The preseason football rankings were released on Monday for all seven classifications. Leading their respective polls are: Stratton/Liberty (6-man), Sedgwick County (8-man), Limon (1A), Delta (2A), Pueblo South (3A), Pine Creek (4A), and Cherry Creek (5A).
The rankings, voted upon by coaches, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.
State championship season rolls on as the boys golf tournaments are set to begin play on Monday. The Class 5A tournament will take place at Rolling Hills in Lakewood, the 4A tournament will be played at the Country Club of Colorado in Colorado Springs and the 3A tournament is at Dos Rios in Gunnison.
Each classification has several standout teams as well as multiple teams that can battle for a team state championship. Below is breakdown of what to expect at each tournament when the boys start launching them Monday morning.
Weather forecast: Sunny, temperatures in high 70’s (both days)
Outlook: The 5A tournament might have some of the best talent the state has on display. Cherry Creek sophomore Charlie Flaxbeard and teammate TJ Hicks both shot career rounds at regionals and will take a lot of momentum into state. Combined with the veteran presences that players like Kates and teammate Matthew Wilkinson bring and it could make for a fun two-day battle at Rolling Hills. The team race between Cherry Creek, Arapahoe, Lakewood and Ralston Valley should also be fun to track.
Others to watch: Ralston Valley’s Gage Messingham is the top-ranked 5A player according to iWanamker rankings, Lakewood’s Ryan Liao has finished in the top four in the last two years of the 5A tournament and Prairie View’s Jeff Nelson has put together some of the best rounds in the state during the course of the regular season.
[divider]
Class 4A
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
Course: Country Club of Colorado in Colorado Springs
Weather forecast: Sunny, temperatures in mid-to-high 70’s (both days)
Outlook: After winning the last three team championships, Montrose is going to have its work cut out for it this year. Micah Stangebye is gone but Jordan Jennings has done a great job of leading the team as a senior. The individual race should be an intriguing one as Discovery Canyon’s Kaden Ford and Northfield’s Hunter Swanson return after tying for second place. Lewis-Palmer’s Greg Lewis was right there as a sophomore and has only gotten better in the last year. The team race could come down to host Cheyenne Mountain battling it out with the likes of Mullen, Pueblo West and Windsor.
Others to watchk: Falcon’s Reese Knox has been on fire lately as has Coronado’s Noah Keller. Frederick’s Jake Chesler has been steady all year and Durango junior Levi Tichi has found himself under par on several occasions.
Weather forecast: Sunny, temperatures in low 70’s (both days)
Outlook: The 3A tournament certainly brings the most collective talent from the widest range across the state. Aspen’s Nic Pevny finished with in a three-way tie for third with Kent Denver’s Jeffrey Zhou and Stering’s Tayleb Schaefer at the end of last year’s tournament. All three competitors are back which means the second day of the tournament could look more like a men’s club Friday night shootout than a final round of stroke play. Aspen, Kent Denver, St. Mary’s, Sterling and Vail Christian will all have a shot to make a run at a team title and it could be the results on the first day that could put either of those teams in the driver seat.
Others to watchk: Montezuma-Cortez’s Thayer Plewe has more poise on a golf course as a sophomore than most men have in their 30’s. He’s looking to keep his hand steady and play his way into contention. Primero’s Lance Peters has shown no fear when feeling the need to pull driver out of his bag. The narrow fairways of Dos Rios might give some players pause before going for the big dog, but if Peters has a spot in mind and needs driver to get there, he’ll waste no time swinging away.
This week’s softball rankings added three newcomers: Horizon (5A), Pueblo South (4A) and Fort Lupton (3A).
The polls, voted upon by head coaches around the state, will serve as part of the seeding criteria in softball this season. Polls are released each Monday during the regular season.
Cherokee Trail 35, Columbine 25, Douglas County 21, Rocky Mountain 16, Ralston Valley 11, Dakota Ridge 9, Castle View 8, Regis Jesuit 8, Brighton 6, Grand Junction 6, Fountain-Fort Carson 5, Pomona 4, Rampart 3, Chaparral 2, Eaglecrest 2, Fort Collins 2, Prairie View 2, Arvada West 1, ThunderRidge 1.
Dropped out
Cherokee Trail (8).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Wheat Ridge (9)
13-1-0
148
1
3-0-0
2
Mead (6)
14-0-0
146
2
2-0-0
3
D’Evelyn
14-1-0
113
3
2-1-0
4
Holy Family
11-2-0
102
4
3-0-0
5
Riverdale Ridge
13-1-0
64
7
2-0-0
6
Conifer
12-2-0
62
6
2-1-0
7
Silver Creek
9-4-0
50
5
2-0-0
8
Roosevelt
12-2-0
36
10
2-0-0
9
Frederick
9-5-0
32
9
0-2-0
10
Pueblo South (1)
10-3-0
28
–
2-0-0
Others receiving votes:
Erie 21, Pueblo West 9, Northfield 9, Air Academy 8, Elizabeth 8, Bear Creek 7, Mesa Ridge 7, Mullen 7, Northridge 5, Pueblo Centennial 5, Palisade 4, Windsor 4, Discovery Canyon 3, Coronado 1, Pueblo County 1.
Dropped out
Erie (8).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Eaton (8)
11-2-0
122
1
1-1-0
2
University (1)
11-2-0
107
2
3-0-0
3
Rocky Ford
13-1-0
78
3
4-1-0
4
Lyons (1)
8-3-0
68
4
2-1-0
5
Lutheran (2)
12-1-0
66
5
3-0-0
6
Limon
11-3-0
53
6
3-1-0
7
Fort Lupton
12-1-0
40
–
4-0-0
8
Burlington
7-3-0
38
9
2-0-0
9
Strasburg
7-6-0
34
7
2-1-0
10
Sterling
7-6-0
22
8
1-2-0
Others receiving votes:
La Junta 21, Brush 17, Delta 17, Basalt 9, Montezuma-Cortez 6, Cedaredge 5, Lamar 4, The Academy 4, Weld Central 4.
Wheat Ridge has moved up to No. 1 in this week’s Class 4A softball rankings.
The polls, voted upon by head coaches around the state, will serve as part of the seeding criteria in softball this season. Polls are released each Monday during the regular season.
Douglas County 29, Castle View 22, Rocky Mountain 22, Columbine 13, Ralston Valley 10, Valor Christian 8, Horizon 7, Brighton 6, Hinkley 6, ThunderRidge 5, Fountain-Fort Carson 4, Rampart 4, Denver East 3, Fort Collins 3, Pomona 3, Arapahoe 2, Arvada West 2, Chaparral 2, Eaglecrest 2, Cherry Creek 1, Prairie View 1.
Dropped out
None.
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
1
Wheat Ridge (7)
10-1-0
145
2
2
Mead (7)
12-0-0
144
1
3
D’Evelyn (3)
12-0-0
123
4
4
Holy Family
8-2-0
113
3
5
Silver Creek
7-4-0
64
5
6
Conifer
10-1-0
54
8
7
Riverdale Ridge
11-1-0
52
7
8
Erie
8-3-0
44
6
9
Frederick
9-3-0
42
9
10
Roosevelt
10-2-0
27
–
Others receiving votes:
Pueblo South 21, Pueblo West 21, Pueblo Central 14, Windsor 11, Bear Creek 10, Mullen 8, Air Academy 6, Coronado 6, Falcon 5, Discovery Canyon 4, Pueblo Centennial 4, Northfield 4, Golden 3, Mesa Ridge 3, Palisade 2, Ponderosa 2, Durango 1, Niwot 1, Pueblo County 1.
Dropped out
Ponderosa (10).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
1
Eaton (7)
10-1-0
129
1
2
University (5)
8-2-0
114
2
3
Rocky Ford
9-0-0
92
3
4
Lyons
6-2-0
75
4
5
Lutheran (1)
9-1-0
73
7
6
Limon
8-2-0
44
6
7
Strasburg
5-5-0
41
5
8
Sterling
6-4-0
35
10
9
Burlington
5-3-0
31
–
10
La Junta
6-4-0
29
8
Others receiving votes:
Fort Lupton 27, Brush 26, Basalt 15, Montezuma-Cortez 15, Delta 10, The Academy 4, Cedaredge 3, Weld Central 3, Holyoke 2, Gunnison 1, Lamar 1.
PUEBLO WEST — As Falcon’s Reese Knox walked off the ninth green at Desert Hawk golf course, he looked to his dad and complained about his putting.
So on the back nine, he decided to hole shots out rather than putt them. In a two-hole span he hit one fairway, one green in regulation and just a single putt while shaving three strokes of his score. By the time he got to the clubhouse he had carded a 3-under-par 69 to claim the Class 4A Region 1 title.
A big piece of that round came as he chipped in for eagle at the par-5 12th and holed out from a greenside bunker on 13. That stretched helped him fall back to around even where Coronado’s Noah Keller lingered most of the day.
“On the front I was lipping (putts) out a bit,” Knox said. “By the time I got to the back I just decided I was going to play golf and not worry about the score. I started playing and just fell into the moment. I started chipping in and getting some lucky breaks.”
His approach shot from the rough on No. 2 landed inches from the hole for his first birdie of the day, but his ensuing tee shot was out of bounds resulting in a double-bogey. He bogeyed No. 4 before making a birdie on the par-3 fifth and eventually made the turn at 1-over. He played the first six holes on the back at 4-under with a par and a bogey before coasting to three pars in the final three holes.
Pueblo West held off Falcon by three strokes to claim the team regional championship. The Cyclones got solid performances from Toby Sailnas and Noah Wagner at last year’s 4A tournament at the Bridges. They’ll head to the Country Club of Colorado looking to make another run at a state title and coach Dan Sanchez thinks the experience from last year is key.
“In all high school sports, if you’ve been in those pressure situations and you’ve felt the struggle, to me that’s what it’s all about,” Sanchez said.
It was announced last week that the 4A state tournament was moving to the Country Club of Colorado but for several players from all around the state, there is a feeling of excitement when it comes to qualifying for the tournament and getting a chance to play a new venue with new players to compete with.
“Today was fun, I had never really met these guys,” Durango junior Levi Tichi said. “I had played (Eisenhower) once or twice, it was my freshman year regional course. I was happy to hear about the change to the Country Club of Colorado because I’ve been struggling with putting all year.”
Not that the greens at CC of C are a cakewalk, but Eisenhower has proven to be one of the toughest putting courses in all of the front range. Regardless of the venue, the qualifiers from the Desert Hawk regional will get back to work on Tuesday with an eye on competing at state.
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
[divider]
Regionals elsewhere:
St. Mary’s claims team title at 3A Region 2
With two players finishing in the top three, St. Mary’s came away with a regional team title at Murphy Creek. Kent Denver’s Jeffrey Zhou shot 73 to claim medalist honors.
Sterling and Eaton send teams to Dos Rios
Sterling and Eaton each grabbed a pair of top 10 finishers at 3A Region 3 at Boomerang Golf Links. The Tigers won the team title as senior Trey Kuntz finished second overall with a 73. Strasburg’s Jacob Gilbert won the individual title.
Ford tames Country Club of Colorado
Discovery Canyon’s Kaden Ford was laughing the last time he played the Country Club of Colorado, calling it the “worst ball-striking day of my life.”
The result was much better at regionals. Ford claimed the individual championship at the Country Club of Colorado. Cheyenne Mountain won the team title as Ponderosa took second.
Rock Canyon’s team finishes under par at Raccoon Creek
Nick Fallin led the way with a 65 as Rock Canyon grabbed the individual and team regional titles at Raccoon Creek. Overall, five players shot under par at the tournament.
Ralston Valley’s Gage Messingham led Ralston Valley with a 67 and the Mustangs finished second to get their team to state.
Fossil Ridge edges Pine Creek at Hyland Hills
Lengend’s Ryan Parker claimed the 5A Northern regional title at Hyland Hills with a 71. Pine Creek’s Wesley Erling matched him, but ultimately finished second.
Fossil Ridge claimed the team title by beating out Pine Creek by just two strokes.
Eaton’s softball team, now 7-1-0, has moved up to the No. 1 spot in this week’s Class 3A rankings.
The polls, voted upon by head coaches around the state, will serve as part of the seeding criteria in softball this season. Polls are released each Monday during the regular season.
Columbine 29, Castle View 23, Rocky Mountain 19, Arvada West 16, Douglas County 16, Horizon 15, Hinkley 10, Fruita Monument 8, Highlands Ranch 7, Brighton 6, Ralston Valley 6, Cherry Creek 5, Fort Collins 5, ThunderRidge 5, Valor Christian 5, Denver East 3, Fountain-Fort Carson 3, Mountain Range 3, Rampart 3, Eaglecrest 2, Arapahoe 1, Pomona 1, Regis Jesuit 1.
Dropped out
None.
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Mead (7)
8-0-0
129
1
1-0-0
2
Wheat Ridge (6)
7-0-0
122
2
2-0-0
3
Holy Family
6-2-0
96
3
3-0-0
4
D’Evelyn (1)
8-0-0
67
–
5-0-0
5
Silver Creek
5-4-0
55
7
3-0-0
6
Erie
5-3-0
46
4
1-1-0
7
Riverdale Ridge
9-1-0
38
5
4-0-0
8
Conifer
6-1-0
37
–
3-0-0
9
Frederick
8-2-0
28
6
3-1-0
10
Ponderosa
5-2-0
18
9
3-2-0
Others receiving votes:
Pueblo Central 17, Mesa Ridge 15, Pueblo West 14, Windsor 14, Roosevelt 12, Pueblo South 9, Northfield 9, Mullen 8, Pueblo Centennial 8, Bear Creek 6, Air Academy 5, Discovery Canyon 5, Falcon 5, Golden 3, Palisade 2, Niwot 1, Pueblo County 1.
Dropped out
Air Academy (8), Mesa Ridge (10).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Eaton (6)
7-1-0
101
2
2-0-0
2
University (5)
6-2-0
98
1
1-1-0
3
Rocky Ford
6-0-0
74
3
1-0-0
4
Lyons
5-2-0
66
5
2-0-0
5
Strasburg
4-3-0
59
8
0-0-0
6
Limon
6-2-0
55
4
1-1-0
7
Lutheran (1)
6-1-0
43
9
1-0-0
8
La Junta
4-3-0
40
10
2-2-0
9
Brush
4-4-0
35
7
1-1-0
10
Sterling
5-3-0
29
6
1-1-0
Others receiving votes:
Fort Lupton 15, Delta 10, Alamosa 9, Basalt 8, Denver West 8, The Academy 8, Aspen 7, Burlington 7, Montezuma-Cortez 7, Weld Central 7, Faith Christian 6, Holyoke 6, Lamar 6, Yuma 4, Jefferson 3, Sheridan 2, Cedaredge 1, Harrison 1.
Five new teams hopped into the softball rankings this week: Grand Junction Central, Cherokee Trail, Ponderosa, Mesa Ridge, and La Junta.
The polls, voted upon by head coaches around the state, will serve as part of the seeding criteria in softball this season. Polls are released each Monday during the regular season.
Castle View 23, Columbine 23, Rocky Mountain 21, Cherry Creek 18, Brighton 13, Douglas County 10, Hinkley 10, Arvada West 7, Highlands Ranch 7, Horizon 6, Fountain-Fort Carson 5, Mountain Range 5, Chaparral 4, Eaglecrest 3, Fort Collins 3, Rampart 2, Arapahoe 1, Ralston Valley 1, ThunderRidge 1, Valor Christian 1.
Dropped out
Columbine (8), Cherry Creek (9).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
1
Mead (12)
7-0-0
164
1
2
Wheat Ridge (5)
5-0-0
150
2
3
Holy Family (1)
3-2-0
112
3
4
Erie
4-2-0
79
4
5
Riverdale Ridge
5-1-0
56
10
6
Frederick
5-1-0
52
5
7
Silver Creek
2-4-0
35
6
8
Air Academy
4-1-0
33
7
9
Ponderosa
2-0-0
29
–
10
Mesa Ridge
5-0-0
23
–
Others receiving votes:
Pueblo South 21, Pueblo West 21, Windsor 20, Conifer 17, Pueblo Central 16, Northfield 16, Pueblo Centennial 12, Discovery Canyon 11, Roosevelt 11, Mountain View 9, Mullen 8, Berthoud 7, Coronado 5, Bear Creek 4, Pueblo County 4, Golden 3, Severance 3, Durango 1, Elizabeth 1, Evergreen 1, Niwot 1, Palisade 1, Standley Lake 1.
Dropped out
Pueblo South (8), Windsor (9).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
1
University (8)
5-1-0
106
1
2
Eaton (1)
5-1-0
90
2
3
Rocky Ford (1)
5-0-0
80
3
4
Limon
5-1-0
54
4
5
Lyons
3-2-0
46
7
6
Sterling
4-2-0
45
10
7
Brush
3-3-0
42
6
8
Strasburg
4-3-0
40
5
9
Lutheran (1)
5-1-0
35
9
10
La Junta
2-1-0
20
–
Others receiving votes:
Lamar 16, Peak to Peak 11, Basalt 8, Cedaredge 5, Fort Lupton 3, Montezuma-Cortez 3, Weld Central 1.
Mead softball, off to a 6-0 start, is now the No. 1 team in Class 4A after moving up from No. 9 last week.
The polls, voted upon by head coaches around the state, will serve as part of the seeding criteria in softball this season. Polls are released each Monday during the regular season.
Rock Canyon has moved up to the No. 1 spot in this week’s Class 5A softball rankings
Each poll was released on Monday.
The polls, voted upon by head coaches around the state, will serve as part of the seeding criteria in softball this season. Polls are released each Monday during the regular season.
Arvada West 21, Ralston Valley 19, Cherokee Trail 15, Mountain Vista 13, Grand Junction Central 12, Valor Christian 12, Cherry Creek 11, Eaglecrest 11, Brighton 10, Hinkley 10, Castle View 9, Fort Collins 8, Pomona 8, Vista Ridge 6, Fairview 5, Arapahoe 3, Douglas County 1, Fruita Monument 1, ThunderRidge 1.
Dropped out
Ralston Valley (10).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Holy Family (10)
2-0-0
106
1
2-0-0
2
Erie
0-1-0
69
2
0-1-0
3
Wheat Ridge
2-0-0
65
5
2-0-0
4
Silver Creek
0-1-0
58
3
0-1-0
5
Pueblo South
1-1-0
47
4
1-1-0
6
Riverdale Ridge
2-0-0
36
–
2-0-0
7
Pueblo West
1-0-0
30
–
1-0-0
8
Frederick
3-0-0
24
–
3-0-0
9
Mead
2-0-0
23
6
2-0-0
10
Air Academy
1-0-0
19
–
1-0-0
Others receiving votes:
Mullen 16, Pueblo County 15, Pueblo Central 10, Pueblo East 10, Roosevelt 10, Discovery Canyon 8, Bear Creek 7, Conifer 7, Elizabeth 7, Mountain View 7, Windsor 7, Golden 5, Mesa Ridge 4, Pueblo Centennial 4, Berthoud 3, Longmont 3, D’Evelyn 2, Evergreen 2, Rifle 1.
Dropped out
Mountain View (7), Golden (8), Pueblo County (9), Mullen (10).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
University (10)
1-0-0
124
1
1-0-0
2
Eaton (1)
2-0-0
106
2
2-0-0
3
Strasburg (1)
1-1-0
76
3
1-1-0
4
Sterling
2-0-0
67
6
2-0-0
5
Rocky Ford
1-0-0
62
7
1-0-0
6
Brush
1-1-0
45
4
1-1-0
7
Limon
1-0-0
40
5
1-0-0
8
Lutheran (1)
4-0-0
38
–
4-0-0
9
Lamar
1-0-0
28
–
1-0-0
10
La Junta
0-1-0
23
10
0-1-0
Others receiving votes:
Montezuma-Cortez 19, Basalt 17, Lyons 15, Fort Lupton 12, Peak to Peak 11, Resurrection Christian 7, The Academy 7, Weld Central 6, Alamosa 4, Faith Christian 4, Burlington 2, Cedaredge 1, The Classical Academy 1.
The preseason girls softball rankings were released on Monday morning, and Columbine (5A), Holy Family (4A) and University (3A) lead the polls in their respective classifications.
The polls, voted upon by head coaches around the state, will serve as part of the seeding criteria in softball this season. Polls are released each Monday during the regular season.
Arapahoe 37, Cherokee Trail 29, Grand Junction Central 24, Lakewood 21, Arvada West 17, Brighton 17, Hinkley 10, Valor Christian 10, Castle View 9, Loveland 9, Eaglecrest 8, Fountain-Fort Carson 8, Douglas County 7, Prairie View 7, Rampart 7, Vista Ridge 7, Grandview 5, Pomona 5, Mountain Range 4, Mountain Vista 3, Rangeview 3, Regis Jesuit 2, Cherry Creek 1, ThunderRidge 1.
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Holy Family (5)
0-0-0
98
2
Erie (4)
0-0-0
87
3
Silver Creek (1)
0-0-0
85
4
Pueblo South (2)
0-0-0
70
5
Wheat Ridge
0-0-0
48
6
Mead
0-0-0
33
7
Mountain View
0-0-0
29
8
Golden
0-0-0
24
9
Pueblo County
0-0-0
23
10
Mullen
0-0-0
16
Others receiving votes:
Air Academy 12, Elizabeth 12, Pueblo West 11, Pueblo Central 10, Riverdale Ridge 10, Conifer 9, Ponderosa 9, Pueblo East 9, Evergreen 8, Pueblo Centennial 8, Mesa Ridge 7, Roosevelt 7, Windsor 7, Bear Creek 6, Coronado 6, D’Evelyn 5, Niwot 3, Rifle 3, Montrose 2, Northridge 2, Frederick 1.
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
University (8)
0-0-0
80
2
Eaton
0-0-0
68
3
Strasburg (1)
0-0-0
65
4
Brush
0-0-0
57
5
Limon
0-0-0
40
6
Sterling
0-0-0
39
7
Rocky Ford
0-0-0
33
8
Basalt
0-0-0
27
9
The Academy
0-0-0
24
10
La Junta
0-0-0
16
Others receiving votes:
Lamar 14, Lyons 9, Resurrection Christian 7, Fort Lupton 6, Lutheran 5, Montezuma-Cortez 2, Valley 2, Peak to Peak 1.
