Pueblo Centennial has pushed up to No. 1 in this week’s 4A boys soccer rankings.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday during the regular season.
Voted upon by coaches and select media members around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
Class 5A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Arapahoe (7)
2-0-0
90
1
2-0-0
2
Grandview
3-0-1
85
3
3-0-1
3
Legacy (1)
1-0-0
72
5
1-0-0
4
Broomfield (1)
1-0-0
61
4
1-0-0
5
Far Northeast Warriors
2-0-0
59
–
2-0-0
6
Cherry Creek (1)
3-0-0
56
10
3-0-0
7
Boulder
1-1-0
52
2
1-1-0
8
Fairview (1)
1-0-0
46
6
1-0-0
9
Arvada West
2-0-0
45
7
2-0-0
10
Bear Creek (1)
3-0-0
27
–
3-0-0
Others receiving votes:
Denver East 17, Fossil Ridge 17, Regis Jesuit 8, Castle View 5, Rock Canyon 5, Ralston Valley 3, Windsor 3, Aurora Central 2, Mountain Vista 2, Valor Christian 2, Eaglecrest 1, Palmer 1, Rampart 1.
Dropped out
Fort Collins (8), Denver East (9).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Pueblo Centennial (2)
2-0-0
72
5
2-0-0
2
The Classical Academy (4)
0-0-0
69
3
0-0-0
3
Air Academy (3)
1-1-0
60
1
1-1-0
4
Battle Mountain
2-0-0
56
7
2-0-0
5
Skyview
1-0-0
47
4
1-0-0
6
Denver North
0-0-1
45
2
0-0-1
7
Centaurus
1-0-0
31
9
1-0-0
8
Glenwood Springs
1-0-1
21
6
1-0-1
9
Golden
1-0-0
17
10
1-0-0
10
Loveland
2-0-0
14
–
2-0-0
Others receiving votes:
Northfield 13, Green Mountain 10, Erie 6, Discovery Canyon 5, Greeley Central 5, Pueblo East 5, Pueblo West 4, Durango 3, Skyline 3, Cheyenne Mountain 2, Evergreen 2, Niwot 2, Palisade 2, D’Evelyn 1.
Dropped out
Durango (8).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Kent Denver (8)
2-0-0
80
1
2-0-0
2
Colorado Academy
0-0-0
68
2
0-0-0
3
Liberty Common
0-0-0
61
3
0-0-0
4
Roaring Fork
1-0-0
43
5
1-0-0
5
Delta
2-0-0
41
4
2-0-0
6
Atlas Preparatory School
2-0-0
38
8
2-0-0
7
Salida
1-0-0
32
6
1-0-0
8
Faith Christian
1-0-0
26
9
1-0-0
9
Arrupe Jesuit
1-0-0
16
–
1-0-0
10
The Academy
1-0-0
14
–
1-0-0
Others receiving votes:
Lamar 6, Lutheran 3, Manitou Springs 3, Fort Lupton 3, Jefferson Academy 2, Middle Park 2, Peak to Peak 1, Vail Mountain 1.
Dropped out
Colorado Springs Christian (7), Jefferson Academy (10).
It’s always fun to look back to a previous season and remember what was. But every once in a while there is just as much fun when looking forward at how a season might be shaping up.
Like many sports going into the 2019-20 school year, there are a number of returning softball players that had banner years last fall. Once play begins in August, these girls will look to build on what they did in 2018.
[divider]
Batting average:
Cordelia Hanger, a senior from The Academy, proved to a nightmare for opposing pitchers in 2018. She had 66 at-bats last year and finished with an admirable .848 average. That was good enough to make her the state batting champion regardless of classification.
Westminster’s Kori Rhoads led all Class 5A hitters with a .640 average and Brooklyn Horn hit .700 to lead 4A. Of her 49 hits on the year, 24 of them went for extra bases.
Home runs:
Sterling’s Rylyn Nelson and Loveland’s Laurin Krings had plenty of trips around the bases last year. They both hit 15 home runs in 2018, the most of any player coming back in 2019.
Silver Creek’s Jetta Nannen led all players with 17 bombs, but graduated this spring.
The Middleton sisters, Mackenzie and Makayla, hit 11 and 10 home runs, respectively and head into the season as the 4A players with the most long balls from last year.
RBIs:
Eaton junior Jennifer Jarnigan drove in 65 runs a year ago which marks the most RBI’s among all returning players.
Conifer senior Josey Nichols hit 50 last year to top returning 4A players while Krings leads all 5A players with 48.
Runs scored:
The 3A class is returning players who scored runs in bunches. Eaton’s Remington Ross (61), University’s Kyra McFarland (54) and Delaney Wieneke (51) all come back this fall and are the top three returning runs scorers regardless of classification.
Fossil Ridge’s Jayden Mercado tops the 5A returners with 48 and Holy Family’s Anna Martinez leads all returning 4A players with 46.
Earned run average:
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
It’s no surprise that when it comes to pitching stats, Krings is at or near the top of most lists. Her 0.65 ERA in 2018 was the best in the state and she’s in line to put up similar numbers this fall.
Pueblo East senior Nasya Madrid-Lafebre leads 4A returning pitchers with a 1.62 ERA and Delta’s Hailee Ruble tops 3A at 1.32.
Strikeouts:
Krings also led the state in strikeouts as she fanned 392 hitters last year.
Cheyenne Mountain senior Katelyn Ralston was second overall in 4A last year, totaling 197 and leads all returning pitchers in 4A.
Peak to Peak junior Jamie Rader is hoping to build on her solid 2018 season where she struck out 139 opposing hitters. That edged Sterling’s Kiersten Bohler by six strikeouts, and Rader did it while throwing 31 fewer innings.
The 2019 all-state baseball 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.
[divider]
Class 5A
Mountain Vista’s Sam Ireland. (Tim Bourke)
Player of the year: Sam Ireland, Mountain Vista
Coach of the year: Matt Darr, Regis Jesuit
First Team
Name
School
Pos.
Year
Riley Cornelio
Pine Creek
RHP/INF
Senior
Sam Ireland
Mountain Vista
RHP/3B/1B
Senior
AJ Jergensen
Ralston Valley
OF
Senior
Geno Macias
Regis Jesuit
Senior
Brice Martinez
Cherry Creek
Jack Moss
Cherry Creek
Drew Stahl
Mountain Vista
INF
Senior
Jacob Thompsen
Regis Jesuit
Junior
Caden Wagner
Regis Jesuit
Senior
Second Team
Name
School
Pos.
Year
Justin Boyd
Legend
SS/CF
Senior
Jose Cintron
Overland
3B/2B/INF
Senior
Peter Goldy
Grandview
RHP/1B
Senior
Calvin Hunt
Ralston Valley
RHP
Senior
Cale Lansville
ThunderRidge
Grant Magill
Mountain Vista
C
Senior
Nathan Mitchell
Cherry Creek
Ryan Stohr
Dakota Ridge
RHP/1B
Senior
Patrick Strawbridge
Regis Jesuit
Senior
Case Williams
Douglas County
RHP/3B/1B
Junior
Honorable mention:
Trey Adams, Ralston Valley, INF/RHP, Senior
Simon Baumgardt, Lakewood, P/SS, Senior
Radek Birkholz, Valor Christian, P/INF, Sophomore
Zach Boone, Castle View, CF/LF, Senior
Clay Burke, Mountain Vista, RHP/1B, Senior
Jake Campbell, Rocky Mountain, P/1B, Senior
Tony Castonguay, Grandview, C/3B, Junior
Pete Chronowski, Heritage, LHP, Senior
Kellen Cox, Cherokee Trail
Garrett Crawford, Overland, OF/RHP, Junior
Clay Cutter, Cherry Creek
John Emerson, Denver East, CF/LHP/SS, Senior
Chase Esplin, Legacy, Junior
Matt Glover, Denver South, RHP/OF/SS, Sophomore
Jake Greiving, Legend, C/OF/3B, Senior
Josh Hojnowski, Grandview, RHP/3B, Senior
Ben Horwith, Douglas County, Senior
Owen Lockner, Windsor, Senior
Jayden Martinez, Grandview, OF, Senior
Braden Martinez, Windsor, Senior
Bryce Matthews, Chaparral, OF, Senior
Ryan McKown, Chaparral, OF, Senior
Mason Mitchell, Heritage, OF/RHP, Senior
Justin Moehlenpah, Horizon, LHP/OF, Senior
Ben Perla, Cherry Creek
Jaren Piepho, Rocky Mountain, C, Senior
Kevin Pipich, Rock Canyon, RHP/1B, Senior
J.C. Rodriguez, Far Northeast Warriors, Sophomore
Jacob Roybal, Chatfield, P/OF, Junior
Teddy Schoenfeld, Boulder, Senior
Macully Sehr, Legacy, Sophomore
Colby Shade, Fort Collins, OF, Junior
Derek Shaver, Grand Junction, Senior
Blake Templeton, Fort Collins, SS/RHP, Junior
Diego Velasquez, Smoky Hill, P/1B/OF, Junior
Ben Whipple, Valor Christian, RHP/1B, Sophomore
Tristan Wolf, Mountain Range
Matt Zaccaro, Bear Creek, OF/P, Senior
[divider]
Class 4A
Pueblo West’s Tyler Barth. (Bobby Stevens/MaxPreps)
Player of the year: Tyler Barth, Pueblo West
Coach of the year: Dan Sanchez, Pueblo West
First Team
Name
School
Pos.
Year
Lincoln Andrews
Canon City
INF/P
Senior
Aaron Arcilise
Wheat Ridge
RHP/INF
Senior
Tyler Barth
Pueblo West
Senior
Aaron Berkhoff
Cheyenne Mountain
INF
Senior
Charlie Deeds
Palmer Ridge
SS/RHP/2B
Senior
Nate Denniston
Pueblo West
Senior
Kyle Jameson
Pueblo West
Senior
Collin Kringlen
Holy Family
1B/RHP
Senior
Spencer Rich
Silver Creek
Senior
Second Team
Name
School
Pos.
Year
Tayler Aguilar
Northridge
CF
Senior
Brodie Blackford
Pueblo West
Junior
Jayden Cordova
Pueblo West
Senior
JP Hamer
Fort Morgan
Senior
Ben McLaughlin
Golden
SS/RHP
Junior
Brady Renck
Longmont
2B/SS/P
Senior
Jason Shuger
Lewis-Palmer
P/INF
Senior
John Thoren
Erie
Michael Wegleitner
Silver Creek
Junior
Honorable mention:
Zach Becker, Holy Family, SS/2B/RHP, Senior
Johnny Behm, Lewis-Palmer, /OF, Senior
Dominic Bronk, Wheat Ridge, 3B/RHP, Junior
Angel Carlos, Lincoln, Senior
Tyler Declusin, Pueblo West, Senior
Devin Dodson, Cheyenne Mountain, C/RHP, Junior
Tyler Dollahan, Glenwood Springs, Senior
Garrett Flaagan, Eagle Valley
Avery Fulford, Conifer, Senior
Michael Guber, George Washington, UTIL/RHP, Senior
Chris Gumeson, Longmont, RF/C/INF, Senior
Tyler Hrin, Thomas Jefferson, OF/1B/LHP, Freshman
Charlie Jackson, Silver Creek, Junior
William Kapner, Evergreen, 2B/1B, Junior
Emmert Kastendieck, Montrose, OF, Junior
Noah Lasecki, The Classical Academy, 1B/P, Senior
Isaac Linker, Fort Morgan, Senior
Cesar Loma, Greeley Central, 3B/RHP/C, Senior
Seth Lucero, Denver North, SS/RHP/OF, Senior
Nico Martin, Pueblo Central, CF, Senior
Parker Martin, Coronado, C/INF/OF, Senior
Cole Martino, Pueblo County, P/1B/3B, Sophomore
Bryce McKee, Coronado, SS/UTIL/RHP, Senior
Kolton Miller, Ponderosa, Sophomore
Adam Muniz, Pueblo Central, 3B/SS/2B, Senior
Corey Musch, Skyview, CF/LF, Senior
Cameron Nellor, Thompson Valley, SS/P/UTIL, Junior
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.
The old adage says that iron sharpens iron. The girls soccer teams of the Class 3A Metro League wouldn’t necessarily disagree with that.
When this week’s edition of the CHSAANow.com soccer rankings were released, the top three spots were occupied by Metro League teams.
The league also has teams holding three spots in the bottom half of the top 10. Something has to give and there can only be one league champion and also just one state champion — though each Metro League team likely feels like it can be the one to hoist championship gold next month.
Perhaps one of the more intriguing aspects of each team in the league is that none of them are built around the outstanding play of one player in particular. Stargate’s Kayla Futakami leads all of 3A in goals (29) which has certainly helped the Eagles remain competitive in a tough a league.
Colorado Academy’s Mari Annest and Kent Denver’s Annabelle Johnson have each scored 17 times which puts them inside of 3A’s top-10 goal scorers, but overall the players in the Metro aren’t putting up video game numbers to get wins, they’re playing sound, team soccer to get it done.
Jefferson Academy holds the top spot in the 3A rankings this week and travel to Lewis-Palmer where the game ended in a scoreless tie. Denise Sutton’s crew doesn’t score a lot of goals this year as Kristen Capan leads the team with six.
But scoring on the Jaguars is proving to be difficult with Brooklyn Kirkpatrick protecting the net. In over 550 minutes as the keeper, she has only given up two goals this season. It’s easy to come into a season with confidence after hold another talented Metro team in Kent Denver to just one goal in last year’s state championship game.
But that’s the way things tend to work in this league. Playing against the best will help make each player better on any given day.
Iron sharpens iron.
This hasn’t just been the case this year. For the last several years, the Metro League has not only been the home of some of the best teams in state, but to state champions.
Jefferson Academy topped Kent Denver in the championship game last year and Mira Houck received the same honor last year.
Overall, four of the last five 3A state champions call the Metro League home. Colorado Academy went back-to-back in 2014-15. Kent Denver secured the title back in 2016 and then Jefferson Academy emerged as champion last year.
This year is shaping up for more of the same level of dominance. Three of the four state semifinal teams from last year came from the Metro League. With the way the games are unfolding in 2019, it should be no surprise if that’s the case once again.
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.