Kent Denver is No. 1 in 2A. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Six of the seven defending champions lead CHSAANow.com’s preseason football rankings.
The lone non-champion to head a classification’s poll is Kent Denver, which is No. 1 in Class 2A.
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 media members around the state. New voters can sign up by emailing rcasey@chsaa.org. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
The 2017 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
(Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Player of the year: John Sorensen, Rocky Mountain
Coach of the year: Scott Bullock, Rocky Mountain
First Team
Name
School
Pos.
Year
Liam Eddy
Brighton
P/RF/3B
Senior
Matt Givin
Rock Canyon
RHP/SS/2B
Senior
Tyler Hyland
Rocky Mountain
OF/P
Senior
James Notary
Broomfield
P/INF
Senior
Casey Opitz
Heritage
C/INF
Senior
Tanner O’Tremba
Cherry Creek
OF
Junior
Caleb Sloan
Regis Jesuit
RHP
Senior
John Sorensen
Rocky Mountain
SS/P
Senior
Jordan Stubbings
Legend
3B/1B/C
Senior
Second Team
Name
School
Pos.
Year
Carter Akerfelds
Dakota Ridge
RHP
Senior
Jacob Arellano
Mountain Range
Senior
Tyler Carpenter
Fairview
1B/P
Senior
Drake Davis
Ralston Valley
RHP/OF
Senior
Kalen Hammer
Rocky Mountain
INF
Senior
Jacob Hilton
Heritage
RHP/INF
Senior
Jack Liffrig
Mountain Vista
LHP
Junior
Garrett Tisdall
Eaglecrest
RHP/C/3B
Senior
Jack Winkler
Chatfield
INF/P
Senior
Honorable mention:
Sean Arnold, Highlands Ranch, 1B/OF, Junior
Michael Baer, Regis Jesuit, 1B, Senior
Alex Bumpus, Coronado, CF/P, Senior
Kyle Cardona, Legend, SS/RHP, Senior
Joshua Chamberlain, Legacy, RHP/2B, Senior
Andrew Chavez, Cherry Creek, C, Senior
Riley Cornelio, Pine Creek, SS/RHP, Sophomore
Jeff Cyr, Ralston Valley, SS/RHP, Senior
Andrew Danko, Eaglecrest, SS/RHP, Junior
Colby Deaville, Legacy, SS, Senior
Moses Dokes, Denver East, Freshman
Spencer Gendreau, Rocky Mountain, 1B/OF, Senior
Mikey Griebel, Columbine, CF, Senior
Colton Hill, Rock Canyon, OF, Senior
Sam Ireland, Mountain Vista, 1B/RHP, Sophomore
Patrick Kauffmann, Denver East, Senior
Hunter Kelchner, Grand Junction Central, RHP/1B, Senior
Ryan Kirby, Grand Junction Central, INF, Sophomore
Cooper Legault, Dakota Ridge, OF/RHP, Junior
Jordan Medina, Highlands Ranch, UTIL/P, Junior
Mitch Morales, Broomfield, P/OF, Sophomore
Trey Morrill, Fruita Monument, P/OF, Junior
Conner Nantkes, Cherokee Trail, P/UTIL, Senior
Jakob Pigati, Bear Creek, CF/LF/RF, Senior
Jack Radford, Bear Creek, P, Senior
Cody Schultz, Cherry Creek, INF, Senior
Mason Speirs, Broomfield, C/C, Senior
Jose Treto, Brighton, P/SS/OF, Senior
Matt Turner, Broomfield, 1B, Senior
Jadon Uhrich, Rocky Mountain, C/INF/OF, Senior
Quincey Ulrich, ThunderRidge,
Jake Willemsen, Fairview, OF, Senior
[divider]
Class 4A
(Lance Wendt/LanceWendt.com)
Player of the year: Luke Ziegler, Valor Christian
Coach of the year: Steve Jones, Evergreen
First Team
Name
School
Pos.
Year
Mike Berg
Thompson Valley
C/OF/3B
Senior
Micah Bregard
Air Academy
INF/P
Junior
RJ Dabovich
Pueblo West
Senior
Noah Kuzma
Valor Christian
C
Junior
Ben Muscatello
Evergreen
P/SS/INF
Junior
JD Wadleigh
Green Mountain
RHP/OF
Junior
Judah Wilbur
Denver North
SS/2B/RHP
Senior
Cole Winn
Silver Creek
INF/P
Junior
Luke Ziegler
Valor Christian
3B/RHP
Junior
Second Team
Name
School
Pos.
Year
Josh Danyliw
Valor Christian
P/RF
Junior
Alan Garcia
Pueblo West
Senior
Trystan Kimmel
Thomas Jefferson
INF/RHP
Senior
Skyler Messinger
Niwot
P/INF
Senior
Dylan Norsen
Mountain View
P/INF
Senior
Joel Pierce
Valor Christian
LF/RF
Senior
Jose Robles
Denver North
RHP/C
Senior
Andrew Shaw
Summit
LHP/OF/1B
Senior
Corte Tapia
Windsor
Senior
Honorable mention:
Mason Bennett, Ponderosa,
Matt Berg, Thompson Valley, SS/2B/OF, Senior
Aaron Berkhoff, Cheyenne Mountain, 3B, Sophomore
Brody Bettis, Green Mountain, 2B, Senior
Dalton Bishop, Mesa Ridge, C/INF/SS, Senior
Nick Bowermaster, Thomas Jefferson, SS/RHP, Sophomore
Silver Creek is making the right moves at the right time. The Raptors have climbed to the No. 2 spot in the Class 4A CHSAANow.com baseball rankings.
They sit right behind Valor Christian, who holds on to the No. 1 spot.
Green Mountain also shot up the rankings, gaining three spots to take over the No. 3 position.
(Courtesy of Palisade HS)
Air Academy (No. 7) and Palisade (No. 9) are the two new teams to crack the 4A poll this week.
Three new teams made their way in the 5A rankings as Legend (No. 6), Legacy (No. 8) and Brighton (No. 10) have all impressed voters enough with the postseason right around the corner.
Cherry Creek remains the No. 1 team in 5A, but Mountain Vista jumped up to the No. 2 spot. Mountain Range is two spots better than a week ago, sitting at No. 4.
Lamar holds on to the No. 1 spot in 3A with Lutheran climbing up to No. 2.
Valley made a three-spot jump to come in at No. 4.
At No. 9 and No. 10 respectively, Delta and Resurrection Christian are the two newcomers to the 3A poll.
Paonia maintained its spot atop the 2A poll while Sedgwick County jumped a spot to get to No. 3.
At No. 8, Hotchkiss is two spots better than last week.
Front Range Christian joins the 2A poll at No. 10.
Holly remains the unanimous No. 1 team in 1A. Eads was able to jump a spot to No. 2, trading places with No. 3 Fleming.
Kiowa jumped two spots to No. 8 while Granada (No. 9) and Manzanola (No. 10) join the rankings this week.
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.
Cherry Creek and Valor Christian are picking the right time to peak. After all, in hunt for a state baseball championship teams put more emphasis on how they’re playing in May, not in March.
In the last week of April, the Bruins and the Eagles have made their way into their respective top spots in the CHSAANow.com baseball rankings.
Cherry Creek takes nine of 12 first-place votes to come in as the new No. 1 in the Class 5A poll. The Bruins unseat Rock Canyon, which falls to No.2 after a 12-10 loss to Regis Jesuit last week.
The Raiders are just one of three new teams to crack the 5A top 10. Douglas County enters the poll this week at No. 7 and Broomfield, fresh off a shutout win over Mountain Range comes in at No. 9.
Valor Christian — the defending 4A champion — regains the top spot in that class, jumping up three spots from last week’s ranking.
The Eagles overtake No. 2 Cheyenne Mountain, which claimed the top spot a week ago.
(Jeff Tucker/jefferywtucker.zenfolio.com)
Still undefeated, Denver North climbs a couple of spots to take the No. 4 position this week, grabbing a couple of first-place votes in the process.
Summit and Pueblo West are the two newcomers in the 4A poll, taking the No. 9 and No. 10 spots respectively.
Lamar remains the No. 1 team in the 3A rankings, but University was able to jump a spot to land at No. 2.
Peak to Peak (No. 5) and Colorado Academy (No. 6) each climbed two spots from last week’s poll.
There were no new teams in the 3A poll.
Paonia held its spot at the top of the 2A poll. Sedgwick County jumped a spot to No. 4 and County Line fell a spot to No. 5, but no other changes occurred in the 2A rankings.
Holly did not play a game last week and it didn’t effect anything in the least as the Wildcats are still No.1 in the rankings.
Fleming (No. 2) and Cheyenne Wells (No. 4) each jumped a spot from last week. Three new teams joined the 1A poll as Denver Jewish Day comes in at No. 6, Stratton/Liberty takes the No. 9 spot and Sierra Grande rounds out the poll at No. 10.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association.
New polls are released each Monday during the regular season.
Legacy 20, Legend 14, Brighton 2, Greeley West 2, Ralston Valley 2, Arapahoe 1, Coronado 1, Highlands Ranch 1.
Dropped out:
Legend (4), Fruita Monument (8), Legacy (9).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Valor Christian (3)
12-3
87
4
3-0
2
Cheyenne Mountain (2)
13-1
83
1
2-1
3
Windsor (3)
12-1
77
3
3-0
4
Denver North (2)
15-0
68
6
3-0
5
Northridge
11-3
49
8
1-0
6
Green Mountain
12-2
47
5
2-1
7
Silver Creek
12-5
46
9
2-0
8
Mountain View
11-4
25
7
0-1
9
Summit
12-2
20
–
0-0
10
Pueblo West
11-4
14
–
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Falcon 11, Air Academy 7, Palisade 7, Ponderosa 4, Canon City 3, Fort Morgan 2.
Dropped out:
Ponderosa (2), Fort Morgan (10).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Lamar (8)
15-1
116
1
3-0
2
University (2)
10-4
96
3
2-1
3
Lutheran (1)
16-1
92
4
3-1
4
La Junta (1)
12-3
71
2
1-2
5
Peak to Peak
10-2
56
7
2-1
6
Colorado Academy
13-3
46
8
4-0
7
Valley
11-3
36
6
2-1
8
Manitou Springs
10-3
34
5
1-2
9
Eaton
10-4
24
10
3-0
10
Gunnison
10-3
22
9
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Resurrection Christian 21, Delta 15, St. Mary’s 9, Bayfield 5, Sterling 5, Brush 4, Montezuma-Cortez 4, Cedaredge 3, Alamosa 1.
Dropped out:
.
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Paonia (8)
15-0
96
1
2-0
2
Peyton (2)
13-0
83
2
1-0
3
Holyoke
13-1
73
3
1-0
4
Sedgwick County
9-3
54
5
0-0
5
County Line
10-2
52
4
1-0
6
Yuma
10-2
38
6
1-0
7
Rocky Ford
10-3
35
7
1-0
8
Lyons
13-1
30
8
2-0
9
Haxtun
7-4
19
9
0-0
10
Hotchkiss
12-2
17
10
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Front Range Christian 9, Dawson 7, Dayspring Christian 7, Crowley County 6, Meeker 6, Sanford 5, Limon 4, Sargent 4, Ignacio 3, Burlington 1, Center 1.
It might be too early to say that Cheyenne Mountain is back at a championship level, but a 11-0 start to the season has certainly gotten the attention of voters across the state.
Fresh off a win over Falcon on Thursday and Canon City on Saturday, the Indians are the new No. 1 in the Class 4A CHSAANow.com baseball rankings.
The Indians only broke into the poll a week ago and after leaping over Northridge, Windsor and Ponderosa, they are looking closer and closer to being in championship contention once again.
Valor Christian made a decent jump this week, gaining three spots to land No. 4.
Silver Creek is the only team to join the poll, coming in at No. 9
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
Lamar regains the top spot in the 3A poll after being overtaken by league rival La Junta last week.
University gains some ground to come in at No. 3 as does Manitou Springs who jumps a spot to land at No. 5.
Eaton rejoins the top 10 this week, rounding out the 3A at No. 10.
In 5A, Rock Canyon holds on to the top spot in the poll. Mountain Range, however, made a four-spot jump to come in at No. 2.
Cherry Creek gets back into the top three, getting a few first-place votes in the process.
Fruita Monument (No. 8) and Legacy (No. 9) are the two newcomers to the 5A rankings.
Paonia held on to the top spot in the 2A poll, as did the top four overall teams from last week’s rankings.
Rocky Ford is two spots better this week at No. 7.
Lyons is the only new team in the 2A poll, coming at No. 9 this week.
Holly also held on to its No. 1 ranking, hanging on to the top spot in the 1A poll. Eads (No. 2) and Fleming (No. 3) also held on to their positions from a week ago.
At No. 8, Kiowa is new to this week’s top 10, as is Granada who rounds out the poll at No. 10.
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.
Broomfield 15, Douglas County 9, Regis Jesuit 9, ThunderRidge 8, Bear Creek 5, Cherokee Trail 5, Pine Creek 4, Grand Junction Central 3, Brighton 2, Highlands Ranch 1.
Dropped out:
Grand Junction Central (8), Broomfield (9).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Cheyenne Mountain (7)
11-0
86
4
3-0
2
Ponderosa (1)
9-2
70
3
2-1
3
Windsor
9-1
65
1
2-1
4
Valor Christian (2)
9-3
63
7
3-0
5
Green Mountain
10-1
59
5
2-1
6
Denver North
12-0
52
6
3-0
7
Mountain View
11-3
33
8
3-0
8
Northridge
10-3
29
2
0-2
9
Silver Creek
10-5
23
–
2-0
10
Fort Morgan
9-2
18
10
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Summit 16, Wheat Ridge 9, Holy Family 8, Air Academy 7, Falcon 6, Pueblo West 6.
To say that there was some shakeup in the CHSAANow.com baseball rankings would be a gross understatement of what happened since the last set of rankings were released two weeks ago.
And if there is a prime example, one should look no further than the Class 4A rankings.
Windsor jumped a staggering eight spots to take over the No. 1 spot in that poll.
The four teams sitting right behind the Wizards? Well, they were all previously unranked. Northridge, Ponderosa, Cheyenne Mountain and Green Mountain all join the rankings this week.
Wheat Ridge (No. 9) and Fort Morgan (No. 10) are also newcomers. Denver North, Valor Christian and Mountain View remain in the rankings at No. 6, No. 7 and No. 8 respectively.
The 5A rankings also saw a significant shakeup, though not as extreme as 4A. Rock Canyon takes over the No. 1 spot, replacing Rocky Mountain who falls to No. 3. Legend jumps to No. 2 while Mountain Vista climbs to No. 4.
Mountain Range (No. 6), Eaglecrest (No. 7), Grand Junction Central (No. 8) and Heritage (No. 10) all broke into the top 10.
While 3A saw the most consistency in terms of who was ranked, the overall placement of the ranked teams certainly saw changes.
La Junta jumped to the No. 1 spot, taking over for Lamar.
Manitou Springs jumps a couple of spots to No. 6 while Valley leapt up to No. 7. At No. 9, Gunnison is the only new team in the 3A rankings.
Paonia hangs on to the No. 1 spot in 2A, but Peyton climbs to No. 2 and Holyoke jumps seven spots to No. 3.
County Line, Yuma and Sanford all join the 2A poll this week.
Holly remains the No. 1 team in 1A and Eads holds on to its spot at No. 2.
Caliche, Petz and Antonito are the three newcomers to the 1A poll.
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.
Dawson 8, Front Range Christian 8, Lyons 8, Dayspring Christian 7, Burlington 6, Denver Christian 6, Dolores Huerta 6, Limon 6, Evangelical Christian 4, Calhan 3, Dolores 3, Meeker 1.
Dropped out:
Front Range Christian (2), Dawson (4), Calhan (9).
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Holly (7)
5-1
88
1
3-0
2
Eads (2)
5-0
71
2
4-0
3
Fleming
5-1
66
4
5-0
4
Cheyenne Wells
2-1
53
6
1-1
5
Nucla
5-5
46
3
3-2
6
Caliche
4-5
35
–
2-3
7
Cotopaxi
5-2
25
8
2-1
8
Stratton/Liberty
1-3
22
9
0-1
9
Peetz
4-2
17
–
2-0
10
Antonito
2-0
15
–
1-0
Others receiving votes:
Denver Jewish Day 12, Granada 12, Kiowa 10, Rocky Mountain Lutheran 6, Otis 5, Community Christian 4, Manzanola 3, Idalia 2, Mile High Academy 2, Elbert 1.
A couple of wins over Mountain View has put the spotlight on Longmont baseball. The undefeated Trojans head into spring break as the new No. 1 team in the Class 4A CHSAANow.com baseball rankings.
And they earned it.
On consecutive days last week, Longmont posted 6-3 and 3-1 wins over then No. 2 Mountain View, who fell to No. 7 this week.
Valor Christian slipped one spot to come in at No. 2.
Evergreen bettered their position by three spots to land at No. 5 while Silver Creek jump two spots to take over at No. 8.
No new teams broke into the 4A poll this week.
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
The 3A poll also saw a fresh face in the top spot. After coming away with a couple of wins at their own tournament, Lamar lands at the No. 1 spot formerly held by Faith Christian.
The defending 3A champs only dropped one spot to No. 2.
Lutheran stormed its way into the 3A rankings, coming in at No. 4 despite not ranked in last week’s poll. The Lions are the only newcomers in 3A.
Colorado Academy is right behind at No. 5, two spots better than a week ago.
In 5A, Rocky Mountain hangs onto its top spot, but the always dangerous Cherry Creek Bruins jumped two spots to take over at No 2.
Legend breaks into the top five by making a three-spot jump from last week’s poll.
At No. 10, Broomfield is the only new team in the 5A poll.
Haxtun has shown it should be a team to keep an eye on, landing at No. 3 in this week’s 2A poll. That’s a staggering six spots better than a week ago.
Paonia is still securely in the No. 1 spot in those rankings.
Calhan and Holyoke are the two new teams to break into the 2A rankings, coming in at No. 9 and No. 10 respectively.
Only one new face made an appearance in this week’s 1A poll as Cotopaxi takes the No. 8 spot this week.
Holly remains the top team in the 1A rankings and it was Dove Creek who made the big jump of the week to land three spots better at No. 7.
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.
Heritage 16, Grandview 11, Highlands Ranch 8, Mullen 8, Legacy 3, Pine Creek 3, Boulder 2, Douglas County 2, Eaglecrest 2, Fort Collins 1, Grand Junction Central 1, Pomona 1.
Dropped out:
Heritage (10).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Longmont (6)
4-0
90
4
2-0
2
Valor Christian (2)
3-2
82
1
1-2
3
Pueblo West
6-3
67
3
2-2
4
Air Academy (1)
3-0
60
5
1-0
5
Evergreen
4-0
53
8
0-0
6
Canon City
3-0
43
6
0-0
7
Mountain View
3-3
37
2
0-3
8
Silver Creek (1)
5-2
35
10
2-0
9
Windsor
2-0
32
7
2-0
10
Denver North
6-0
20
9
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Northridge 17, Wheat Ridge 12, Palmer Ridge 10, Ponderosa 10, Fort Morgan 8, Green Mountain 8, Thompson Valley 8, Pueblo South 7, Erie 3, Cheyenne Mountain 2, Golden 1.
Dropped out:
.
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Lamar (3)
6-1
86
2
2-0
2
Faith Christian (3)
1-0
83
1
1-0
3
La Junta (2)
4-0
76
4
3-0
4
Lutheran (1)
8-0
43
–
4-0
5
Colorado Academy
3-0
42
7
0-0
6
University (1)
1-3
38
3
1-2
7
Peak to Peak
3-1
32
9
0-0
8
Manitou Springs
3-1
31
5
2-1
9
Delta (1)
4-3
30
10
2-1
10
Valley
4-2
28
6
1-1
Others receiving votes:
Sterling 26, Eaton 23, Resurrection Christian 17, Manual 11, Weld Central 8, Bishop Machebeuf 7, Gunnison 7, Rye 6, Buena Vista 4, Cedaredge 2, St. Mary’s 2, Aspen 1, Bayfield 1, Kent Denver 1.
Dropped out:
Eaton (8).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Paonia (6)
3-0
79
1
1-0
2
Front Range Christian (2)
5-1
57
2
1-1
3
Haxtun
5-0
50
9
3-0
4
Dawson (1)
2-2
47
3
0-0
5
Peyton
6-0
45
8
3-0
6
Sedgwick County
3-2
35
5
3-1
7
Rocky Ford
2-1
31
4
0-0
8
Hotchkiss
2-1
28
7
1-0
9
Calhan
6-0
20
–
3-0
10
Holyoke
4-0
16
–
4-0
Others receiving votes:
Dayspring Christian 14, Dolores Huerta 12, County Line 10, Limon 9, Sargent 9, Yuma 9, Sanford 8, Crowley County 4, Denver Academy 3, Lyons 3, Clear Creek 2, Custer County 2, Akron 1, Gilpin County 1.
Dropped out:
Dayspring Christian (6), Limon (10).
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Holly (7)
2-1
82
1
0-0
2
Eads
1-0
51
2
1-0
3
Nucla
2-3
50
3
1-0
4
Fleming
0-1
49
4
0-1
5
Granada
0-0
48
6
0-0
6
Cheyenne Wells
1-0
39
5
1-0
7
Dove Creek (1)
1-5
32
10
1-0
8
Cotopaxi
3-1
25
–
0-0
9
Stratton/Liberty
1-2
24
8
0-1
10
Manzanola
0-0
21
7
0-0
Others receiving votes:
Sierra Grande 19, Otis 13, Antonito 9, Kiowa 7, Primero 7, Cornerstone Christian 4, Elbert 4, Longmont Christian 3, Peetz 3, Rocky Mountain Lutheran 3, Pikes Peak Christian 2.
Broomfield 15, Grandview 15, Boulder 9, Mullen 8, Highlands Ranch 7, Columbine 5, Eaglecrest 5, Legacy 3, Pine Creek 3, Bear Creek 2, Coronado 2, Chaparral 1, Denver East 1.
Dropped out:
Mullen (4), Grandview (8), Pine Creek (10).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Valor Christian (10)
2-0
100
1
2-0
2
Mountain View
3-0
70
2
3-0
3
Pueblo West
4-1
51
3
4-1
4
Longmont
2-0
43
5
2-0
5
Air Academy
2-0
41
9
2-0
6
Canon City
3-0
35
7
3-0
7
Windsor
0-0
32
4
0-0
8
Evergreen
4-0
30
–
4-0
9
Denver North
4-0
25
10
4-0
10
Silver Creek
3-2
20
6
3-2
Others receiving votes:
Northridge 18, Fort Morgan 16, Palmer Ridge 11, Pueblo South 11, Mead 10, Wheat Ridge 9, Green Mountain 8, Thompson Valley 6, Cheyenne Mountain 4, Erie 3, Pueblo Central 3, D’Evelyn 2, Golden 1, Ponderosa 1.
Dropped out:
Erie (8).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Faith Christian (6)
0-0
82
2
0-0
2
Lamar (1)
4-1
73
3
4-1
3
University (2)
0-1
72
1
0-1
4
La Junta (1)
1-0
64
4
1-0
5
Manitou Springs
1-0
58
7
1-0
6
Valley
3-1
49
5
3-1
7
Colorado Academy (1)
3-0
44
–
3-0
8
Eaton
1-1
36
6
1-1
9
Peak to Peak
3-1
29
–
3-1
10
Delta
2-2
23
8
2-2
Others receiving votes:
Weld Central 14, Resurrection Christian 13, Sterling 12, Alamosa 11, Kent Denver 10, Bayfield 9, Gunnison 9, Manual 9, Lutheran 8, Cedaredge 7, Aspen 5, Centauri 5, Brush 4, Buena Vista 4, Montezuma-Cortez 3, Olathe 2, Pagosa Springs 2, St. Mary’s 2, Monte Vista 1.
Dropped out:
St. Mary’s (9), Bayfield (10).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Paonia (7)
2-0
88
1
2-0
2
Front Range Christian
4-0
59
–
4-0
3
Dawson (1)
2-2
56
2
2-2
4
Rocky Ford
2-1
49
7
2-1
5
Sedgwick County (1)
0-1
46
4
0-1
6
Dayspring Christian
0-2
39
3
0-2
7
Hotchkiss
1-1
36
5
1-1
8
Peyton
3-0
29
–
3-0
9
Haxtun
2-0
27
–
2-0
10
Limon
2-2
26
6
2-2
Others receiving votes:
County Line 10, Dolores Huerta 10, Calhan 9, Sargent 9, Yuma 9, Del Norte 8, Sanford 8, Holyoke 7, Akron 4, Burlington 4, Center 4, Crowley County 4, Denver Christian 3, Lyons 3, Custer County 2, Clear Creek 1.
Dropped out:
Akron (8), County Line (9), Sargent (10).
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Holly (7)
2-1
74
1
2-1
2
Eads
0-0
60
2
0-0
3
Nucla (1)
1-3
55
4
1-3
4
Fleming
0-0
53
3
0-0
5
Cheyenne Wells
0-0
43
6
0-0
6
Granada
0-0
41
5
0-0
7
Manzanola
0-0
26
9
0-0
8
Stratton/Liberty
1-1
20
10
1-1
9
Sierra Grande
0-0
14
–
0-0
10
Dove Creek
0-5
10
7
0-5
Others receiving votes:
Antonito 8, Cotopaxi 8, Primero 7, Rocky Mountain Lutheran 6, Kiowa 4, Longmont Christian 3, Peetz 3, Cornerstone Christian 2, Pikes Peak Christian 2, Community Christian 1.
The bright lights and raucous crowds at the University of Northern Colorado’s Bank of Colorado Arena felt familiar to the Fleming girls basketball team.
Fleming won the Class 1A volleyball state championship over Kit Carson at the Denver Coliseum, their sixth title in program history after reaching eight of the past ten championship matches. Junior forward Alli Keisel (20 points) and electric senior guard Kalyn Serrato (19) were key members of the volleyball team that handed Kit their first loss of the fall.
Boosted by their championship experience — Bailey Chintala, Jenna Lengfelder, Morgan Cockroft all play on both teams as well — Fleming (23-1) was poised in the final frame and outscored Antonito 24-10 to pull away after a close contest and reach the 1A girls Final 4 with a 68-57 win. Antonito was undefeated at 23-0 entering the weekend.
“I definitely think that carries over into the next season and we may not be well-tested in the state basketball tournament, but they have played in some big games and the stage didn’t seem to bother them one bit tonight,” said coach Randy Kirkwood, formerly in charge of the boys at Caliche.
With numerous lead changes and quick bursts filled with fastbreaks and 3-point makes, each team had the weapons needed to explode for stretches.
Antonito (No. 6 seed) and Fleming (No. 3) both executed inside and outside as the Trojans’ Erykah Tallman (17 points) was a presence down low and guards Tyanna Sanchez (11) and Brenay Ruybal (10) were effective from the perimeter.
The game was tied at 16 after one as Fleming held a slight three-point advantage, 32-29, at halftime. Antonito whipped the ball around the outside and heated up as an 11-0 Trojan run pushed Antonito to a 49-44 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Spurred by 5-foot-3 Serrato, a wonderful veteran playmaker with six points during a critical stretch midway through the fourth which included four-of-four from the free throw line, Fleming took a tight 56-53 lead with just over four minutes to go.
Antonito got within one with three minutes left, but could never retake the lead. A fifth foul on Tallman took their physical post out of the game with about five minutes remaining and Fleming’s transition offense opened up the late double-digit lead.
“We run a lot,” Serrato said. “We turn the game into a track meet.”
Kirkwood was pleased with the execution and effort of his team in a close victory over a well-coached and gifted Trojan team.
“Antonito is a very good team,” he said. “That was a really good girls basketball game. Our girls rebounded real well in the second half and we hit some big shots when we needed to.”
Fleming will take on Heritage Christian at 7 p.m. in the semifinals on Friday, a team they beat 67-55 in the District 4 tournament on February 25.
[divider]
(1) Kit Carson 51, (8) Nucla 31
Kit Carson looked every bit the title contender their seed would indicate. The Wildcats stayed perfect this season at 23-0 with a defense that gave up 15 points through three quarters and allowed Kit to build a 36-point advantage in the fourth.
The Isenbart sister trio of Micayla (nine points), Reyna (14) and Olivia (six), a junior, freshman and sophomore, redeemed the Wildcats one year after a perfect regular season was slightly spoiled with an upset loss to South Baca in the Great 8. Tess Hornung chipped in 13 points for Kit.
Senior guard Taylor Sickels had the hot-hand for Nucla (14-10), scoring 18 of the team’s 31 points. The Mustangs will face Briggsdale at 8:45 a.m. in the consolation bracket Friday.
[divider]
(4) South Baca 53, (5) Briggsdale 50 (OT)
The Patriots pushed Briggsdale aside thanks to a 22-point performance by Bree-ann Carwin, an overtime-forcing trifecta by senior Frankie Ormiston and a few clutch free throws in extra time.
1A’s top scorer (21.9 points per game) was the catalyst for South Baca, a team that has now reached the Final Four back-to-back years. The Patriots (20-3), a school that pulls from Campo, Vilas and Pritchett, could reach their first state final if they take out No. 1 Kit Carson on Friday at 4 p.m.
The area does have some hoops tradition as Campo High School, before the area schools collaborated into one, claimed two girls basketball state titles with the most recent coming in 1978.
The Patriots took a 17-11 lead into the second quarter and held a 21-17 margin at the break, but the Falcons found their wings taking a 39-34 lead into the last quarter. A balanced Briggsdale effort, 14 points apiece for Nikki Anderson and Jodel Erickson, to go with 12 by Skyla Miller, was enough to force overtime but not enough to prevail.
Briggsdale (18-6) was the state-runner up to Idalia in 2016.
[divider]
(2) Heritage Christian 46, (7) Eads 37
Eads was poised looking to spring an upset and led 16-15 on the big stage after two quarters. But, a 14-6 third frame that went the way of Heritage Christian assured the Eagles a spot in the semifinals.
Joe Packard’s team is a serious threat for the 1A crown, but will have to avenge their only loss of the season to Fleming to reach the final.
Sarah McGinley (12 points), Jenn Stellingwerf (10), Elizabeth Lacey (nine) and Sarah Collins (nine) led the offensive charge for Heritage Christian.
Mariah Smith (15) and Miranda Mitchek (13) played well for Eads in a close loss. Eads (16-9) takes on Antonito in the consolation rounds at 11:45 a.m. on Friday.
