Colorado Academy’s Sterre Van Ede received the most votes from coaches during that process, and, as a result, has been selected as the player of the year.
Scroll down to see the entire team.
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All-state field hockey
Player of the year: Sterre Van Ede, Colorado Academy
The 2013 all-state boys soccer teams are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.
These team were created following a lengthy process which included nominations from leagues and coaches, and then a vote of coaches. Find more information here.
The players who received the most votes in their classification were selected as the player of the year in their class.
Scroll down to see the teams, or use the menu below to navigate to the class of your choosing.
Haley Smith is the 5A softball player of the year. (Pam Wagner)
The 2013 all-state softball teams are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.
These team were created following a lengthy process which included nominations from leagues and coaches, and then a vote of coaches. Find more information here.
The players who received the most votes in their classification were selected as the player of the year in their class.
Scroll down to see the teams, or use the menu below to navigate to the class of your choosing.
DENVER — Denver East’s Maya Nelson began her 5A regional wrestling bracket proving she was not going to be a pushover. In fact, she was going to be the one doing the pushing.
Nelson, a junior, outscored her opponents 29-0 en route the finals of her bracket. Her luck would run out there, but considering she had just become the first female wrestler to qualify for the state championship bracket in 5A, she certainly had momentum on her side.
She used every bit to make history again as she defeated Carl Camposanto from Regis Jesuit to also become the first 5A girl to win a match. Nelson said afterward that her goal is to get to the podium and seems confident that she will be able to achieve that goal — something that she hadn’t quite been able to do in her first two years.
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
“I was always close and that really broke my heart,” Nelson said. “To be right there and not be able to advance to state was heartbreaking, so I put in a lot more work over the summer, wrestling year-round and I’m finally here.”
Nelson’s victory was a far cry from the decisive matches she had in her regional bracket. Early in the match she had to be briefly treated for a bloody nose and even found herself down 2-1 after the first period. She didn’t let herself get frustrated and instead was able to even the score a four points apiece heading into the third and final period.
It was there that she went on the attack, earning the victory with a 13-9 decision over Camposanto. The win puts her one step closer to her goal of becoming the first girl in the history of Colorado wrestling to place at the state championships.
“(Getting to the podium) has always been my goal,” she said. “I’m just taking it one match at a time and going out there and doing my best.”
Her best is the result of extra hours of training beyond what she can get through the wrestling program at Denver East. On top of the work she puts in with her team, she spends time training at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs in the offseason and also works at RiNo Sport Galleri.
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Her extra effort has paid off and allowed her to keep up with the guys that wrestle in her division and weight class. The results are showing that she is no just a good story, but a legitimate threat on the mat, as well.
She fell in love with the sport after spending time with her dad Joshua, who was a wrestling coach. After she became interested in the sport she began to study the technique of Adeline Gray, a Denver native that went on to win the gold medal at the 2012 World Championships in Strathcona County, Alberta.
“Ever since I saw her wrestle, I saw how phenomenal she was,” Nelson said. “I want to be just like her.”
If Nelson keeps up her current pace she could very easily end up being better than Gray. But as she said, she just needs to take it one match at a time. Her next opponent is Pine Creek’s Juan Rodriguez. That match will happen during the 4A/5A quarterfinal session which starts at 12:45 p.m. Friday.
For now, Nelson’s first victory was at least noticed by another record-setter in Colorado wrestling. Brooke Sauer, the first girl to ever qualify for the state tournament back in 2006 from Golden, was in attendance.
More photos. (Tim Visser/TimVisserPhotography.com)
DENVER — It’s not exactly a common scenario for a defending state champion to be flying under the radar, but Coronado junior Jess Hankin may be doing exactly that.
One year after capturing the Class 5A state title at 113 pounds, Hankin is ranked third at 126 pounds, the only 5A division to feature another defending champion in Cherry Creek’s Mitch Finesilver.
That’s why Hankin, who kicked off his 2014 state tournament Thursday night at Pepsi Center by pinning Aurora Central’s Jonnathan Quijada in three minutes, 44 seconds, isn’t necessarily feeling the pressure that often comes with defending a title.
“It’s really more motivation, especially seeing as how I was ranked third all year,” Hankin said. “It gives me a goal to work up to. I’m not the No. 1 guy, so it takes a lot of the pressure off as well.”
Finesilver, who captured the 120-pound title as a junior, opened with an 11-1 major decision over Chaparral’s Dawson Cranmer. Ponderosa’s Kade Snider, the No. 2-ranked wrestler at 126, also advanced with a 7-2 decision over Fruita Monument’s Ian Konrad.
Hankin led 9-2 in the second period of his match before securing the fall.
“It’s not an ‘if-you-win.’ It’s a definite win,” Hankin said. “It’s not so much a confidence booster as it is just nice to get it out of the way.”
That sentiment was a common one among the wrestlers Thursday. Each of the defending champions moved on to Friday morning’s quarterfinals, including two-time state champion P.T. Garcia at 132. The senior scored a technical fall of 22-7 over Liberty’s Grady Brewster.
Grand Junction’s Jacob Trujillo (160), Ponderosa’s Dylan Gab el (182) and Regis Jesuit’s Grant Neal (220) also moved forward. Mountain Range’s Jorge Rodriguez (285), a 2012 state champion, needed only 19 seconds to notch a pin and advance.
Arvada West sent eight of its 11 qualifiers into the quarterfinals to take the team lead with 24 points after the first day. Pine Creek, which advanced seven, is second with 21 points and Ponderosa is third with 19 points.
No Wildcat was happier to be moving on than Taylor Bergquist. The junior had lost his opening match at state in overtime in each of his first two years, but Bergquist handled Ponderosa’s Tyler Turco with a 10-2 major decision at 152 pounds.
“It was really disappointing. It’s heart-breaking,” he said of his previous state experiences. “It feels good this year to get the first one out of the way.”
Bergquist moves on to face Boulder’s Martin Selby on Friday morning. His major decision helped to give the Wildcats an edge, especially considering it came against Ponderosa, which also sent 11 to state.
“It’s a big boost. Any extra points you can get helps,” Bergquist said. “Ponderosa’s a tough team, and we’re tough too.”
Legacy’s Ryan Deakin, who is undefeated this season, kept his perfect record intact with a lightning-quick pin of Rangeview’s Dominic Wenger in 28 seconds at 113 pounds.
“It’s good to get that out of the way,” Deakin said, “but there’s still a lot of wrestling to be done.”
It seemed almost anticlimactic to wait all day to wrestle only to spend 28 seconds on the mat, but Deakin didn’t view it that way.
“Every time I go out there I’m just trying to go out there and dominate the kid,” Deakin said. “I turned him, so it worked out. Sometimes it doesn’t.”
Among the other highlights from the first round included Finesilver’s three brothers joining him in the quarterfinals. Zach Finesilver notched a victory by pin at 138 pounds, and sophomore twins Josh (106) and Matt (113) also advanced.
With one week to go in the regular season, Fossil Ridge nearly overtook Denver East atop the Class 5A basketball rankings.
Nearly.
The SaberCats remained in the No. 2 spot despite the fact that both schools received 10 first-place votes. Denver East, though, held on to its top ranking by one overall point.
The Angels have been No. 1 all season, save for one week in mid-January when Fossil Ridge led the poll.
Mountain Vista stayed put at No. 3 this week, and continued to be followed by No. 4 Regis Jesuit and No. 5 Eaglecrest.
Overland bumped up on place to No. 6, while Highlands Ranch went from No. 10 to No. 7 after going 2-0 last week.
Arapahoe dropped two spots to No. 8, Rangeview is the poll’s lone newcomer at No. 9, and Grand Junction rounds out the ranking at No. 10.
The Centennial and Continental leagues both have three teams in the top-10 this week. The Denver Prep, Front Range and East Metro and Southwestern all have one ranked team.
Elsewhere, the 1A poll has a new No. 1 team. Hi-Plains took over for Caliche after receiving eight of the 11 first-place votes in that class. Hi-Plains went 3-0 last week, while Caliche went 1-2, though both losses were to ranked 2A teams.
That ranking added No. 9 Cheraw and No. 10 Briggsdale.
Jefferson Academy moved up to No. 3 in 3A this week. (Pam Wagner)
The No. 1 teams in 4A (Valor Christian), 3A (Holy Family) and 2A (Ignacio) stayed the same this week.
The 4A poll added No. 9 Cheyenne Mountain and No. 10 Denver West. 3A added No. 7 Denver Science & Tech and No. 10 Platte Valley.
Holyoke (No. 9) and Meeker (No. 10) were the new teams in the 2A ranking this week.
As the regular season ends for all classes this week, these will be the final rankings of the season.
Grand Junction started the 2013-14 campaign 7-0. The Tigers then lost two straight just prior to the winter break. However, since that break, GJ is 9-0.
This week, the Tigers cracked the top-10. They are ranked No. 9 in CHSAANow.com’s 5A poll.
Elsewhere in 5A, Denver East extended its stay at No. 1. Fossil Ridge remained at No. 2, and Mountain Vista at No. 3.
Regis Jesuit moved back up to the No. 4 spot after a 2-0 week. Eaglecrest dropped one place, and rounds out the top 5.
Arapahoe is sixth, Overland is seventh and Chatfield is eighth. Highlands Ranch rounds out the ranking at No. 10.
The 4A poll added Golden at No. 10. Other newcomers included No. 8 Centauri in 3A, No. 10 Denver Christian in 2A and No. 8 Shining Mountain in 1A.
Valor Christian (4A), Holy Family (3A), Ignacio (2A) and Caliche (1A) held firm atop their respective polls.
Denver East received 13 of the 20 first-place votes this week. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
Denver East’s grip on the No. 1 spot in Class 5A boys basketball continues to grow tighter.
In this week’s CHSAANow.com rankings, the Angels received 13 of the 20 first-place votes. Last week, Denver East received 12 of 20.
The Angels are now 11-0 in Colorado, and have an average margin of victory of 19.8 points in those games. That includes a 3-point win over Cherry Creek on Dec. 13 and a one-point win over Eaglecrest on Dec. 16.
Since January, Denver East is winning in-state games by an average of 24.6 points.
Still, Fossil Ridge remains ever present. The second-ranked SaberCats are now 17-0, and received the other seven first-place votes this week. They are the only other team to be ranked No. 1 this season, holding that spot for one week in mid-January.
