooting 16-over. La Junta (+20) was second.
In 4A Region 1, Cornado’s Andrew Merz finished first at 6-over. Discovery Canyon’s Scott Ieveque was second at 9-over.
Coronado (+39) also won the team championship. Lewis-Palmer (+41) was second.
Boys golf regionals conclude on Wednesday with two more events.
Davis Long wasn’t necessarily expecting to win the 2017 Class 3A boys golf state championship so when it happened, he had to overcome some level of surprise before the accomplishment could truly sink in.
