The 2013 all-state boys soccer teams are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.
These team were created following a lengthy process which included nominations from leagues and coaches, and then a vote of coaches. Find more information here.
The players who received the most votes in their classification were selected as the player of the year in their class.
Scroll down to see the teams, or use the menu below to navigate to the class of your choosing.
Haley Smith is the 5A softball player of the year. (Pam Wagner)
The 2013 all-state softball teams are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.
These team were created following a lengthy process which included nominations from leagues and coaches, and then a vote of coaches. Find more information here.
The players who received the most votes in their classification were selected as the player of the year in their class.
Scroll down to see the teams, or use the menu below to navigate to the class of your choosing.
Valor Christian running back Christian McCaffrey is the player of the year in Class 5A. (Mark Adams)
The 2013 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 coaches, and then a vote of coaches. Find more information here.
The players who received the most votes in their classification were selected as the player of the year in their class.
Cherry Creek is in hockey’s semifinals. (Mark Adams)
Cherry Creek’s hockey program returned from a 24-year hiatus prior to last season. And the Bruins, not unexpectedly, won just two games.
Well, they’ve just won two games in two days of the state hockey playoffs. And now Cherry Creek is headed to the Frozen Four.
The Bruins Ryan Worley had two goals, Cody Oakes had two assists and Quinton Reynolds made 21 saves in a 5-2 win over Lewis-Palmer on Saturday evening. Mark Saxelby, Michael Dubus and Nick McWharter also scored for Cherry Creek.
“You know, we’ve been getting better every week,” Cherry Creek coach Jeff Mielnicki said on Saturday night. “Our goal, initially, was to make the (playoffs). … They’ve put in a lot of time and effort that, now, the rewards are there.”
Lewis-Palmer twice had one-goal leads that were erased.
“Now’s the time of year that it’s about heart and will,” Mielnicki said.
Lewis-Palmer led 1-0 after Zachary Williams’ goal midway through the first period, but Saxelby scored with 1:03 to go in the period to even things up.
“It was perfect timing, because Lewis-Palmer came out heavy,” Mielnicki said. “It felt like we won the period.”
Nick Pavlik made it 2-1 Lewis-Palmer 4:47 into the second, and Worley scored an unassisted power play goal just over four minutes later to tie it up. Creek then opened the third with three-straight goals.
Cherry Creek has now won 17 games this season. The program has four state titles in its history, the last coming in 1981, prior to being shut down in 1988.
Cherry Creek will face defending champion Ralston Valley in the semifinals. Ralston Valley won an earlier meeting on Jan. 4, 3-0.
“I think they’re the best team out there,” Mielnicki said. “Our group has matured a lot, and we’ve learned from every game and made the adjustments. … Come Friday, I can’t predict the result, but I think it’ll be very competitive.”
Ralston Valley 4, Bishop Machebeuf 0. The defending champions have returned to the semifinals for the third year in a row.
Austin Resseguie had a pair of goals for Ralston Valley, which allowed just 17 shots. Zack Larocque had the shutout for the Mustangs. Greg Dyba and Kyle Valdez also scored for Ralston Valley.
Alan Rikli made 34 saves in net for Bishop Machebeuf.
Monarch 5, Columbine 2. The first period was scoreless. Their first goal was quickly answered. But Monarch is back in the Frozen Four for the second year in a row after scoring four of the game’s final five goals on Saturday.
Monarch’s Brett Kiyota opened the scoring at 8:15 of the second period with a short-handed tally, but Columbine’s Logan Seibold answered on the power play just a minute-and-a-half later.
Then Cameron Taggart got an unassisted tally in the final minute of the second period, and Monarch exploded for three goals in the third in the 5-2 win. Andrew Pickner had two of those goals, Joey Buchan the other.
Columbine’s Ashton Opperman made 35 saves in the losing effort. Logan Seibold had a goal and an assist.
Regis Jesuit 3, Mountain Vista 1. The Raiders scored two first-period goals which ultimately held up in the second-round win over the Golden Eagles.
Jack Jordan had two goals, and Jack O’Neil scored the other for Regis.
Tanner Gillis scored for Mountain Vista, but it came 12:12 into the third period and after the Golden Eagles already trailed 3-0.
Sam Harden stopped all 21 shots he faced for Regis Jesuit.
Dakota Ridge sophomore Devante Jones, right, attempt to lockdown Ralston Valley sophomore Dallas Walton during the second quarter Wednesday night. The Eagles took a 52-48 victory in the Class 5A Jeffco League game. (Dennis Pleuss)
LITTLETON — Dakota Ridge’s hoopsters Jake Jones and Devante Jones aren’t related, but they provided the 1-2 punch Wednesday night.
The Eagles’ Joneses combined for 30 points to propel Dakota Ridge (16-6, 11-4 in league) to a 52-48 home victory against Ralston Valley in Class 5A Jeffco League boys basketball action. Senior Jake Jones poured in a game-high 19 points, including four 3-pointers in the second half.
“Jake has been a sparkplug for us a number of times. That is exactly what it was tonight,” Dakota Ridge coach Curi Yutzy said. “He knocked down a couple of shots and got after it defensively. He played very well tonight.”
Dakota Ridge senior Jake Jones (30) was called for a charge on this play when he collided with Ralston Valley senior Rane Hornecker (0). Jones had an impressive second half with four 3-pointers to lead the Eagles to a 52-48 victory Wednesday night. (Dennis Pleuss)
Facing a double-digit deficit in the second quarter, Yutzy called on sophomore Devante Jones to try to slow down Ralston Valley’s 6-foot-9 sophomore Dallas Walton. Walton had is way on the inside scoring nine points midway through the second quarter.
Walton was as much of a factor in the second half. He finished with 13 points for the Mustangs (16-6, 11-4).
“(Devante Jones) stepped up big,” Jake Jones said. “He is usually good on the defensive end blocking shots and he is long. I think he was a perfect matchup against Dallas. He did an awesome job.”
The Eagles cut Ralston Valley’s lead to 24-19 at halftime. The Mustangs scored the first three points of the second half, but Dakota Ridge broke out offensive with a 15-0 run.
Dakota Ridge junior Cody Pittman capped off the scoring barrage with a 3-pointer with 2:16 left in the third quarter, giving the Eagles a 34-27 lead.
“Halftime we thought it was going to be a rough one, but we came out fired up in the second half,” Jake Jones said. “We got on a roll and started knocking down shots.”
Ralston Valley on the other hand went cold offensively. The Mustangs scored just eight points in the third quarter and struggled from the free-throw line in the second half.
“We were actually 1-for-11 at one stretch at the free-throw line,” Ralston Valley coach Mitch Conrad said. “That turned the game right there. That was the ballgame.”
Behind senior Bryn Finnefrock (team-high 14 points), the Mustangs cut the Eagles’ lead to 52-50 in the final seconds.
“(Finnefrock) is a senior and a captain. He has been playing varsity for three years,” Conrad said. “That is what you expect from him. He did a good job for us.”
From left to right: Dakota Ridge sophomore Devante Jones, Ralston Valley sophomore Dallas Walton, Ralston Valley senior Rane Hornecker and Dakota Ridge senior Cambrian Antrillo battle for a rebound Wednesday night. (Dennis Pleuss)
Ralston Valley closed a late deficit in its first meeting against Dakota Ridge on Jan. 21. The Mustangs came from behind to force overtime and eventually won 66-62. Dakota Ridge refused to make the same mistakes it did the first time around with Ralston Valley.
Jake Jones sealed the victory with a pair of free throws with 6.6 seconds left, giving the Eagles the four-point win.
“(Ralston Valley) is battle tested and makes plays in situations like that. They did again tonight,” said Yutzy, who pointed out that the Mustangs had a record of 7-1 in games decided by four points or less coming in. “The good thing is we’ve been in a good amount of those games ourselves. Our guys did a great job of making plays and taking care of the ball for the most part.”
Dakota Ridge finishes up conference play also on the road. The Eagles travel to Lakewood for a 7 p.m. tipoff Friday. A win would allow the Eagles at least earn a share of second-place in 5A Jeffco with Ralston Valley. It would also have Dakota Ridge on a three-game winning streak.
“We are going to be on a roll and go deep into the tournament, hopefully,” Jake Jones said.
Chatfield (18-4, 13-2) clinched back-to-back conference titles Wednesday night with a 68-61 victory over Arvada West.
Ralston Valley wraps up its regular-season schedule with a road game against rival A-West at 7 p.m. Friday.
The brackets for the 5A state tournament will be released Sunday. First-round postseason games will be played Feb. 26.
Dakota Ridge junior Mason Grothuesmann (31) passes the ball around Ralston Valley junior Andrew Wingard (1) during the first half Wednesday night. (Dennis Pleuss)
More photos. (Tim Visser/TimVisserPhotography.com)
THORNTON — You couldn’t have asked for a better finish.
With one event remaining, the 400-yard freestyle relay, Regis Jesuit High School held a half-point lead over Fairview in the quest for the team title in the Class 5A girls state swimming and diving championships.
The two teams lined up by side in adjoining lanes for the 400-yard relay final. They were that way, in first and second, entering the final 100-yard leg.
Taylor Wilson stepped up for Regis, swimming the winning anchor leg and propelling the Raiders to their second consecutive team title and third in four years.
Wilson actually relished the challenge.
“When I was getting ready I was smiling,” she said. “Nothing makes me happier than that kind of pressure.”
This was a different Regis team than the ones four years prior. With no Missy Franklin piling up points, the team had to find another way to get it done. It did so, in part, by winning all three relays.
More photos. (Tim Visser/TimVisserPhotography.com)
“We can in (to the season) knowing we could make it that far,” Wilson said of repeating as state champions. “We knew it — we wanted everybody else to know it.”
Regis finished with 254.5 points, with Fairview second with 248.
After back-to-back second-place finishes the previous two years, ThunderRidge junior Annie Ochitwa finally earned her first state title, winning the 50 freestyle by an impressive 0.15 of a second over Lauren Moden of Legend.
Ochitwa had finished second and third the previous two years in the 100 freestyle. Again, she rectified that by earning her second gold medal.
The Grizzlies spent Friday night in a hotel, ate dinner and watched television. Ochitwa’s inspiration came from the Food Network.
“Definitely cake, lots of cake,” she said of what she’d been holding off from eating while training, an indulgence with which she plans to reward herself. Then it’s back to the pool, where a repeat of her feats will provide her with off-season motivation.
Ella Moynihan of Arapahoe, who entered the state meet as the top seed in the 200 freestyle, retained that position through the preliminaries and followed that up with a victory in the finals, winning by more than a second in defeating defending champion Erin Metzger-Seymour of Ralston Valley.
More photos. (Tim Visser/TimVisserPhotography.com)
Bailey Nero of Fossil Ridge, who took fifth in the 200 freestyle, capped off her day with the title, edging Metzger-Seymour by 0.3 of a second.
Loveland’s Brooke Hansen surprised the field in the 200 individual medley. Seeded fourth entering the meet, she edged out top seed Madeline Myers of Ralston Valley by 0.08 of a second.
Boulder senior Amanda Richey was the distance champion, winning the 500 freestyle by a second over Madeline Myers of Ralston Valley. The backstroke title went to sophomore Abigail Kochevar of Rock Canyon. Honors in the breaststroke went to Fossil Ridge freshman Bailey Kovac, who edged Hansen at the wall.
Regis Jesuit sophomore Mckensi Austin won the state diving title. With a score of 494.45 points, she outdistanced Kaitlin Costello of Douglas County by 31.05 points
