The 2016-17 all-state wrestling teams are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.
These teams were created based upon results at the state meet. Coaches of the year were selected by team performance at the state meet, as well.
Wrestlers of the year were determined by a formula which took the following information into account: season record; season winning percentage; type of wins at state (pin, tech fall, major decision); strength of a weight classification’s bracket; and multiple championships.
Scroll down to see the teams, or use the menu below to navigate to the class of your choosing.
The 2016 all-state football teams 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 across the state.
Players were placed onto the first-team, second-team and honorable mention based upon the number of votes they received. In 5A-1A, spots were reserved for linemen and one kicker/punter, while 8-man reserved spots for linemen.
CHSAA does not determine who makes or doesn’t make the team; they are created entirely from the results of the coaches’ vote.
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Class 5A
(Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Player of the year: Dylan McCaffrey, Valor Christian
Chatfield, the second-ranked team in Class 4A football, pulled off a late rally to avoid an upset at the hands of Dakota Ridge on Friday.
The Chargers — who trailed 12-10 at halftime, and 29-24 after the third quarter — got a big 10-point swing early in the fourth quarter to change the game.
“We had to kick a field goal where we wanted to score a touchdown, and the ensuing kickoff, they fumbled it,” Chatfield coach Bret McGatlin told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “We were able to put it in the end zone. Those 10 points right there just changed the complexion for us. After that, it just got us going.”
“It was a little scary there for a while,” McGatlin said. “Dakota Ridge came out and played really well. I have a lot of respect for that team.”
“We were shell-shocked in the first, second and most of the third quarter, because they came out and they smashed us in the mouth early,” the coach added later. “All of a sudden, we started playing our game. It was fun.”
No. 2 Fleming beat No. 15 Otis 62-14 on Thursday. The remaining six games are all on Saturday.
Arickaree/Woodlin has reached the championship game each of the past two seasons, winning the title in 2014.
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1A: (8) Burlington 7, (10) Limon 6
Burlington scored the winning touchdown with six minutes to play to seal a league title.
“It was definitely defensive-minded,” Burlington coach Glynn Higgs told the Scoreboard Show. “I think when you play eachother as long as we have, and we’ve both had some pretty good teams in the past, you kind of know each other. And it was a very physical game, as we expected.
“We made one more play,” Higgs added. “We kicked our extra point, and they weren’t able to” convert a two-point conversion.
The win clinched the 1A North Central for the Cougars (7-2, 5-0 in league).
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2A: (9) Weld Central 17, Platte Valley 14
Weld Central got a late touchdown to secure a huge win and improved to 8-1 this season.
“Our kids played absolutely phenomenal tonight,” coach James Canaday told the Scoreboard Show. “They were very composed.”
The Rebels called a timeout just prior to the winning score.
“It was do-or-die, so we started talking about what we needed to call,” Canaday said. “Our offensive coordinator came up with a great play, and one of our better players, Alex Ries, was wide open and he caught it. … It was absolutely incredible. It was one of the neatest things I’ve ever been through.”
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Notables
In 8-man, No. 5 Merino and No. 10 Haxtun had about an half-hour delay because a power outage took out the lights at the field. Merino went on to win 41-13.
Basalt won its first league championship since 1984 with a 46-22 win over Roaring Fork. The Longhorns finished 5-0 in the 2A Western Slope League, and is 7-2 overall. “They knew it was a way to keep playing next week,” coach Carl Frerichs told the Scoreboard Show, acknowledging the automatic postseason berth that comes along with the title.
1A No. 9 Crowley County beat Rocky Ford 47-26 to win the Santa Fe League at 4-0. It is the Chargers’ third-straight league title. “We were able to come through again this year,” coach Brandon Roe told the Scoreboard Show.
Boulder got its first win under new coach Vincent Smith, beating Smoky Hill 45-26.
3A No. 10 Conifer got a good win over Lutheran, 34-27. “Our defense came through for us against a really good team,” coach Larry Fitzmaurice told the Scoreboard Show. With the win, Conifer seized control of the West Metro League at 4-0.
2A No. 2 Resurrection Christian beat Eaton 38-6 to secure the Patriot West League championship. The Cougars are now 9-0 and will turn their attention to the playoffs, which begin next week. “At this point of the season, anybody we play is going to be a good football team,” coach Mark Roggy told the Scoreboard Show.
Sedgwick County is now No. 1 in 8-man football. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Heading into the final week of regular season play at the 8-man level, there is a new No. 1 team in the CHSAANow.com football rankings.
Sedgwick County has taken over the top spot in the 8-man poll ahead of its showdown with No. 7 Dayspring Christian on Saturday.
Sargent, which stood tall in last week’s rankings, dropped only one spot to No. 2 and remains undefeated on the year.
Fresh off a win over Justice, Pikes Peak Christian jumped two spots to land at No. 8 this week.
There were no new teams in the 8-man rankings.
Pomona continues to hold a strong grip on the No. 1 spot in the 5A rankings and is continuing to beat every team that the state of Colorado can throw its way.
Chaparral has joined the 5A football rankings. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
The majority of the 5A poll did remain consistent from last week’s rankings except that Chaparral joins the poll at No. 10.
In 4A, Denver South is still the top team while Chatfield (No. 2), Pine Creek (No. 3) and Ponderosa (No. 4) all held their spots from last week’s rankings.
Greeley West jumped two spots to No. 7 while two Pueblo-area teams climbed back into the poll as Pueblo South comes in at No. 9 and Pueblo West lands at No. 10.
Thanks to a thrilling win over Canon City on Friday, Discovery Canyon is still the top team in the 3A poll with Pueblo East jumping one spot to land at No. 2.
At No. 10, Conifer is the only new team in the 3A poll.
As La Junta continues to win, it continues to hold its spot as the unanimous No. 1 team in 2A.
Defending 2A champ, Bayfield, jumps two spots to No. 5 and Sterling makes a three-spot jump to come in at No. 6.
There were no new teams in the 2A rankings.
With a win over Cornerstone Christian, Strasburg still sits atop the 1A poll, but has a new team on its heels as Meeker jumps one spot to No. 2.
Bennett (No. 3) and Cedaredge (No. 7) each jumped two spots this week.
No new teams broke into the 1A rankings.
There were no 6-man rankings this week as regular season play concluded over the weekend and the state playoff bracket was released on Sunday.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.
Marcus McElroy had three touchdowns for the Mustangs.
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(9) Holy Family 43, (8) Mead 35
Holy Family picked up a big top-10 win this season that moved the Tigers into sole possession of first place in the Tri-Valley League.
“We talked about what it would take to put ourselves in a situation to win a league championship, and they responded really well,” Holy Family coach Mike Gabriel told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “It was a great battle.”
In fact, Mead had one final drive that Holy Family had to turn away.
“With a few seconds left, they still had a shot,” Gabriel said. “Our kids responded to put it away.”
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3A: (9) Sterling 27, (6) Weld Central 13
Not only did Sterling hand Weld Central its first loss this season, the Tigers also snapped their 12-game winning streak, which was the longest in the state.
“It was good battle across the board, two teams that kind of wanted it pretty bad,” coach Rob Busmente told the Scoreboard Show. “It came down to two plays that we were fortunate enough to be able to capitalize on.”
Sterling is now 5-3 following an 0-3 start, and sits in first place in its league, the Patriot East, at 4-0.
“It’s been good, it’s been fun,” Busmente said. “The kids have been showing a lot of resiliency and a lot of perseverance to go through some of those things. We ran a pretty tough gauntlet there at the beginning with some of those top teams.
“We were able to come back and regroup and put a pretty good push here toward the end,” he added. “Hopefully we can keep riding this momentum as we’re riding out the season.”
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2A: (7) Bayfield 23, (5) Delta 7
Bayfield broke open a close game on a pick-six early in the fourth quarter, and is now 6-2.
The game was tied at 7 at halftime.
“I thought our team came prepared to play,” coach Gary Heide told the Scoreboard Show. “We just felt that if we stayed with it play by play by play, that we would be the one to make the plays in the second half.”
“They are one tough team,” Heide added of Delta. “They are going to be reckoned with in the playoffs.”
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Notables
Longmont Christian beat Mountain Valley 71-20, snapping an 18-game losing streak that dated to the 2013 season. (Longmont Christian didn’t field a team last season.) Stay turned here as QB Luke Puchino broke the state passing record last week.
3A No. 1 Discovery Canyon very narrowly avoided a massive upset with a 35-34 win against Canon City. The Thunder got a 99-yard kickoff return for a score from Josh Tomjack in the game, but had to rally from down 31-21 in the third quarter to win.
Lakewood’s Brock Miller also had a 99-yard kickoff return for a score against Poudre. Lakewood edged Poudre 35-33.
No. 3 Meeker won a big clash in 1A by topping No. 2 Paonia 12-7. “It was a defensive struggle most of the night,” Cowboys coach Shane Phelan told the Scoreboard Show. “It’s been a long drought against Paonia. … Our kids just played hard. We’ve got a bunch of good, tough hard-nosed kids.”
Pueblo West recently dropped from the 4A football rankings, but the Cyclones may soon be back: They upset No. 8 Mesa Ridge 31-17.
1A No. 6 Peyton is now 8-0 following a 35-8 win over Buena Vista. “We’ve been talking about it since June, about how good this football team could be,” coach Richard Deems told the Scoreboard Show. “The kids have grasped it.”
8-man No. 3 Akron beat No. 8 Haxtun on a Hail Mary, 48-43.
There were two top-10 matchups in 6-man: No. 10 Eads upset No. 4 Cheyenne Wells 36-34, and No. 7 Hi-Plains knocked off No. 3 Stratton/Liberty 61-50.
In 1A, Olathe trailed Hotchkiss 21-0 in the second quarter, but rallied to win 28-21 in overtime.
Resurrection Christian climbed a spot to No. 2 and Delta made the biggest jump on the week, gaining two spots to land at No. 6.
Strasburg remains the No. 1 team in 1A with Paonia hanging on to the No. 2 spot.
Cedaredge gained the most ground with a three-spot jump to come in at No. 6 this week.
By a one-point margin, Sargent is still the top team in 8-man. Sedgwick County comes in at No. 2 with an equal number of first-place votes as the Farmers.
Akron jumped two spots to land at No. 4 while Hoehne (No. 6) and Pikes Peak Christian (No. 9) each moved up one spot from the last set of rankings.
Fleming keeps a firm hold on 6-man’s No. 1 spot with Kit Carson and Stratton/Liberty coming in at No. 2 and No. 3 respectively.
Newcomer Hi-Plains joins the 6-man poll at No. 9.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.
FORT LUPTON — Each member of Weld Central football’s coaching staff delivers a message to the team in a huddle at the end of every game.
After the Rebels’ 48-7 triumph over Fort Lupton on Friday, every coach reminded the players this is a very special team, and bringing a winning atmosphere back to the school is a huge deal.
“This is our first winning season since 2009,” defensive coordinator Kyle Haffner said to the players. “Brush is going to lose to Valley tonight, and they’re going to be out looking for blood, so our next game is going to be against a very good Brush team — a bunch of giant dudes smashing it in our mouths. We need to lock it up to be a championship football team.”
Weld Central, ranked No. 7 in Class 2A this week, remains unbeaten and improves to a 6-0 mark after taking down Fort Lupton on the Bluedevils’ home turf. Since the Rebels didn’t make the playoffs last season, the team’s now 11-game winning streak is the current longest in Colorado, regardless of classification.
“We have an incredible fan base right now,” second-year head coach James Canaday said. “It’s unreal what’s going on at the school. Everyone is full of spirit and very prideful. It makes me happy our football team is being responsible and it’s turning the whole community around.”
The Rebels remain positive on their status as a legitimate contender for a state championship run this season.
Four of Weld Central’s six victories have been determined by at least a 30-point victory margin. The Rebels took down Valley 28-21 last weekend, and now turn their focus to beating Brush, a perennial football powerhouse that lost 28-14 to Valley on Friday night.
The Rebels’ last three games of the season will be the toughest, going up against Brush, Sterling and then Platte Valley, respectively.
Canaday spoke in the huddle after the Fort Lupton game and really stressed not letting the teams’ goals slip away.
“Go out and dominate. Take care of your grades. Don’t do anything stupid this weekend,” Canaday said, as other coaches echoed similar variations of that message to the team.
Senior captain running back/linebacker Alex Ries said the team has really been coming together and playing very well upon preparation, determination and never giving up.
“We haven’t had a winning streak in so many years and it feels incredible to have that right now,” Ries said. “We’re trying our hardest to come out on top. We’ve always been a great fundamental team and that’s what we’ve been really working on.”
He added: “We have the talent and heart to be the championship team.”
No doubt the coaches are a huge chunk of Weld Central’s recent success. Canaday implemented summer workouts like the team had never done before when he started in 2015.
With more than 20 years of coaching experience, he came from Monte Vista and started the Rebels out with a basically clean slate of nine assistant coaches, bringing his offensive coordinator with from Monte Vista, and keeping defensive coordinator Haffner, who is a Weld Central alum.
“I started the team on summer workouts and the kids just really bought into hard work and perseverance,” Canaday said. “They bought into setting goals, and it really carries over season after season. We’ve been meeting expectations, and our 13 seniors are all great leaders and have been developing the younger players to become leaders and the program is heading in the right direction.”
(Morgan Dzak/CHSAANow.com)
The team has been feeling the emotion of playing hard and getting better. Canaday said each week a new player comes out big and realizes his role.
“I don’t mention any standout names because there are new guys making big plays every week,” Canaday said. “It’s important for athletes to understand their roles on the field.”
Senior quarterback Bryan Gudka has been having a phenomenal running season and has improved on his passing as well.
“And our wide receiver, DeVante Fleming, hasn’t dropped the ball this season,” Ries said.
He added: “We just have the best coaches that we’ve had in a long time. They all talk after the game and are always motivating and supporting us.”
Canaday his coaches are true leaders, and along with his excellent staff and players buying into dedication to the program, Weld Central has as good a shot as anyone else at the 2A title.
“As long as we keep practicing right and stay stable and don’t get high-headed, we think we have what it takes.”
Pueblo West is ranked No. 9 in 4A this week. (Matt Daniels/MattDanPhoto.com)
The Class 4A CHSAANow.com football rankings has some fresh faces with the release of this week’s rankings, and it’s happening at the right time.
Pueblo West comes into the poll at No. 9 and Skyline is right behind them at No. 10.
With a 28-0 win over Niwot on Friday, the Falcons remain undefeated on the year and received enough support from the voters to be regarded as a top-10 team.
The Cyclones have won three-straight games after surrendering their first two of the season. Wins against Pueblo South and Dakota Ridge got them votes, but it was the  57-20 win over Coronado on Saturday that pushed them into the poll.
Denver South hung on to the top spot in 4A, taking 16 of 17 first-place votes.
Coming off a bye, Pomona hung on to the No. 1 position in 5A, but Mullen was able to jump one spot to No. 2.
Fairview (No. 6) and Doherty (No. 9) also jumped one spot from a week ago. Despite coming up short against No. 8 Valor Christian last Thursday, Cherry Creek stayed in the rankings at No. 10 meaning no new teams broke into the 5A rankings.
(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
Discovery Canyon made a statement against Vista Ridge Friday night and as a result, hang on to the No. 1 spot in 3A.
After snagging a couple of first-place votes, Lewis-Palmer jumped to No. 3, one spot above where they were a week ago.
Longmont made the big 3A jump of the week, leaping three spots to come in at No. 7.
There were no new teams in the 3A rankings this week.
In 2A, both La Junta (No. 1) and The Classical Academy (No. 2) maintained their spots after a thrilling showdown Friday night that saw the Tigers come away with the late win.
La Junta’s schedule does not get any easier this week as they host Manitou Springs, which jumped to No. 4 after a homecoming win over Lamar.
At No. 10, sterling is the only new team to break into the 2A poll.
Strasburg hangs on to the No. 1 spot in 1A as all 10 teams from last week’s rankings remained in the this week’s poll.
Peyton made the big jump of the week to come in at No. 7, two spots better than they were previously ranked.
In 8-man, Sargent took five of 13 first-place votes to hang on to the top spot.
Merino made a three-spot leap to come in at No. 4.
There were no new teams in the 8-man rankings.
Still undefeated, Fleming holds strong as the No. 1 team in 6-man with Kit Carson hanging tight at No. 2.
Cotopaxi (No. 5) and Peetz (No. 6) each jumped three spots from last week’s rankings.
At No. 10, Genoa-Hugo is the only new team in the 6-man rankings.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. Polls are released each Monday.
La Junta, newly-minted as the No. 1 team in Class 2A, beat No. 2 The Classical Academy 26-21 on a Hail Mary to end the game.
La Junta grabbed a 6-0 lead with 5 minutes left in the first quarter, and things that way until midway through the third quarter.
TCA went up 7-6 with 6:36 remaining in the third, and expanded the lead to 14-6 early in the fourth quarter after recovering a bad snap on a punt.
That’s when things got wild.
La Junta made it 14-12 in with six minutes to play, but had a two-point conversion called back because of a penalty. The Tigers took an 18-14 lead with 1:20 play, and that lead turned out to be brief. That’s because TCA drove down the field to go up 21-18 with 37 seconds to play.
All of this, of course, just served to set the stage for La Junta’s game-winning Hail Mary.
This was the Tigers’ second huge win in a week. La Junta beat then-No. 1 Kent Denver last week in another top-2 showdown.
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3A: (10) Longmont 46, (7) Holy Family 35
Longmont scored 20 points in the fourth quarter to put this back-and-forth game away.
The team teams were tied at 8 after the opening frame, and Longmont held just a 23-21 lead at halftime. After a Trojans’ field goal, Holy Family went up on a passing score from Stone Samaras to Kyle Helbig.
The Tigers pushed it to 35-26 on the first play of the fourth quarter, but that’s when Longmont turned it on and scored the game’s final 20 points.
“We knew that if it came down to the fourth quarter, we were going to do the right things this time that we needed to do to get the win,” Longmont linebacker Austin Hassler told BoCoPreps.com after the win.
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3A: Skyview 11, Lincoln 5 (OT)
This was a weird one.
Skyview grabbed an early 2-0 lead on a first-half safety. Lincoln then went up 3-2 on a field goal with 5:23 remaining in the third quarter.
The Lancers expanded that lead to 5-2 with a safety of their own with 1:57 remaining in the third, only to see Skyview tie it on this field goal with 44 seconds left:
Skyline is now 5-0, and off to its best start in more than a decade after a 28-0 win over Niwot.
The Falcons were already receiving votes in this week’s 4A rankings, and could slide into the poll on Monday.
It’s quite the turnaround for the program: Skyline has won five games in a season just once since 2014.
“We’ve got great kids, and they’re coachable, and they buy into the mentality and the scheme and the system, and once you get buy-in, good things happen,” Skyline coach Michael Silva told the Colorado Preps Scoreboard Show. “That’s what they’ve done and they’ve showed that they have the mentality, regardless of the situation, that they’re going to find a way to win. That’s tough to do, because of our history.
“These guys have managed to find a way, and trust in me and my staff, and it’s been a fun ride so far. And we don’t want it to stop.”
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Notables
Sand Creek broke a 20-game losing streak with a 14-8 win over Air Academy. That had been the longest drought in the state. It was the Scorpions’ first win since Sept. 19, 2014, which also came over Air Academy. That was a wild 68-62 win which set all kinds of records.
On the other side of the coin, 2A No. 8 Weld Central has now won 10 consecutive games, the longest such streak in the state. The Rebels, now 5-0 this season, beat Valley 28-21.
An update on the all-time wins list: Kent Denver beat Elizabeth 39-20 in an afternoon game. That gave coach Scott Yates his 308th career win. West Grand and coach Chris Brown beat Hayden 53-18. That’s Brown’s 310th career win.
Berthoud connected on a Hail Mary at halftime of its game with Thompson Valley. But TV won, 28-13, to notch its first win this season (1-4).
There was also a first-half Hail Mary in Rangeview/Gateway. Rangeview’s Jaelin Odegard hit Josh Hollins from near midfield (video here). Rangeview went on to win 52-7.
Dayspring Christian had another wild game. This time, 8-man’s No. 2 team beat No. 8 Haxtun 55-53.
A big game in 8-man: No. 3 Sedgwick County took care of No. 4 Akron 46-8.
In 6-man, No. 3 Stratton/Liberty beat No. 5 Arickaree/Woodlin 54-28.
Another top-10 6-man game: No. 8 Cotopaxi upset No. 6 La Veta.
Eaglecrest is now 5-0 after a 42-20 win over Bear Creek. The Raptors, No. 4 in 5A, are off to their best start in more than a decade.
Fairview, ranked No. 7 in 5A, is also 5-0 after beating Arapahoe 48-7.
In 1A, No. 2 Paonia beat No. 7 Cedaredge 35-21.
Florence upset 2A No. 10 Salida 22-13. That is actually the lone upset of an unranked team over a ranked team so far in Week 5. Ranked teams are a combined 34-1 against unranked opponents through Friday’s games this week.
