Montrose sophomore Micah Stangebye is quickly staking his claim as one of the better ball strikers on the Western Slope.
Stangebye shot a five-under-par 66 to claim the win at Wednesday’s Montrose Invitational. His round at the Bridges at Black Canyon included six birdies and just a single bogey.
He got help from his teammates during the tournament as well. Dawson Hussong and fresham Jordan Jennings each shot a 73, helping Montrose claim the team win at its own tournament.
Fruita Monument’s Blake Andersen was the only other player under par on Wednesday as he shot a 68.
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Woodland Park conquers Cheyenne Shadows as a team
Woodland Park came away with a huge team win at Wednesday’s Gladiator Invitational. The Panthers shot 31-over as a team, five strokes better than second place Pine Creek.
The Classical Academy’s Liam O’Halloran took the individual win, shooting a 77.
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Pueblo County, La Junta winners at Elmwood
Pueblo County grabbed the overall team win while La Junta’s Cody Schrock shot a 72 to take the solo victory at Wednesday’s Pueblo South Invite at Elmwood Golf Course.
Brock Rodrigues shot a 74 for County and teammate Andrew Egan shot a 78 to lead the Hornets to the win.
Mead grabs Tri-Valley tournament title
Kellen Kudrna, T.J. Shehee and Tanner Strong all shot in the 70’s as Mead came away with the win at Wednesday’s Tri-Valley league tournament.
Roosevelt’s Tyler Severin was the best overall golfer of the day as he shot a 71 to claim the solo win.
[button color=”white” size=”big” alignment=”none” rel=”follow” url=”https://old.chsaanow.com/sports/boys-golf/stats/”]Find complete results of all the day’s golf tournaments by clicking here.[/button]
The Legislative Council is going to be busy this April.
Already a big meeting because of the scheduled introduction of new commissioner Rhonda Blanford-Green, the representatives will be voting on a wide variety of important proposals. Perhaps the most visible is the proposed addition of boys volleyball as a sanctioned sport.
There’s also basketball’s proposed mercy rule, a proposal about co-op programs, one dealing with violating game contracts, and plenty more.
Boys volleyball has long sought sanctioning from CHSAA, and this is actually the third official campaign from representatives of the sport. The Tri-Peaks League is sponsoring the proposal.
The administrative proposal seeking to amend the CLOC report will be among the first voted on at the April meeting. It is seeking to add boys volleyball as a spring sport, and have it immediately enter with two classifications that are based upon skill rather than enrollment. (This would kind of build on hockey’s tiered alignment, though that is within a single classification.)
According to the proposal, there are 50 teams currently competing as club high school teams. A recent survey of member schools indicated that 93 schools would consider adding a team, and 107 supported the sport’s sanctioning.
However, a group of boys volleyball representatives made a presentation to the CHSAA equity committee in January, and while the committee was impressed, it ultimately did not endorse sanctioning.
In a letter after that meeting, the equity committee cited data that showed that 81 percent of schools “responded that by adding this sport, their proportionality numbers would either be negatively affected or their school’s proportionality would become out of compliance.” Proportionality deals with the balance of boys and girls sports as mandated by Title IX.
Because of that, boys volleyball may face an uphill battle for sanctioning from the Legislative Council.
If boys volleyball is added — the vote will take a simple majority to pass — Colorado would become the 25th state to sanction it. CHSAA hasn’t added a sport since boys and girls lacrosse and field hockey were added from 1997-99.
Along the way, it underwent its fair share of scrutiny from its fellow schools and fans of opposing teams because it appeared to be reaping the benefits of a co-op program without actually forming a co-op — which would have forced it to combine enrollment numbers, and, as a result, move up to 8-man.
Well, the Board of Directors has forwarded a proposal to the Legislative Council dealing with co-op programs. Coincidence? Probably not.
To be fair, the Hi-Plains situation, which involved Flagler and bussing kids from one school to the other, drew a microscope because the team won a championship. As commissioner Paul Angelico said in December, “It’s more widespread than just these two schools.”
But, here we are.
This proposal clarifies what a school may not do if it doesn’t offer a program. It makes it so schools cannot:
Dictate to which school a student must go if his/her school does not offer a program
Provide transportation to that school for the student(s)
Make an informal agreement between schools in regard to which school will offer a program and which will not
Provide the receiving school with any funds, equipment, facilities, etc., for the student(s) going to play at that school
Provide any physical support except to provide transcripts for eligibility checks
The rationale behind this proposal states that the state law which allows students to participate at other schools if their school doesn’t offer a program “is clear that where a student may play shall be the decision of the student and student’s parents, not the school that is sending the student.”
Furthermore, it adds that “small school athletics face enough challenges without schools using the law to gain a competitive advantage by dictation where students play sports and providing financial and transportation support for that student.”
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Committee reports to be voted on, including basketball’s mercy rule
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
As usual, individual sport committees have been meeting over the past few months and making their recommendations to the Legislative Council.
Included is basketball’s sportsmanship rule, which would institute a running clock when the score margin is 35 points or more after three quarters.
The basketball committee forwarded that proposal to the Legislative Council during its February meeting, along with a change to the regional format in Class 2A.
Earlier, we’d reported that a separate proposal would penalize violation of the sportsmanship rule. That proposal was not actually forwarded to the Legislative Council, and thus will not be voted on.
Along with this committee recommendation is a separate proposal from the Board of Directors that would penalize violation of the sportsmanship rule. If a team exceeds the 35-point margin more than three times in a season, it would be placed on restriction, along with their head coach.
Elsewhere:
Hockey is seeking to add new programs at Chaparral and Woodland Park. It also wants to slightly amend its postseason waiver process.
Spirit is seeking to separate the 4A/5A co-ed division into separate 4A and 5A divisions.
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Violating game contracts to be considered
Another proposal revolves around game contracts and creates penalties for not honoring the agreement.
Currently, bylaw 2860.1 reads that “member schools are expected to honor game contracts.” This would amend that bylaw to read that they “shall honor game contracts,” so long as they are written and signed by the principal or athletic director of each school.
For a first violation of breaking as contract, a school would be placed on probation and required to pay a $500 reimbursement “to the offended school within 45 days.” A second violation would place the school on restriction, meaning none of their athletic programs could compete in the postseason, and require a reimbursement of $1,000 to the other school, as well as a “mandatory meeting with the CHSAA office with a penalty to be determined.”
Additionally, if a school doesn’t pay a fine to the other school within 45 days, it will be “placed on restriction.” The “penalty is non-appealable.”
It’s worth noting that the penalty “will only be applicable for varsity-level teams.”
The proposal was forwarded by the Board of Directors in response to a number of member schools who have identified what they feel is an increasing trend.
It requires a majority approval to pass.
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Notables
A proposal dealing with football equipment dates was sent by the Board of Directors. It deals with using equipment and commercial and college camps, and it’s probably easier to just link the proposal itself.
The Frontier League has forwarded an amendment to change basketball’s RPI percentages. The basketball committee is not in support of the amendment, which hasn’t been analyzed or discussed using official data.
DENVER — The hockey committee has recommended the addition of two new programs, which would bring the sport to a total of 34 teams across the state.
During its meeting at the University of Denver on Friday morning, the committee voted to add Chaparral and Woodland Park as varsity programs for the 2017-18 season, meaning both teams would begin play immediately. Their inclusion is dependent upon approval by the Legislative Council at its meeting in April.
“You could tell our committee did their homework because they had very in-depth discussion about a lot of items on our agenda — including the addition of the two new programs,” said CHSAA assistant commissioner Bud Ozzello. “We look forward to the continued growth of the sport.”
Both Chaparral and Woodland Park made presentations to the hockey committee on Friday. After a lengthy discussion, including questions about what it would do to schedules and alignment, they unanimously voted to add the programs. If approved by Legislative Council, hockey will have 34 teams starting in the 2017-18 season.
“This shows that the interest for hockey around the state continues to increase, and that’s only a good thing for our sport,” Ozzello said.
Chaparral will be placed into the Pinnacle Conference, and Woodland Park will play in the Highlands.
Chaparral will become the third hockey program within Douglas County Schools. It will also serve Legend and Ponderosa, making it the home program for all students at Parker high schools.
“We came here about seven years ago and we kind of had a long-range plan in Douglas County to start hockey,” said Douglas County district athletic director Derek Cheney.
The first program in the area was Mountain Vista, which began play in 2011-12. The Golden Eagles have been very successful, to the point that Douglas County started a second program at Castle View two years ago.
(Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Both Mountain Vista and Castle View spent time ranked in the top-10 this season, and they actually faced one another in the second round of the playoffs this season.
Going forward, Mountain Vista will serve students from Mountain Vista, Highlands Ranch and ThunderRidge. Castle View will serve Castle View, Rock Canyon and Douglas County.
“The final piece to our puzzle was to have a team in the Parker region,” Cheney said.
Douglas County Schools has no plans to add a fourth team, Cheney said.
Chaparral has had a club team since 2007. The plan is to have the team split ice time between Family Sports in Centennial and Joy Burns Arena on the campus of the University of Denver.
The mere topic of adding a team drew a lot of interest, with 80-100 parents attending a meeting at Chaparral.
“After that meeting, we really felt like this was becoming a big thing and that they wanted hockey in the Parker area,” said Chaparral athletic director Rob Johnson.
“We have the numbers to support three teams” in the district, said Ryan Finnefrock, who will be Chaparral’s coach. “We have a ton of hockey players.”
Woodland Park’s inclusion adds another team from the state’s southern region — something that signals real growth of the sport.
“This is exciting,” said committee member Erik Austin, the coach at Cheyenne Mountain. “I’ve been waiting for this kind of proposal from the southern region for about 10 years now. We’ve been trying to grow the game aggressively, and this is a way to do it.”
During its presentation, Woodland Park said the timing was right to add varsity hockey.
“We’ve got to strike while the iron is hot,” Woodland Park athletic director Mike DeWall told the committee. “It’s time for us to offer high school hockey in the Teller County region.”
The push from Woodland Park was so strong that superintendent Jed Bowman also attended the meeting.
“This is a community dream that has been part of Woodland Park for probably 30 years,” said Bowman, who once coached Air Academy’s hockey team. “We have a rich history of hockey.”
Currently, 11 students at Woodland Park play varsity hockey for four teams spread out throughout Colorado Springs.
“All 11 of them have expressed interest in playing for the school team,” Bowman said. That includes three juniors that will be seniors next season “who would like to be part of making history at our school,” Bowman said.
Ice time won’t actually be a huge issue for Woodland Park. Bowman said they would only need two weeks of practice ice in Colorado Springs, as they have access to an outdoor ice facility in town for practice. For games, they are exploring possibilities in Colorado Springs.
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Notables
The Frozen Four moved to a Friday/Monday format this season. It will stay that way in 2018 (March 2 and 5), and 2019 (March 1 and 4). Both events will continue to be hosted by the Colorado Avalanche, but a site is still to be determined. It may be the Pepsi Center, if the dates work out with the NHL, NBA and NLL schedules. “What you’re seeing today is just step one,” said Jason Schofield, the manager of amateur hockey sales for the Avalanche. “We’re just getting started.”
The committee also recommended a change to the waiver process for postseason eligibility, which would allow junior varsity players who play in 65 percent of their team’s JV schedule to be eligible to play in the varsity postseason — so long as they don’t play club hockey.
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
Below is an interactive database of boys golf’s state qualifiers in classes 5A, 4A and 3A during the 2016 season. These golfers qualified out of their respective regionals.
Woodland Park alum Jeremy Gwinn, now at Colby Community College in Kansas, was drafted in the 12th round of the MLB Draft on Saturday. (Courtesy of Colby Community College athletic communications)
Woodland Park’s Jeremy Gwinn and Windsor’s Jake Greenwalt made history on Saturday, becoming the first-ever alums of their respective schools to be selected in the MLB Draft.
In all, 16 more products of Colorado products were drafted on the final day of the 2016 draft, bringing the total to 22 players. That figure is tied for the seventh-most in state history since the draft began in 1965.
Six high school seniors were drafted this year, as well as 16 former Colorado high school baseball players who are now playing in college.
Gwinn started the day off for locals as a 12th-round pick of the Kansas City Royals, going with the No. 373 overall selection. He graduated from Woodland Park in 2013, and is now a 6-foot-5 right-handed pitcher who just finished his sophomore season at Colby Community College in Kansas.
Woodland Park was founded in 1890, and, according to CHSAANow.com research, it has not previously ever had a player taken in the MLB Draft.
Gwinn went 8-2 with a 3.53 ERA in 79 innings this season at Colby CC, which included a team-best five complete games in nine starts. He struck out 104 batters, and walked 21. After the season, he was named first-team all-conference and first-team all-Region VI.
Windsor’s Greenwalt, meanwhile, became Windsor’s first-ever selection when the right-handed pitcher was taken by the San Francisco Giants in the 23rd round at No. 695 overall.
He was also the first 2016 graduate to be selected in this year’s draft.
A right-handed pitcher who stands 6-foot-2, Greenwalt was 9-0 with a 0.89 ERA in 55 1/3 innings for Windsor as the Wizards reached the Class 4A Final 4. After the season, he was named first-team all-state in 4A.
Two rounds prior, in the 21st, Chaparral alum Max Kuhns was drafted by the New York Mets at No. 640 overall.
Kuhns, a 2013 graduate of Chaparral, just finished his junior season as a right-handed reliever at Santa Clara in which he went 1-4 with a 2.21 ERA in 40 2/3 innings. He made 28 appearances, and struck out 37 batters, while walking 16.
Kuhns is the fourth draft pick in history from Chaparral, where he starred in both football and baseball.
In the 24th round, 2012 Fort Collins graduate J.D. Hammer — now a senior at Marshall — was selected by the Rockies at No. 710 overall.
Hammer, a right-handed pitcher, was 4-2 for Marshall this spring, and had a 4.88 ERA in 66 1/3 innings. He had 56 strikeouts against 24 walks.
Hammer is the sixth draft pick out of Fort Collins High School.
Highlands Ranch alum Nick Shumpert, who graduated in 2015, was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 28th round. A second baseman, he spent this past season at San Jacinto College North in California.
He hit .284 with a home run and 16 RBIs, and also stole 15 bases this spring.
Shumpert was also drafted out of high school, going in the seventh round of last year’s draft.
After Shumpert, three locals were drafted in the 29th round.
First, Conifer alum Earl Henderson was drafted by the White Sox at No. 866 overall. Henderson, a first baseman, is a redshirt sophomore at Central Arizona College, and hit .406 with six home runs and 47 RBIs this season.
Henderson graduated from Conifer in 2013, and is the school’s second-ever draft pick.
Seven picks later, 2013 Pine Creek graduate Dane Hutcheon was drafted by the Minnesota Twins. A shortstop at Montevallo in Alabama, he hit .365 with three home runs and 43 RBIs this season.
Regis Jesuit’s Bo Weiss. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Just five picks after that, Regis Jesuit senior Bo Weiss was drafted by the New York Yankees. A right-handed pitcher, and member of the 5A all-state team this spring, he went 7-1 with a 2.91 ERA, striking out 61, and walking just 15.
Weiss, the son of Rockies manager Walt Weiss, is a North Carolina commit. His older brother, Brody, was drafted in the 22nd round in 2013.
Things kept up at a furious pace in the 30th round.
Nick Highberger, a 2012 graduate from Rye who is now at Creighton, went to the Oakland A’s at No. 892 overall. A senior, he went 2-1 with a 3.20 ERA in 39 1/3 innings pitched this season.
Highberger is the second alum from Rye to be drafted, following former teammate Denton Keys, who went in 2013.
Later in the round, 2014 ThunderRidge graduate Brody Westmoreland was selected by the Houston Astros. In his lone season at the College of Southern Nevada following a transfer from San Diego State, Westmoreland hit .375 with 11 home runs and 40 RBIs.
Westmoreland was drafted out of high school, going in the 35th round in 2014.
Two high school seniors were next.
Cherry Creek’s Nate Sweeney went in the 33rd round to the Chicago Cubs. An Arizona commit, Sweeney was drafted as a right-handed pitcher.
He appeared in nine games for the Bruins this season, and was 1-3 with a 4.85 ERA in 21 2/3 innings. Sweeney also plays infield and outfield, and hit .389 with four home runs and 26 RBIs. He was a first-team all-state pick in 5A.
Sweeney is Cherry Creek’s 50th all-time draft pick, which is the most in state history.
Green Mountain’s Wyatt Featherston. (Matt Mathewes/MVPSportsPics.com)
Green Mountain senior Wyatt Featherston was drafted by the Rockies in the 34th round as a center fielder. He is committed to Western Kentucky.
Featherston, a member of 4A’s all-state first team, hit .472 with 12 home runs and 29 RBIs this season. He also stole 14 bases.
This is Green Mountain’s third time having a player drafted, and first since 1991.
In the 36th round, the Yankees drafted 2012 Legend grad Tyler Honahan, who is now a senior left-handed pitcher at Stony Brook.
He went 5-6 with a 5.25 ERA as a starter, throwing 70.1 innings with 62 strikeouts and 36 walks.
Honahan is the second Legend product taken in the 2016 draft, after Arizona’s Bobby Dalbec (fourth round), and third in program history.
In the next round, the 37th, 2014 Pueblo South graduate Cory Voss was drafted by the Washington Nationals. Voss is a sophomore catcher at McLennan (Texas) College, and hit .384 with 11 home runs and 53 RBIs this season.
Voss was previously drafted out of high school, in the 34th round.
Regis Jesuit had another senior selected when outfielder Quin Cotton was drafted by the Rockies in the 38th round. Cotton, a first-team all-state pick in 5A, is committed to Grand Canyon University in Arizona.
Cotton hit .514 with three home runs with 28 RBIs this spring, and stole a team-high 14 bases.
The 39th round saw the Rockies take another local senior — Fruita Monument catcher Cuba Bess. Bess, a Grand Canyon commit, hit .507 with a home runs and 19 RBIs this season.
He is Fruita Monument’s seventh all-time draft pick, and first since 2009.
Six alumni of Colorado high school baseball were selected on the first two days of the MLB Draft, including Loveland alum Alec Hansen going in the second round on Thursday, and five additional college players drafted on Friday.
The 2015 volleyball players of the year. From left: Antonya Schaffert, Otis; Bethany Cullity, Cheyenne Mountain; Shannon Webb, Cherokee Trail; Tara Traphagan, Yuma; Caiden Rexius, Eaton. (Photos: Matt Daniels/MattDanPhoto.com; Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com; Ray Chen/ArrayPhoto.com)
The 2015 all-state volleyball teams are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.
These team were created following a lengthy process which included nominations from leagues and then a vote of coaches.
Scroll down to see the teams, or use the menu below to navigate to the class of your choosing.
