WESTMINSTER — Thornton won the Westminster Wrestling Invitational overt he weekend, besting host Westminster with 184 points.
Full results:
1. Thornton, 184
2. Westminster, 111
3. Hinkley, 105
4. Littleton, 92
5. Mitchell, 84
6. Cherry Creek, 68
6. Sand Creek, 68
8. Wiggins, 64
9. Montbello, 35
10. Thornton No. 2, 21
11. Skyview, 13
The 2014 all-state boys cross country teams are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.
These teams were created based upon results at the state meet.
The athletes who won championships at their classification were named runner of the year.
Scroll down to see the teams, or use the menu below to navigate to the class of your choosing.
Go to: 5A | 4A | 3A | 2A
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Runner of the year: Marcelo Laguera, Pomona
Coach of the year: Jonathan Dalby, Mountain Vista
| First team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | School | Year |
| Marcelo Laguera | Pomona | Senior |
| Joshua Joseph | Thornton | Senior |
| Ben Dingman | Rampart | Junior |
| Nathan Graham | Grandview | Senior |
| Blake Yount | Smoky Hill | Senior |
| Jake Mitchem | Broomfield | Junior |
| Joseph Horen | Arvada West | Senior |
Runner of the year: Eric Hamer, Palmer Ridge
Coach of the year: Kelly Christensen, Palmer Ridge
| First team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | School | Year |
| Eric Hamer | Palmer Ridge | Senior |
| William Mayhew | Cheyenne Mountain | Senior |
| Ian Meek | Montrose | Sophomore |
| Maximilliano Martinez | Widefield | Sophomore |
| Jake Fisk | Niwot | Senior |
| Michael Duran | Pueblo Centennial | Junior |
| Jarrett Thollot | Thompson Valley | Junior |
Runner of the year: Ben Butler, SkyView Academy
Coach of the year: Larry Zaragoza, Alamosa
| First team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | School | Year |
| Ben Butler | SkyView Academy | Junior |
| Taylor Stack | Salida | Junior |
| Dominic Carrese | Fountain Valley | Senior |
| Benjamin Espinola | Bishop Machebeuf | Senior |
| Jake Rogers | Lamar | Junior |
| Mason Phillips | Platte Canyon | Senior |
| Isaiah DeLaCerda | Alamosa | Sophomore |
Runner of the year: Paul Roberts, Lyons
Coach of the year: Mark Roberts, Lyons
| First team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | School | Year |
| Paul Roberts | Lyons | Junior |
| Corey Lewenkamp | Custer County | Senior |
| Jack Plantz | Telluride | Junior |
| Andy O’Dell | Denver Academy | Senior |
| Andrew Tiedeman | Hotchkiss | Senior |
| Matt Dillon | Lyons | Senior |
THORNTON — Complete results from the second day of the Class 4A and 5A state gymnastics meets, which featured the finals for all individual events.
Results for all events are below.
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THORNTON — Every fall, Thornton High School, site of the Class 4A and 5A state gymnastics meets, becomes a spectacle for whirling dervishes, for powerful and graceful performers.
On Friday, in the 4A all-around competition, Thompson Valley’s Alyssa Carroll displayed more poise and power than the rest in placing first in all four events, the uneven bars, the floor, the vault, and the balance beam. The senior dominated the field in claiming her second straight state championship in all-around with 38.55 points, more than a point and a half clear of Standley Lake’s Jordan Ireland.
After such a dominating performance Friday, Carroll was looking for an encore Saturday in the individual event competition. The future Nebraska Cornhusker more than delivered with three individual state championships.
Carroll came in to the evening hoping for four crowns and came within tenths of a point of achieving her goal. A touch of too much power caused a slight stumble in the floor exercise, giving her a score of 9.475 — a mere .025 points off Ireland’s 9.500. She was more than pleased with three titles, though.
“I did want to win floor just because I won last year. You know that quote that you can’t win everything? It kind of applies here,” Carroll said with a laugh. “But that’s OK. Jordan did a really good floor today and she deserved it.”
Outside of the stumble, Carroll was thorough in a performance that varied from solid to spectacular.
The senior kicked off her Saturday by claiming the state championship in the uneven bars with 9.7 points, well ahead of Niwot’s Marissa Koski’s score of 9.275.
Then, came Carroll’s slight stumble in floor. She recovered with a title performance on the balance beam (9.75). Niwot’s Gabby Casey placed second (9.45).
“My beam routine really stuck out,” Carroll said. “Yesterday I was kind of wobbly on it and today most of it was solid.”
Then, came the spectacular. Carroll used her speed and power to elevate high into the air during the vault. Her landing was picturesque, causing a few judges to give her a score of 9.9. Her average of 9.85 points claimed a third crown of the day, a sweet ending to an illustrious career.
“That was such a good vault,” Carroll said. “That’s one of my best vaults that I’ve done all season, because usually I take a huge step back and today I just stuck it. It felt really good. My heart felt whole.”
“She has not stuck it with two feet planted and no movement ever that I have seen,” Thompson Valley coach Jaia Sattler added. “Tonight, she stuck it. We were all crazy excited. That was the cherry on top of a good weekend.”
4A may not miss Carroll’s immense talent next year, but Sattler and Thompson Valley certainly will.
“It’s really nice to have her on the team, especially as a new head coach,” Sattler, in her first year as head of the program, said. “She’s just a really good leader. We have such a young team and a lot of girls are new to high school and so to be able to watch her. There’s girls who are like, “Alyssa is so fearless. I want to be like her. It helps drive the other girls. We are going to miss her a lot.”
Carroll finished her brief but spectacular two-year Thompson Valley career with two all-around state championships and five individual event state championships. She was also part of a team state title as a junior.
In 5A, Pomona freshman Kelsey Boychuk, after winning all-around Friday, added to her memorable weekend with a state title in the vault. Her score of 9.85 was more than enough to hold off Cherry Creek’s Mackenzie Doerr (9.75) and Thornton’s Sierra Kirylo (9.725).
Boychuk was ecstatic about her first high school season.
“I’ve done a lot to get here, but it’s kind of unexpected,” Boychuk said of winning both all-around and vault. “I know there’s a lot of good girls here.”
Overland’s Devin Bundas, the 2013 state champion in the floor exercise, won the uneven bars with a tally of 9.725 points, just ahead of Broomfield’s Kailey Licata (9.7). Bundas, a senior who finishes as a two-time all-state competitor, was a key member of Overland’s second-straight team title Friday.
Licata, fifth-place in the all-around competition, came back to win the floor exercise with 9.7 points. Broomfield’s Sarah Holbrook won the balance beam with 9.7 points, as well.
Below is a list of Week 10 games for teams which did not make the Class 5A football playoff bracket. These teams were paired up by the 5A seeding committee.
| Home | Away |
| Poudre (3-6) | Mullen (3-6) |
| Boulder (3-6) | Rock Canyon (3-6) |
| Chatfield (3-6) | Douglas County (3-6) |
| Hinkley (3-6) | Legend (2-7) |
| Arvada West (2-7) | Northglenn (2-7) |
| Palmer (2-7) | Smoky Hill (2-7) |
| Highlands Ranch (1-8) | Mountain Range (0-9) |
| Fruita Monument (0-9) | Warriors (Montbello) (1-8) |
| Gateway (0-9) | Thornton (0-9) |
COLORADO SPRINGS – Once again, Paul Roberts had no peers at the Class 2A state cross country meet.
The junior won his third title in a row with a dominating 16.131-second time, which also was a new 2A record at the 3.2-mile course at the Norris Penrose Event Center.
“There really wasn’t any more pressure on me this year,” Roberts said. “I’ve been here before and our team just needed to come out here and race well. We wanted to come out here and take care of business, that was our goal, and that’s what we did.”
Lyons won the 2A team crown with 22 points. See complete results here.
Corey Lewenkamp of Custer County Central was second at 17:02.30.
“My coaches said to sit with the pack a little bit for the first mile and just make sure you get to the top of the hill feeling good,” Roberts said. “Then they said go as hard as I could that last half. I felt like everybody on our team went out and did that.”
Roberts’ effort powered Lyons to its third state title in a row. Roberts’ teammate Matt Dillon was fifth.
Roberts acknowledged he has already been thinking about what it would mean to be a four-time Colorado state cross country champion.
“My goal since I was an eighth grader was to win four high school state championships,” Roberts said. “That’s a goal I want to reach.”
In the Class 4A race, Palmer Ridge also doubled its pleasure.
Eric Hamer, a senior, claimed his inaugural state title with a Class 4A record time of 16.17.7 seconds on the challenging course.
“It wasn’t my plan, I just wanted to go out and run the best that I could,” Hammer said about setting a new record. “This was about me doing my part and it feels great to help the team win. My coaches were yelling at me how much do you want second place to have to earn it. So, I just ran as fast as I could.”
Cheyenne Mountain’s William Mayhew, a fellow senior, was second at 16:49.7.
Thanks to Hamer’s victory the Bears won the team title with 94 points, this was their first state boys cross country title since the school opened six years ago. Niwot was second in the team race with 106 points.
“My coaches had a vision for me to win state and I accomplished this goal,” said Hamer, who was sixth a year ago.
Like Hamer, SkyView Academy’s Ben Butler also won the 3A race in a class record-breaking fashion with a 16.18.20-second performance.
“That’s awesome,” Butler said after he was informed he set a 3A record. “The preparation was there, but the difference was I came in here with the thought of winning in my mind. I wanted to stay humble, but at the same time I wanted to believe it was possible and it happened for me.”
Butler, a junior, finished fourth in the 2A state race last year. SkyView Academy is based in Highlands Ranch.
The 5A race didn’t see any records get broken, but that didn’t dampen the excitement of Pomona’s Marcelo Laguera.
The senior won his first state championship with a time of 16.19.40
“Last year my body broke down and I finished like 71st,” Laguera said. “I just worked really hard to get back here and to win state means everything. All those days of training and hard work I put in paid off. It is an amazing feeling.”
Laguera said he took the lead for good in the race at the 2-mile mark. Thornton’s Joshua Joseph was second at 16:42.8 seconds.
“This course was brutal and all that mattered was who got to the line first,” Laguera said.
Mountain Vista won the 5A boys team title with 114 points, followed by Fort Collins at 156 points.
THORNTON — Legend’s boys and Legacy’s girls won the Thornton Cross Country Invitational at Margaret Carpenter Park on Saturday.
Thornton’s Joshua Joseph won the individual boys race in 15:47.80, while Bishop Machebeuf’s Ben Espinola was second in 16:33.80.
Legacy’s Emma Gee (19:16.70) and Abby Cohen (20:23.00) went No. 1 and No. 2 in the girls race.
Nine minutes remained in the fourth quarter on Friday night, and Columbine led Bear Creek 28-7. The Rebels would win 43-42 an hour and five minutes later.
Wait, what?
Despite nearly letting the game slip through its fingers, Columbine battled through double overtime to outlast Bear Creek.
“I was proud of how our kids stepped up and did fight, and made plays at the end, just enough to win it,” Columbine coach Andy Lowry told ColoradoPreps.com’s Scoreboard Show after the game. “Our kids just never gave up and our offense just made plays at the end in overtime, and we squeaked one out.”
Bear Creek was shut out until five minutes remained in the third quarter, and actually trailed 21-0 at that point. But the Bears’ rally really didn’t start until six minutes remained in regulation, when they cut it to 28-14. After an onside kick recovery, and two more scores, it was suddenly tied up and heading to overtime.
“I give Bear Creek a lot of credit for just fighting and playing hard,” Lowry said. “Their coaches did a good job, and they made a lot of plays. We just couldn’t finish in that fourth quarter.”
After blowing the late lead, “We were down a little bit,” Lowry said, “but we just talked to (the team) about how this is a good challenge for us to be able to grow up and face some adversity and have to fight for something.”
Both teams scored in the first overtime, and then Bear Creek converted on its offensive possession in the second. So did Columbine — but the Rebels opted to go for two, and Columbine’s junior quarterback, Jake Lowry, kept the ball to convert for the win.
“My coaches were calling for it, saying, ‘Go for two! Go for two!’” Andy Lowry said. “We just hadn’t stopped them for quite a few possessions in a row. The offense was doing well, and they were over-loading one side, and we just decided to put it in Jake’s hands.
“He made a great play and got in the end zone. You just hate to miss an extra point or something like that and end something that way, so we kept it in our offense’s hands.”
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Windsor led 6-0 at halftime and later 12-7 in the fourth, but Fort Collins quarterback Kyler Sigsbee found Dawson Johnson for the winning 5-yard score with six minutes remaining.
The Lambkins’ defense recovered a Windsor fumble on the ensuing drive, and Fort Collins was able to run the clock out.
“We we kind of using this as a barometer to find out where we rank among the 4A elite, because we definitely consider Windsor an elite 4A team,” Fort Collins coach Eric Rice told the Scoreboard Show. “I’m really glad our kids passed the test tonight.”
Later, he added, “When you hold a team like Windsor, which has a potent offense and is good at what they do, to 12 points, you’ve got to be happy about that.”
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Not only did Arickaree/Woodlin position itself to take over the top spot in the poll on Monday, the squad also knocked off the defending 6-man champions.
“This is probably the biggest win since we restarted the program four years ago,” Arickaree/Woodlin coach David Saffer told the Scoreboard Show. “The seniors this year have come from the bottom and worked their way up, so it was a very good win for us.
“We also understand that we’ve got a long season ahead of us, and we’ve got to keep going week-by-week here.”
On the presumptive No. 1 ranking, Saffer said, “We’ve got a target on our backs. We’ve just got to stay focused and keep working.”
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Horizon nearly pulled off its second-straight upset.
Nearly.
A week after knocking off then-No. 6 Chatfield, Horizon battled with Fairview all night on Friday. Ultimately, though, the Knights secured the win.
Horizon actually led 21-7 early in the second quarter, but Fairview rallied to tie things with 3:56 to play before the half. Then, quarterback Johnny Feauto found Tim Ryan for a 20-yard touchdown with 17 seconds left in the half to give the Knights the lead.
“Yeah, he’s our version of Johnny Football,” Fairview coach Tom McCartney joked on the Scoreboard Show. “He’s a tremendous player, he’s the point guard on the basketball team, he was on the baseball team that was in the Elite 8. He loves the center of attention, he loves competition. He just makes a ton of plays for us, and we’re fortunate to have Johnny Football.”
Oh, but Horizon wasn’t done. The Hawks tied it up early in the fourth on a touchdown pass of their own.
Jason Harvey then provided the heroics. His 14-yard run with 1:39 to play proved to be the difference — but only after the Knights’ defense stopped Horizon on fourth-and-2 from near midfield.
“It was a good stop there to try to get that thing secure,” McCartney said.
“The second half was just hard-fought, two teams going at it. … We just found a way.”
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Buena Vista, a 1A school, held serve at home against 2A Manitou Springs.
“What got us going, I would say, is our defense and how they stayed disciplined,” Buena Vista coach Matt Flavin told the Scoreboard Show. “I told them we needed to stay disciplined, and they responded and stayed with the gameplan even though they came out and started running the ball on us.
“That kind of got a spark in us to keep going. They got the offense going, as well.”
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Lutheran was destined to win its football game on Friday night.
Consider that while on the road in Texas, the Lions saw a 21-point lead erased; surrendered an onside kick in a tie game with less than three minutes to play; faced fourth down in overtime; and — finally — had to stop a two-point conversion attempt later in that overtime.
Despite it all, Lutheran, ranked No. 1 in the Class 3A poll, topped Lutheran South Academy of Houston 56-55 on Friday. It gave new coach Blair Hubbard a win in his debut.
What follows is an account relayed by the Lions’ official Twitter account.
Lutheran lead 35-21 at halftime and seemed to be in relative control. The lead extended to 42-21 early in the third quarter, but then things got crazy.
Lutheran South Academy scored 21 unanswered points, the final touchdown coming with 48 seconds to play in the third quarter. Lutheran retook the lead at 49-42 in the fourth quarter, but Lutheran South answered with 2:58 remaining. It followed the score up with an onside kick, and recovered.
But Lutheran’s defense forced a punt, and it’s offense drove down to Lutheran South’s 35-yard-line before regulation eventually expired.
In overtime — unlike Colorado, Texas starts teams at the 25-yard-line — Lutheran had possession first but soon faced 4th-and-9. That’s when quarterback James Willis hit Joshua Clausen for a first down at the 10. Three plays later, Willis had a 3-yard score on the ground.
It was 56-49. But not for long. Lutheran South quickly scored a touchdown of its own and called timeout. Out of the break, Lutheran South went for two but was turned away.
Clausen had a monster game with 214 receiving yards and a score, and running back Jamil Bond had four rushing scores and 184 yards. Willis threw for 238 yards and a touchdown, and also ran for the winning score.
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Friday’s victory marked the first time since 2008 that Adams City had won a football game on the field.
The Eagles had lost 58-consecutive games on the field, though their loss to Niwot to open the 2011 season was later forfeit. In fact, dating to the 2006 season, Adams City was 4-96 heading into 2014.
Adams City made the move to Class 4A this season after years of playing in 5A.
Friday was also the first time since 2005 that the Eagles had won their opening game of the season. That year, they went 6-5.
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All night, this game had the state buzzing: Is Falcon going to knock off the top-ranked and defending champion Eagles to start the season?
Well … no.
Falcon led 14-6 at halftime, 21-14 in the third quarter and 28-20 late in the fourth. But Pine Creek rallied to score a touchdown and convert for two with 1:02 to play in regulation.
The Eagles then stopped Falcon’s offense on its possession in overtime, and scored on its own possession a short while later.
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While the defending 4A champ might not have been toppled on Friday, the 2A champ was — on the road, no less.
Like many games across the state on Friday, the teams endured a lightning delay. And Strasburg coach Jeff Giger said it may have helped, especially with his team trailing by 10 at the time.
“We were able to regroup,” he told ColoradoPreps.com’s Scoreboard Show. “I thought the kids just battled through it. I can’t say enough about them. They worked so hard to put themselves in this position.”
Giger added that the win may be a springboard, of sorts.
“We’ve got to take it in stride, it is a season-opener, but at the same time, playing in the Patriot League as long as we did, we’ve never beaten those guys. So for the kids to get out there and do that, I think it just helps confidence. We think we have a pretty good team this year, and it’s a huge stepping stone for us starting off the season.”
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Montrose picked up yet another big win to start the season. A week after beating rival Grand Junction, the Indians had to rally and beat Delta.
“Delta’s a heck of a team, so I was happy to get out of there with a win,” Montrose coach Todd Casebier told the Scoreboard Show.
Delta hung tough most of the game, thanks to its offense. So Montrose’s D stepped up.
“Our defense has got to carry us sometimes, and they did tonight in the second half,” Casebier said.
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The defending 1A champion had a tough matchup to start the season, but prevailed.
“It was a fun game,” Paonia coach Brent McRae told the Scoreboard Show. “They played a heck of a ballgame. Our kids fought, their kids fought. … It was a fun night.”
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Izaiah Lottie rushed for 141 yards and two touchdowns, Quincy Voss had 102 and a score and Cherokee Trail cruised to a win.
Quarterback Connor Nantkes also threw a touchdown for the Cougars, who led 21-7 at halftime.
Zeke Johnson had 83 rushing yards in the loss for ThunderRidge. Quarterback Tristan Eve hit Alex O’Reilly on a 39-yard touchdown.
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Event type: Dual
Host: Ponderosa
| Team scores | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rank | School | Score |
| 1 | Ponderosa | 168.975 |
| 2 | Thornton | 166.85 |
| Vault | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Name | School | Score |
| 1 | Halle Bell | Thornton | 8.825 |
| 2 | McKenna Moede | Ponderosa | 8.75 |
| 3 | Katie Steward | Ponderosa | 8.65 |
| Bars | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Name | School | Score |
| 1 | Halle Bell | Thornton | 8.85 |
| 2 | Katie Steward | Ponderosa | 8.6 |
| 3 | Makaela Powell | Ponderosa | 8.55 |
| Beam | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Name | School | Score |
| 1 | Sara Michie | Thornton | 9.25 |
| 2 | Ashley Rodewald | Ponderosa | 8.75 |
| 3 | Jay Escamilla | Ponderosa | 8.6 |
| Floor | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Name | School | Score |
| 1 | Halle Bell | Thornton | 9.5 |
| 2 | Katie Steward | Ponderosa | 9 |
| 3 | Ashley Rodewald | Ponderosa | 8.75 |
| 4 | Kwanli Young | Thornton | 8.75 |
| All-Around | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Name | School | Score |
| 1 | Halle Bell | Thornton | 35.425 |
| 2 | Katie Steward | Ponderosa | 33.875 |
| 3 | Abby Twigg | Ponderosa | 33.4 |