During the 2019 volleyball season, Sterling had no reason to feel any pressure on its shoulders. It wasn’t the Class 3A defending champion and despite being undefeated during the regular season, wasn’t the team that everyone felt they needed to beat to win a state title.
That’s a big reason why it was the Tigers celebrating and hoisting the championship trophy when all was said and done. They have hopes of of repeating that task, but the reality is they won’t be able to fly under anyone’s radar from here on out.
“Last year, the pressure wasn’t on us,” coach Lisa Schumacher said. “We didn’t have any pressure and we talked about that all the time. We were undefeated and hadn’t dropped a set heading into a match with Eaton and someone would ask what happens if we drop a set? So what? What happens if we lose to Eaton? Doesn’t matter.”
The Tigers dropped a set, but there was no dropping a match that day or any day through the course of the year.
Sterling proved to be a deep overall team through the state tournament. They were led defensively by then-senior Jade Feather who led the team with 587 digs. The team’s only other senior, Paige Pratt, contributed on the defensive effort and added solid service numbers to the Tigers overall statline.
With those two gone, the attention now turns to players such as Allie Schumacher, Aubree Long, Valerie Allen and Harley Gareis who will be entering their senior seasons. They’ll be flanked by a talented junior class which includes hitters Sydney Henry, Kaylee Johnson and Emerie Rios.
Each player has their own strength on the floor. Coach Schumacher cites serve receiving as one of the team’s biggest strengths this year, but defense and hitting will have to play roles if the Tigers want to defend their title.
“It all has to mesh together,” Henry said. “We couldn’t (hit or pass) without our serve receive or defense.”
A shift in mentality is also going to play a key role for the team. As they built momentum last year, it was very clear that the Tigers enjoyed the thrill of the hunt when it came to closing out the season with a championship win.
The tables will be turned when everyone returns to the floor as opponents will be hunting the big cats rather than being hunted by them.
“It’s different because last year we seemed liked the underdogs,” Allie Schumacher said. “We had to fight our way through and now we’re considered to be on top. The biggest thing is we have to not get in over our heads and keep that underdog mentality.”
Hanging on to that mentality can play a key role in Sterling battling to stay at or close to the top of the 3A volleyball world for a few years. The majority of the players return to the team and they’ve now seen what it takes to survive the grind of the regular season, regionals and an intense state atmosphere at the Denver Coliseum.
“We try to spend a lot of time in our own gym preparing,” Coach Schumacher said. “We know what it takes to play in our league and we know what it takes to compete against the other teams in our state.”
The Tigers showed they could compete and win last year. This year, they’ll have to do the same thing, only this time it will be every team in the state hunting for them.
When the CHSAA boys basketball record book got updated two weeks ago, it provided a reminder of some memorable performances that fans saw throughout the year. It also provided fitting ends for some of the best basketball players to come through the state.
There were top performances from both individual players and overall teams that stand out for years down the road.
There were standout defensive numbers combined with plenty of offensive output that makes the last boys basketball season one to remember.
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Mancos’ Caden Showalter ended his career as one of the most efficient players in state history. At the conclusion of this last year, he totaled 58 career double-doubles, besting Colorado Springs Christian’s Sam Howard by five.
A few other players broke into the top 10 of the same category. Pomona’s Trevor Baskin ended with 38 to finish 10th with Mile High Academy’s Blake Essex coming in for a tie at eighth with 40.
Vanguard’s Dominique Clifford finished fifth in career double-doubles with 43. He had 24 this last season which is second most in a single season. The University of Colorado commit’s career was capped with several notable spots in the record book.
He finished third in career rebounds in the state tournament (109), fifth in career triple-doubles (3), sixth in rebounds in a single state tournament (51) and second in triple-doubles for a year (2).
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From a percentage standpoint, no one had a better free throw shooting year than DSST: Byers’ Kyrie Thomas. He made his way to the line 84 times and sank 79 shots to shoot 94.048 percent, the best season for anyone with at least 50 attempts.
He also knocked down 30 consecutive free throws during the season, the fourth longest streak in state history.
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(Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Conifer’s Landon Wallace will always hold a place in state history as one of the top all-time assists men. He cracked the top five in career assists with 697 and dished out 239 in 2019-20 alone, fifth most in a single year.
In 2018-19, he dished out 256 which is the second most in state history.
From a team standpoint, Resurrection Christian made its mark as one of the most unselfish teams on record. The Cougars recorded 569 assists this year, No. 3 on the all-time list. Denver East (550) and Highland (533) also cracked into the top 10 of the category.
Peaking of Highland, Tate Bessire had another season in which he finished top 10 in a single season in steals with 128. He finished his career with 392, which is second most all-time.
Sterling and Mead turned in some of the best long-range shooting seasons on record. The Tigers set a state record for most 3-pointers made by a team in a single season at 272. That tops Eagle Calley’s 2017-18 mark of 268. Mead ended the season with a respectable 237 made 3-pointers, fifth most all-time.
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Notables
Loveland’s Austin Bierhaus recorded 13 blocks in a Dec. 20 win over Northridge. It’s tied for fifth most in a game by a single player. He finished with 162 for the season which is No. 4 in the category. The team overall had 201 blocks, eighth most all-time for a team.
Lutheran’s Baye Fall scored 456 points last season which is seventh most for a freshman.
Longmont Christian’s Kyle Saunders recorded 144 steals, fourth most in a single season for any player.
Sheridan’s David Marquez III ended his career as one of the most efficient 3-point shooters in state history. His 48.052 career percentage from behind the arc is No. 9 in the category. He shot 56.923 percent from long range last year for the seventh best season on record.
Chaparral guard Kobe Sanders was never shy about firing up shots. His 613 career 3-point attempts are 10th most in state history.
Dawson’s Riley Burridge and Peak to Peak’s Garrett Shriver each attempted 21 3-pointers in a game this last year, tied for third most. In all, Burridge fired up 265 shots from long range, the sixth most in a single season. He made 97 of them, tying him for No. 8 in a single season with Rye’s Bryan Ribaudo and Fossil Ridge’s Braxton Bertolette.
Sedgwick County ended the years as the toughest team to ever score against in Colorado history. The Cougars gave up just 34 points per game, the best points against average of all-time.
Highland attempted 1,804 field goals last year, more than any other team in state history. It made 852 of them which is also more than any team before it. The Huskies scored a total of 2,155 points, seventh most for a single team, and averaged 86.2 per game, second most all-time.
The volleyball record book has been updated (and has a new look). There are a total of five new team entries, 59 individual entries, and five coaching updates. Among those are five overall records.
Sterling and Denver Christian each joined the list of teams that have had an unbeaten season with their first last fall.
Those two teams each also climbed the ranks of the consecutive sets won record. Sterling won 52-straight in 2019, while Denver Christian won 50-straight.
Individual:
Palmer Ridge’s Kyra Kisting set the season record for assists with 1,223. Colorado Springs Christian’s Kiersten Brock (5th, 1,099) and Cherokee Trail’s Sydney Cole (7th, 1,070) both also made the top-10.
Briggsdale’s Shelby Hoffman set the season record for digs with 895. Rye’s Ashlyn Romine (3rd, 809) and Wiley’s Macy Rowan (8th, 745) both also made the top-10.
Rowan set the match record for digs in a match with 75 against Cheraw on Nov. 9. She also had 63 (4th) against Cheraw on Aug. 29, 60 (7th) against Stratton/Liberty on Sept. 12, and 59 (9th) against Eads on Oct. 10.
Castle View’s Leanne Lowry set the career record for digs with 2,177. Peyton Frank of Holy Family (4th, 2,083) and Lewis-Palmer’s Gianna Bartalo (6th, 1,948) each also cracked the top-10 of the category. Notably, Wiley junior Macy Rowan is already 19th on the career list with 1,351.
Wiggins’ Avery Burdette tied the set record for service efficiency when she was 24/24 against Flatirons Academy on Sept. 14, 2019.
La Veta’s Nya Sciacca had 295 career aces, which is the second most. Pikes Peak Christian’s Kyler Sweat (4th, 284) and Denver Christian’s Anna Kaemingk (8th, 256) both made the top-10.
Valor Christian’s Anna Davis had 329 career block assists, which is the second most.
Ryley Smartt of Genoa-Hugo/Karval is second in points per set for her career, averaging 6.0673.
Sydney Cole of Cherokee Trail had 564 total serves in 2019, which is the third-most in history. She set the record in 2018 with 608.
Cole also had 3,556 assists in her career, which is the fourth-highest total in state history.
Briggsdale’s Kimberlyn Krise (5th, 581) and Highlands Ranch’s Cassie Davis (7th, 560) are now each listed for kills in a season. Krise is also fifth in terms of career kills with 1,504, and seventh in career points (1,751).
Couple of top-10 marks for assists in a match for Palmer Ridge’s Kisting (3rd, 69 against Pueblo County; 7th, 66 against Cheyenne Mountain; and 8th, 65, against Discovery Canyon); and Erie’s Jessica Amend (10th, twice, when she had 64 assists against Prospect Ridge, and 64 against Holy Family).
Belleview Christian’s Lexie Ewing had 21 aces on Oct. 8, 2019, the fifth-most in a match.
Simla’s Kaitlyn Rector and Genoa-Hugo/Karval’s Smatt each had 672 total points this season, which is the seventh-most.
Mayson Fago of Union Colony is 10th for career points with 1,624.
Rye’s Havilah Pitzer is now 10th with 149 solo blocks in a season.
Coaching:
Arapahoe’s Larry Deffenbaugh is third on the all-time wins list with 540.
Sterling’s Lisa Schumacher remains at eighth with 464 wins.
Pueblo West’s Casey King is at 16th on the wins list with 348 wins.
Lewis-Palmer’s Wade Baxter is 12th among coaches with three state championships.
Sally Moos wrapped up her 38th season as the head coach at Cherry Creek last fall — the most at one school. Her 38 years are also the most of anyone as a head coach.
Voted upon by coaches and select media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
Coaches and media members looking to vote should email rcasey@chsaa.org.
Class 5A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Cherry Creek (3)
0-0
86
2
Regis Jesuit (4)
0-0
80
3
Heritage (2)
0-0
79
4
Rocky Mountain
0-0
61
5
Mountain Vista (1)
0-0
57
6
Valor Christian
0-0
36
7
Grandview
0-0
30
8
Rock Canyon
0-0
29
9
Douglas County
0-0
28
10
Legacy
0-0
20
Others receiving votes:
Chaparral 16, Pine Creek 16, Legend 14, Ralston Valley 14, ThunderRidge 11, Fort Collins 10, Boulder 5, Poudre 4, Windsor 3, Lakewood 2, Vista PEAK Prep 2, Arapahoe 1, Broomfield 1.
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Cheyenne Mountain (4)
0-0
95
2
Pueblo West (5)
0-0
87
3
Silver Creek (1)
0-0
69
4
Holy Family
0-0
45
5
Fort Morgan
0-0
36
6
Golden
0-0
34
7
Longmont
0-0
28
8
Ponderosa
0-0
22
9
Wheat Ridge
0-0
21
10
Montrose
0-0
20
Others receiving votes:
Erie 18, Palmer Ridge 17, Lewis-Palmer 14, Roosevelt 12, Skyview 11, Air Academy 10, Canon City 10, Discovery Canyon 8, Falcon 8, Pueblo Central 8, Denver West 7, The Classical Academy 6, Palisade 5, Pueblo South 5, Evergreen 4, Centaurus 3, Sierra 1.
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
University (5)
0-0
89
2
Eaton (2)
0-0
84
3
Resurrection Christian (3)
0-0
81
4
Lutheran
0-0
67
5
Sterling
0-0
43
6
Colorado Academy
0-0
34
7
Delta
0-0
31
8
La Junta
0-0
21
9
Alamosa
0-0
20
10
Peak to Peak
0-0
19
Others receiving votes:
Faith Christian 14, St. Mary’s 14, Brush 11, Bennett 4, Kent Denver 4, Manitou Springs 4, Jefferson Academy 2, Lamar 2.
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Peyton (6)
0-0
74
2
Rye
0-0
59
3
Fowler
0-0
55
4
Yuma
0-0
53
5
Holly (3)
0-0
50
6
Limon
0-0
39
7
Wiggins
0-0
37
8
Dayspring Christian Academy
0-0
19
9
Dawson School
0-0
16
10
Calhan
0-0
14
Others receiving votes:
Sargent 13, Front Range Christian 11, Hotchkiss 10, Burlington 9, Dolores 8, Wray 8, Holyoke 6, Paonia 4, Denver Christian 3, Highland 3, Clear Creek 2, Rocky Ford 2.
Kit Carson has taken over as the top-ranked team in Class 1A boys basketball 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.
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
First-place votes are in parentheses.
Coaches and media members looking to vote should email rcasey@chsaa.org.
Class 5A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Rangeview (11)
21-0
128
1
3-0
2
Grandview (2)
16-5
103
2
1-1
3
Cherry Creek
17-4
88
4
3-0
4
Ralston Valley
18-3
80
5
2-0
5
Smoky Hill
17-4
79
3
3-0
6
Fairview
17-3
67
6
2-0
7
Columbine
17-3
48
7
2-0
8
Valor Christian
15-6
42
8
3-0
9
Boulder
18-3
29
9
3-0
10
Chaparral
15-6
21
10
1-0
Others receiving votes:
Eaglecrest 17, Denver East 8, Pine Creek 5.
Dropped out
None.
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Mead (12)
20-1
120
1
3-0
2
Longmont
18-3
91
3
3-0
3
Northfield
17-4
89
2
1-1
4
Cheyenne Mountain
20-1
83
4
3-0
5
Glenwood Springs
18-3
59
6
3-0
6
Golden
15-6
56
7
1-0
7
Harrison
15-4
55
5
1-1
8
Skyline
16-5
23
–
2-0
9
Pueblo West
15-6
18
8
2-1
10
Erie
16-4
16
9
1-0
Others receiving votes:
Montrose 14, Pueblo East 12, Green Mountain 10, Thomas Jefferson 9, Silver Creek 5.
Dropped out
Montrose (10).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Resurrection Christian (15)
18-0
167
1
3-0
2
Lutheran (1)
16-2
152
2
1-0
3
Sterling
16-3
125
3
2-0
4
The Vanguard School
16-1
113
4
3-0
5
Faith Christian
15-3
107
5
2-0
6
DSST: Byers (1)
16-1
56
7
2-0
7
Alamosa
15-4
53
10
2-0
8
Manitou Springs
15-3
43
9
2-0
9
Eaton
15-3
38
8
2-0
10
Centauri
16-2
37
6
1-1
Others receiving votes:
Gunnison 14, DSST: College View 6, Manual 6, DSST: Montview 5, St. Mary’s 3, University 3, Coal Ridge 2, Eagle Ridge 2, Jefferson Academy 2, DSST: Green Valley Ranch 1.
Dropped out
None.
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Highland (14)
16-1
149
1
2-0
2
Yuma (1)
15-2
133
2
2-0
3
Limon
16-2
109
4
3-0
4
Fowler
16-2
94
5
2-0
5
Denver Christian
13-3
79
3
0-1
6
Ignacio
14-2
66
6
2-0
7
Mancos
14-3
55
7
2-0
8
Sedgwick County
17-1
51
8
2-0
9
Sanford
13-4
31
9
1-0
10
Crested Butte
15-2
23
–
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Vail Christian 21, Holly 7, Wray 4, Dawson School 1, Heritage Christian 1, Peyton 1.
Tim Yount of On The Mat provides weekly wrestling rankings for teams and individuals in all weight classes. To see individual rankings, you can subscribe to On The Mat’s full rankings.
To subscribe via PayPal, choose your subscription option on this page click on the corresponding PayPal button. To subscribe by mail or fax and pay by personal check, click here for a printable subscription form. Email Tim Yount at tim@onthematrankings.com with questions.
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Four new teams joined this week’s boys basketball rankings: Columbine (5A), Chaparral (5A), Erie (4A) and Alamosa (3A).
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.
Mead has moved up to the No. 1 spot in this week’s Class 4A boys basketball rankings.
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.
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
First-place votes are in parentheses.
Coaches and media members looking to vote should email rcasey@chsaa.org.
Class 5A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Rangeview (14)
17-0
140
1
2-0
2
Grandview
13-4
105
3
2-0
3
Ralston Valley
15-2
102
5
2-0
4
Smoky Hill
13-4
77
2
0-2
5
Fairview
15-3
75
6
2-0
6
Cherry Creek
13-4
66
7
2-0
7
Boulder
14-3
43
9
2-0
8
Valor Christian
11-6
38
8
1-1
9
Eaglecrest
12-5
33
4
1-1
10
Denver East
15-2
27
–
1-0
Others receiving votes:
Legend 20, Columbine 15, Pine Creek 10, Chaparral 9, Mountain Vista 9, Overland 1.
Dropped out
Columbine (10).
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Mead (6)
17-1
105
2
2-0
2
Cheyenne Mountain (5)
17-0
97
1
2-0
3
Longmont
14-2
91
3
2-0
4
Northfield
14-3
72
4
2-0
5
Pueblo West
12-5
43
5
1-1
6
Glenwood Springs
14-3
42
6
2-0
7
Harrison
13-3
36
7
2-0
8
Golden
12-6
29
9
2-0
9
Montrose
15-3
20
8
2-0
10
Green Mountain
13-4
19
–
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Erie 18, Thomas Jefferson 15, Centaurus 8, Lincoln 8, Pueblo East 1, Silver Creek 1.
Dropped out
Thomas Jefferson (10).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Resurrection Christian (14)
13-0
158
1
1-0
2
Lutheran (1)
12-2
130
2
2-0
3
Sterling
12-2
119
4
2-0
4
The Vanguard School
13-1
103
3
3-0
5
Faith Christian
12-3
93
5
2-0
6
Centauri
13-1
72
6
0-1
7
DSST: Byers (1)
12-1
61
7
2-0
8
Eaton
13-2
52
8
2-0
9
Manitou Springs
12-2
41
9
2-0
10
University
12-3
16
–
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Gunnison 12, Alamosa 11, Jefferson Academy 6, DSST: Green Valley Ranch 3, St. Mary’s 2, Englewood 1.
Dropped out
Englewood (10).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Highland (11)
11-1
182
1
1-0
2
Yuma (8)
12-1
166
2
2-0
3
Limon
11-2
122
4
2-0
4
Denver Christian
11-2
115
3
2-0
5
Ignacio
10-1
107
5
0-0
6
Fowler
12-2
89
7
2-0
7
Sanford
11-3
75
8
2-0
8
Mancos
10-3
62
6
1-0
9
Sedgwick County
13-1
45
9
2-1
10
Vail Christian
10-2
30
10
1-1
Others receiving votes:
Holly 18, Vail Mountain 7, Dawson School 6, Wray 5, Heritage Christian 4, Dolores Huerta Prep 3, Front Range Christian 2, Crowley County 1, Dayspring Christian 1.
