The Season D all-state boys track and field teams are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.

These teams were created based upon results at the state meet.

In order to be considered for athlete of the year, they must first have made the all-state team by winning an event.

Athletes of the year were selected based upon their performance at the state meet. Coaches of the year were selected based upon the team champions.

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(Claire Semerod/Cherry Creek High School)

Class 5A

Athlete of the year: Ky Oday, Cherry Creek

Coach of the year: John Reyes, Grandview

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(Brent Murphy/brentmurphyphoto.com)

Class 4A

Athlete of the year: Zane Bergen, Niwot

Coach of the year: Maurice Henriques, Niwot

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(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

Class 3A

Athlete of the year: Joshua Medina, Alamosa

Coach of the year: Mark Roggy & Eileen Phillips, Resurrection Christian

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Class 2A

Athlete of the year: Anthony Martinez, Lake County

Coach of the year: Lucas Lubbers, Yuma

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Class 1A

Athlete of the year: Jacob Jefferson, Arickaree/Woodlin

Coach of the year: Joe Packard, Heritage Christian

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

LAKEWOOD – Harrison Witt had already made history this year, so his primary goal on Saturday at Jefferson County Stadium was a win.

With exceptional competition by his side, however, history accompanied victory.

Mountain Vista’s outstanding senior won the Class 5A boys 1,600-meter title at the state meet with a Colorado prep record time of 4 minutes, 4.36 seconds. He topped his own record of 4:05.18 set earlier this year.

Rather than a record, Witt’s main focus was to beat Cherry Creek’s Parker Wolfe, who is also one of the best distance runners in state history. Wolfe finished in 4:10.09, which would have been a 5A state meet record had it not been for Witt’s performance.

“I just set out to go for the win,” Witt said. “I think (the record) comes with it when we both race as hard as we can. Parker is obviously an insane competitor and he took a lot of that race, but the records just come with it when we push ourselves to run hard.”

Wolfe set the pace for the first two laps, with Witt just a few feet behind him. With about 500 meters to go, however, Witt began to sprint and he didn’t stop until he cross the finish line.

“I just wanted to try to hang (with Wolfe) and make it a sprint race, which I think I can handle,” he said. “The last 100 I was like, ‘Just get me to the finish,’ but the first three laps felt very, very strong.”

Witt also set a 5A meet record in the 800 meters (1:48.75) on Friday, putting a cap on his career before going to Princeton.

“It was just a great feeling. It’s very exciting,” he said of his final prep meet. “It’s incredible. A great way to end the season for sure.”

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(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

Class 5A

When this season began, Grandview didn’t view itself as the type of team to win a state title. The Wolves showed championship potential throughout the year, however, and on Saturday claimed the first boys team title in program history, 78.5 to 57 over second-place Cherry Creek.

“We’re just a whole bunch of football players that had nothing to do,” said junior Malique Singleton. “We have a whole bunch of kids that just came out for fun and we just started going to meets, started winning and we’re like, ‘Oh we could actually win it.’”

The Wolves did it on the strength of their relays. Singleton helped the Wolves win the 800-meter relay on Friday and finish seventh in the 1,600 relay on Saturday. Grandview added a first-place finish in the 400-meter relay on Saturday (41.96 seconds).

“I think the relays mean more to us because we’re just friends and we’re a team and we can rely on each other and we’re really good at doing that,” Singleton said.

The junior added that the Wolves were inspired by their head coach, John Reyes.

“The other part of it is it just means so much to our head coach, John Reyes,” he said. “He puts all of his time and dedication in it, so for us to see him realize that he’s finally brought a state title here to Grandview, at least for me personally that meant the most.”

With  many of the Wolves being underclassmen, they are already looking ahead to 2022.

“We have the depth to go do it again; we just have to work at it and go for it,” Singleton said.

In the sprints, there wasn’t any one runner who was dominant. In fact, the wealth was spread among many on Saturday.

Sterling Brassfield of Eaglecrest won the 100 meters (10.63); D’Andre Barnes of Regis Jesuit won the 200 meters (21.69); and Ky Oday of Cherry Creek won the 400 meters (48.00).

In other 5A finals on Saturday, Gregory Anderson of Far Northeast won the 110 hurdles (14.14); Michael Bennett of Lakewood won the 300 hurdles (37.35); Garrett Searls of Horizon won the pole vault (14-9); Rangeview won the 1,600-meter relay (3:21.51); and Braiden Dishman of Fossil Ridge won the discus (167 feet, 2 inches) to sweep the throws.

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

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Class 4A

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

Thomas Jefferson senior Avery Shunneson closed his career by sweeping the throws. On Saturday, he won the shot put (54-8) to go with the discus title he won Thursday.

“It’s very exciting. The perfect finish for sure,” he said.

The Princeton-bound Shunneson didn’t get a meet record in the shot, as he did Thursday in the discus, but that didn’t bother him. From the time he finished third in the discus in 2019, he had been aiming to win – and he did it twice this week.

“It means everything,” he said. “It’s been a goal for a long time. Obviously everyone struggled with not being able to compete last year, so to finish both (events) on top feels really good.”

For the second state meet in a row, Niwot came away with the team title, 90-59 over cross-town rival Longmont.

The Cougars were led Saturday by Zane Bergen claiming his third individual title of the weekend, posting a 4A meet record in the 1,600 meters (4:09.51). He won the 800 and 3,200 earlier in the meet.

Frederick’s Ryan Chacon, fully cleared within the last two weeks after a knee injury during basketball season, capped a remarkable comeback by winning the 200 meters (21.96) and leading the Warriors to a win in the 1,600 relay (3:23.78). Both were school records and gave Frederick its first event championships, regardless of gender, since 2006. Chacon was also second in the 400 and fourth in the 100.

Longmont’s Eddie Kurjak capped his weekend with another win, this time in the triple jump (45-5.75). He set a meet record in the high jump on Friday and was also second in the long jump this weekend.

In other 4A finals on Saturday, Brian Rose of Discovery Canyon won the 110 hurdles (14.75); Braylon Fenderson of Riverdale Ridge won the 100 meters (10.96); Justin Blaton of Grand Junction Central won the 400 (47.84); Derek Allen of Widefield won the 300 hurdles (38.73); and Cheyenne Mountain won the 400-meter relay (43.14).

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

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Class 3A

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

There were times this season that Peak to Peak senior Aidan Graziano didn’t think he could win a state title. He kept chugging along, however, and on Saturday closed his career as the champion in the 110-meter hurdles (15.05 seconds).

“After a season of putting in the work and times where I didn’t feel motivated, you’ve just got to keep putting in that work,” he said. “When it all pays off with a state title, it’s such a great feeling.

“I’ve been wanting a state title for as long as I can remember and here we are.”

The team title came down to the wire, with Resurrection Christian outlasting The Classical Academy, 73-71. The Cougars trailed going into the final event of the day, the 1,600-meter relay, but won that race with a time of 3:24.91, while The Classical Academy was sixth.

Alamosa’s Joshua Medina finished as a three-time champ, winning a thriller in the 1,600 meters and posting a time of 4:20.47. He also won the 800 and 3,200 this weekend.

Other champions on Saturday included Logan Hafey of Moffat County in the 300 hurdles (39.26); Brayden Savage of Frontier Academy in the 100 meters (10.81); Drew Morton of The Classical Academy in the 400 meters (50.01); Devyn Lauer of Platte Valley in the 200 (21.94); Woodland Park’s Sonny Ciccarelli in the high jump (6-8); and Lutheran in the 400-meter relay (42.90).

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Class 2A

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

Earlier this season, Yuma junior Clay Robinson posted a time of 22.16 seconds in the 200 meters that would have been good enough to beat the 2A state meet record – except it wasn’t in the state meet.

On Saturday, he thought he finally got the mark, winning the state title in 22.17. The record is 22.23 by Mike Carl in 2009.

“It’s awesome,” Robinson said. “I broke it earlier in the season, but they told me I had to wait for the state event, so I waited and I got it and I’m pretty pleased with that.”

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

Unfortunately for Robinson, it was later determined his time was wind-aided, so Carl will keep the record, but Robinson is still a champion, in many ways. He also won the 100 meters (11.87) and helped Yuma to the team title, 76 to 48.5 over second-place Lake County.

“It was awesome,” he said of his individual titles. “I came out and I just wanted the win and did whatever it took to win. I’m happy.”

Robinson was also third in long jump and was pleased to see Yuma win for the first time since its only other team title in 1996.

“We haven’t won a team title in like 25 years,” he said. “That would be something special for Yuma. Our boys team is pretty legit and we’re fast and we kept it and we want this title.”

Crested Butte’s Connor Williams is going home a two-time champ, as well. On Saturday, he won the 1,600 meters in 4:19.99. He won the 800 on Friday.

Centauri’s Mason Claunch won the 400 meters (49.70) and helped his team to a win in the 400 relay (44.62). He also helped them win the 800 relay on Friday.

In other Saturday finals: Lake County’s Anthony Martinez won the 110 hurdles (15.44); Blaine Pebbles of Hotchkiss won the 300 hurdles (40.04); Nathan Freeman of Dayspring Christian won the long jump (20-11.5); Nate Early of Banning Lewis won the high  jump (6-1); and Ouray won the 1,600-meter relay (3:30.88).

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Class 1A

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

Sophomore Jacob Jefferson of Arrickaree/Woodlin had a sensational first career state meet, claiming a pair of state titles on Saturday. He won the 110 hurdles in 16.24 seconds and the 400 meters in 52.49 seconds.

In his first high school track season, Jefferson said his main goals were to get a couple school records and, “That’s what I did today.”

One of them had particularly special meaning.

“I got the 400 and the 110s, which is a really big deal to my family because my family has run the 110s since, I think, my mom,” he said.

In fact, his older brother, Joseph, held the school record before Jacob broke it on Saturday.

Heritage Christian cruised to the team title, 141 to 79.5 over DeBeque, and the Eagles did so on the strength of its depth, as they did not win any event titles on Saturday.

DeBeque, meanwhile, won several titles on the final day of the meet. The Dragons were led by senior Wesley Ryan, who won the 100 meters in 11.52 seconds and the high jump with a leap of 6 feet, 6 inches. Junior Trevor Lewis also won a title for the Dragons, taking the 1,600 meters in 4:36.14.

Lone Star senior Brady Kuntz closed his career with a 1A meet record in the pole vault with a leap of 13 feet, 6.5 inches.

Other champions on Saturday included Josh Duran of Antonito in the 300 hurdles (41.29); Haxtun in the 400 relay (46.20); and Cade Mitchek of Cheyenne Wells in the 200 meters (23.10), and helping the Tigers to a win in the 1,600-meter relay (3:40.25).

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

LAKEWOOD – Perfect weather led to a record-breaking day for the top pole vaulters in Class 4A on Thursday at the state meet at Jefferson County Stadium.

Thompson Valley’s Becker Ell and Silver Creek’s Megan Kelleghan both broke Class 4A state meet records en route to winning their first state titles.

Ell cleared 16 feet to cruise to the title and top the previous mark of 15-8.5, set by Sam Pierson of Pueblo South in 2006.

“It feels kind of surreal, especially because I’ve been trying at it for the last two or three meets and just getting closer and closer,” said Ell, a senior. “It just feels unreal, to be honest. I’m so stoked.”

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

Ell had been the heavy favorite, coming in with a previous best of 15-7, nearly two feet ahead of anyone else. Still, he had to perform on the biggest stage.

“Nerves at the state meet your last year, it’s always kind of iffy and nerve-wracking, but I just went out there and wanted to have some fun and try to do as best as I could,” he said.

Kelleghan, just a sophomore, was also a heavy favorite and delivered with a vault of 13-4.5, a half inch above the previous mark of 13-4 by Andrea Willis of The Classical Academy in 2016.

“That was great,” she said. “It was very exciting because I’ve been so close. … Today it just pieced together. I was scared at first because there was supposed to be rain and wind. It ended up being perfect weather, so I’m very relieved with it and happy I was able to clear that.”

Kelleghan had a previous best of 13 feet, with nobody else better than 10-9 coming in. If there was pressure, however, she didn’t feel it.

“More pressure on myself, personally,” she said. “Even when I’m with people who vault close to me I try to stay in  my own little bubble around myself. You can’t compete against people in this because it’s all about the bar, it’s all about your form. It’s you and your own self. That’s what I try to think about.”

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

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Class 5A

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

Poudre’s Rhys Travis was the star on what is typically a light day for the state’s largest classification.

Only four state titles were awarded in 5A boys on Thursday, but Travis took two of them.

A junior, Travis won the boys high jump and triple jump. He was favored coming into state. In the high jump, Travis had a season-best leap of 6 feet, 7 inches, topping his previous best by two inches. In the triple jump, he was under his season best, but still had a leap of 46 feet, 3 inches to win the title.

Travis wasn’t the only athlete from Fort Collins to win a state title on Thursday.

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

Brooke Naughton of Fort Collins won the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 7 inches. The junior was the favorite coming in.

In the boys shot put, Braiden Dishman of Fossil Ridge was projected to win and he came through. The senior had a throw of 52 feet, 3.25 inches to claim his title.

Also in field event, Lakewood senior Amanda Opp had a season-best throw of 40 feet, 9.5 inches to win the girls shot put, while Grandview senior Melody Nwagwu had a leap of 39 feet, 9 inches to win the girls triple jump.

On the track, just one event – the 3,200-meter relay – had a final in Class 5A. Cherry Creek cruised to the title on the girls side, with a time of 9 minutes, 5.73 seconds, while Mountain Vista won the boys title, in 7:57.13.

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Class 4A

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

At the most recent state track and field meet, in 2019, Niwot swept the boys and girls team titles. The Cougars are aiming for a repeat performance this year and got off to a great start Thursday.

Senior Lucca Fulkerson won the girls 3,200 meters, with teammate Mia Prok finishing second. That duo then led the Cougars to a win in the 3,200 relay.

“Everybody has trained so hard, so it’s definitely within grasp,” Fulkerson said of a team championship. “Every day everybody is out there running as hard as they can, especially in the heat right now.

“I’m so proud of our whole team. Everybody deserves it and they work so hard. I’m so glad that they’re my teammates and I get to race with them.”

Fulkerson, who had three top-seven medals as a sophomore in 2019, won her first individual title in the 3,200.

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

“It was definitely amazing,” she said. “I didn’t really think about anything until the last 20 meters, because I didn’t want to think with the last lap to go. It was really amazing and I was so excited.”

Niwot had four top-eight finishers in the girls 3,200 and scored 35 points on the day.

The boys, meanwhile, were led by junior Zane Bergen, who won the 3,200 meters and anchored the Cougars’ victory in the 3,200 relay.

In the 3,200, Niwot’s Simon Saia was second, with Grayden Rauba fourth. The Cougars closed the day with 34 team points.

“Kind of the plan going in was try to set up the race so that we could score as many team points as possible,” Bergen said. “We’re going for the team championship and we needed to score a decent amount of points in the two-mile to make that happen.

“It’s really, really cool (to win an individual title), but, like I said, I just came here to score the most points for the team as possible. I’m happy that we did that today in both events.”

The girls also set a 4A state meet record in the 800-meter relay prelims, posting a time of 1:39.72.

In the boys discus, Avery Shunneson of Thomas Jefferson won the title and set a new 4A state meet record. The Princeton-bound  Shunneson had a throw of 192 feet, 6 inches to shatter the record of 188-6 previously set by Pueblo East’s Kain Medrano in 2019.

In other events, Mitchell’s Daryon Wilson won the boys long jump with a leap of 23-5.25; Mullen’s Agur Dwol won the girls long jump with a leap of 18-11.25; and Northfield’s Giovanna Meeks won the girls discus with a throw of 141-2.

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Class 3A

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

Jefferson Academy’s Crisly Kelly-Cannon’s freshman track and field season was supposed to be in 2020, but the pandemic prevented that from happening. Based on what the sophomore has done so far in is state meet debut, it would have been fun to see what he could have done as a ninth-grader.

On Thursday, Kelly-Cannon won the first finals event he has competed in as a high schooler and qualified for several others throughout the meet. His mark of 23 feet, 1.5 inches in the long jump was also a Class 3A state meet record.

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

“My freshman year was cancelled so I haven’t been to a state meet before,” Kelly-Cannon said. “It was weird because I went into my freshman year all hyped up and everything. I was ready to get started and then I had to take a year off. That threw us all off but I just hit the gym and started getting better and better.

“I’m feeling really good. I started off with the 100 today and PR’d in that. So that set me up for the long jump and energized me. In the 200, we ran into some headwind so that’s alright. It was a pretty good first day.”

Kelly-Cannon’s teammate Sierra Haberman won the 3A girls high jump, clearing 5-4.

In one of the most exciting races of the season, the Liberty Common 3,200-meter relay team edged The Classical Academy (8:15.11) in a photo finish to claim the title with a time of 8:15.08.

Holy Family’s Brody Welch won the 3A boys shot put with a mark of 50-4.5.

“They were getting close and I knew they could pop one as far as I did,” said Welch, who finished ninth as a freshman in discus and will try and improve on that tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. “Once I saw the last guys throw, I knew I had it.”

The Berthoud girls won the 3,200-meter relay with a time of 9:26.23.

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

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Class 2A

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

Dayspring Christian’s Eboselulu Omofoma didn’t waste any time in winning her first state title.

Still just a freshman, Omofoma cleared a personal best 5-3.5 in the Class 2A high jump to win the state championship. It was an exciting opening day to her first state meet, but Omofoma also hopes her early-career victory is a sign of things to come.

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

“I totally thought these other girls would come in and take first, second, third place,” Omofoma said. “But I PR’d by half an inch, so that’s great. God gave me the strength to do it. That’s it. I hope I can do better in the next years.”

Over on the track, Thursday was a good day for Buena Vista. Demons girls picked up a win in the 3,200 courtesy of Zaila Smith, who finished first with a time of 12:00.18.

The Wray girls won the 3,200-meter relay title with a time of 10:30.38.

Hayden’s Alison Rajzer won the girls triple jump, clearing 35-7.

On the boys side, Peyton won the 3,200-meter relay with a time of 8:29.76. Custer County’s Micah Zeller won the 3,200 with a time of 9:47.00.

Yuma’s Braden Smith cleared 13-01 to claim the pole vault gold.

True to his name, Limon’s Jeremiah Leeper won the triple jump with a mark of 42-6.75.

Wray’s Bryant Schoenthal won the 2A boys discus with a mark of 173-8.

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Class 1A

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

There were no preliminary races in Class 1A on Thursday, but several state titles were claimed in the classification.

In the 800 medley relay, Springfield won the gold with a time of 1:57.77.

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

Heritage Christian’s Ainsley Stanton won the girls 3,200 in 12:44.87.

Lone Star’s Alivia Weathers won the 1A girls pole vault, clearing 10 feet.

Elbert’s Olivia Lay wont the discus with a mark of 127-5.

On the boys side, Heritage Christian runner Jack Nauman’s 10:27.15 was plenty fast enough to win the 3,200.

DeBeque’s Jaden Jordan won the long jump with a mark of 21-6.50.

Granada’s John Hainer threw 45-0.25 to win the discus.

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

Katelyn Lehigh accomplished several personal goals in spectacular fashion while winning the Class 5A girls golf individual state championship on Tuesday.

The junior golfer opened the final day at City Park Golf Course in a tie for the lead with teammate Taylor Bandemer and turned in a 4-under 66 that tied the 18-hole course record during her closing round and clinched her first state title. It was a championship effort over two years in the making. Lehigh’s two-day score of 138 added a third individual title to her family name – her older sister Lauren Lehigh won state titles in 2019 and 2018 (4A).

While she accomplished each of those things, Katelyn Lehigh’s focus remained elsewhere.

From the start, Lehigh was invested in helping Loveland win its first team title since moving up to 5A and second overall in the program’s history, which the Loveland girls accomplished collectively on Tuesday with a team score of 450.

“The team title always comes first and we did it together,” Lehigh said. “It has always been the goal to win it as a team and win it individually. But playing for the team title is the most important thing and it took all of us. If Reece (Bandemer) and Taylor (Bandemer) and Maryn (Harlow) didn’t play well, it wouldn’t have really mattered what I did.”

Taylor Bandemer tied for eighth with a 154. Reece Bandemer shot a 77 on Day 2 and finished in 14th place. Harlow tied for 50th with a score of 181.

After overcoming her fear of a blow-up opening round on Monday to position herself as the frontrunner for Day 2, Lehigh said her nerves disappeared when it came time to seal the deal on Tuesday. She split six birdies equally between the front and back nines for a 66.

“I was super nervous about everything yesterday,” Lehigh said. “Today, being paired with Olivia (Steen), it felt like pretty much every other high school tournament because we pretty much played together pretty much every single high school tournament. So, I was surprisingly calm today.”

Chasing Lehigh for most of the tournament, Prairie View junior Lily Nelson finished runner-up. She shot a 1-under 69 on the second day. It was the first tournament round under par of her prep career, and it came at a good time.

“It went really well,” Nelson said. “My putting was really good today and I was able to get some up-and-downs. My driver was also pretty good. I’m more confident because I’ve gotten better over the season and I’m looking forward to doing it again next season.”

Fossil Ridge’s Olivia Steen placed third, going 2-over on Tuesday for an overall 146. Eaglecrest’s Emma Bryant, who won the 5A individual title as a freshman in 2018, carded a 147. Valor Christian’s Grace young placed fifth at 149.

Rock Canyon was second in the team scoring. The Jaguars were 25 strokes behind Loveland and Cherry Creek was third with a score of 492.

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

Between Classes 5A and 4A, Lauren Lehigh won a pair of girls golf state championships during her time at Loveland and was the last high school player to win a 5A state title in Colorado.

Her younger sister, Katelyn Lehigh, had designs on extending the Lehigh family’s reign over Class 5A but the global pandemic cancelled the 2020 season, leaving the Loveland junior with a long while to heap expectations upon herself for when her opportunity would finally come. On Day 1 of the 5A state tournament at the newly redesigned City Park Golf Course, Lehigh didn’t succumb to the pressure of living up to her family name in the final days of Season C.

Carding a two-over 72 on Monday, Lehigh will open Tuesday’s final round in a tie for the lead with senior teammate Taylor Bandemer. The duo’s first-day effort positioned their Loveland team with a 10-stroke lead in the team competition.

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

“My freshman year, we had state at Harmony and it got rained out to one day,” Lehigh said. “So, that’s the only state experience I’ve had because COVID cancelled last year. So, I was definitely really nervous coming into today. I feel like I set expectations for myself over the past couple of years to play well. I’ve played well all high school season and I just tried to settle down and play my game because you can’t win it on the first day.

“The fear going in was that I would do something, it would blow up, and everything I’ve been working towards for the past two years would just suddenly be gone. That’s not the case, so I’m really happy.”

Both Lehigh, who tied for eighth in 2019, and Bandemer stayed steady throughout Monday’s opening round. Bandemer birdied No. 8 and No. 13 to lower her score after starting 3-over through the first five holes. Lehigh birdied No. 9 to make the turn at 1-over and posted a lone bogey on the back nine to stay at 2-over on a mild-weather June day that didn’t see any player go low.

“I played pretty solid golf. I hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens,” Lehigh said. “I couldn’t seem to get a put to the hole but my midrange putting really saved me today. I made a lot of five- and 10-footers for par. But nothing went drastically wrong, so I’m good.”

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

It has been over two years since the last girls golf state championships and since 2018 that Eaglecrest’s Emma Bryant won the 5A title as a freshman. Still in the hunt to reclaim the title from the Lehigh sisters, Bryant shot a 5-over 75 and will be three strokes behind the co-leaders when play resumes on Tuesday morning.

Right on the heals of the Loveland pair, Prairie View junior Lily Nelson sits third after carding a 73. Fossil Ridge junior Olivia Steen, who was fourth in 2019, is currently fourth at 74. Rock Canyon’s Grace Dunkleberger, who tied Lehigh for eights place in 2019, and Mountain Vista’s Abby Aeschleman are tied at 75 with Bryant in fifth place.

Ten strokes behind Loveland (225) in the team competition, Rock Canyon (235) will begin the second day in second place. Arapahoe (248) is third 23 strokes behind the front-running team.

“I think our girls were really tough and I’m really proud of how they played,”  Rock Canyon coach Ron Saul said. “They had some adversity out there and I really expect that they’re going to make a run at it tomorrow. We’re 10 shots back but you can make that up in a heartbeat. And they’ve got the talent to do it.”

Fossil Ridge won the team title in 2019. Loveland was second, just one stroke back. Cherry Creek was third.

Pairing and tee times for Day 2 will be released Monday night.

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow)

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow.com)

It seems like forever since the last girls tennis state tournament took place in Colorado, but a pair of perennial contenders have picked up right where they left off in Class 5A with a slew of new faces in this year’s field.

Cherry Creek, which has won 21 of the last 22 team titles, and Fairview – the only other 5A team to claim a trophy over that span – began to separate themselves once again on Day 1 of the state tournament at Gates Tennis Center on Friday. When play resumes with semifinals on Saturday, Cherry Creek will be in the lead with 21 team points and Fairview will open the final day just two points behind the Bruins.

“It’s so exciting because it’s been two years,” Fairview head coach Susan Stensrud said. “For us, that means that a large bulk of my team has been been here before. The vibe is that we’re just thrilled and excited to be here and to come back tomorrow.”

At No. 1 singles, defending 2019 champion Valerie Negin of Smoky Hill is still alive in her bid to defend the title she won two years ago when she debuted at the state tournament as a sophomore. In Saturday’s penultimate round, Negin will face defending No. 2 singles champion Alexis Bernthal. Either Boulder’s Lily Chitamber or Cherry Creek’s Jaque Pearsall, who will meet in the opposing semifinal, awaits the winner.

In total, the Cherry Creek Bruins advanced their players to the semifinals at all seven roster spots. Fairview players are still alive in six brackets. The Ralston Valley Mustangs, who finished Day 1 at third in the team scoring, advanced players to three semifinals.

“This season for us has been magical,” Ralston Valley head coach Kim Greason said. “With two years off, more than half of my squad has never had varsity-level competition. A lot of them are new, but we won league and our girls really gelled. Although they may not have the years of experience under their belt like some of these other teams, they’ve got that team spirit and that cohesiveness that a lot of the time pulls them through matches because they know they’re playing for each other.”

Semifinals for this year’s single-elimination tournament will begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday. Poudre, Fort Collins, Heritage, Fossil Ridge, Chatfield and Denver East will also have players competing championships when they do.

“We’re looking forward to tough matches at every spot,” Cherry Creek head coach Chris Jacob said. “We’re expecting a challenge right from the beginning of the day. I’m happy with how the girls played today and we’ve prepared as well as we could in a short amount of time, but we know there are lots of good teams out there so we know we’ll have tough matches at every position.”

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow.com)

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow.com)

DENVER – The Cherry Creek girls tennis team isn’t used to waiting long between state championships.

The Bruins won three straight Class 5A team titles from 2017-19. But when an unexpected newcomer in COVID-19 blocked them from a title in 2020, the Bruins were forced to sit idle and wait for another shot at extending their streak. On Saturday at Gates Tennis Center, an unusually hungry Cherry Creek girls amassed 66 team points to run away from Fairview – the 2016 champion – to leave the 5A state tournament with the trophy once again.

Even for decorated Bruins like senior Halley Mackiernan, who has never lost a match at state and has now been part of three team titles amidst the Bruins’ seemingly endless run of winning 22 out of the last 23 championships, this most recent victory was exceptional.

“We’ve all been waiting for this for so long, especially not being able to play the season last year,” Mackiernan said. “It’s finally here and it’s a great feeling unlike any other state championship. I’m so sad to leave the team, but I’m so happy we were able to come back out here and win this one after wanting it for so long.”

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow.com)

The individual gold went to Boulder’s Lily Chitambar, but not without a fight from Smoky Hill’s Valerie Negin. After defeating 2019 No. 2 singles champion Alexis Bernthal in the semifinals, Negin pushed Chitambar to the brink during a three-set match that included a first-set comeback from being down 5-0 to win a tiebreaker before the Boulder junior eventually prevailed, 6-7, 6-0, 6-4.

“I just tried to stay as mentally tough as I could,” said Chitambar, who placed fourth as a freshman in 2019. “It was super hot and after she came back from 0-5, I was a little shaken up. I just tried to go one point at a time and stay tough. It felt really good and it was definitely more exciting to win the championship because she’s such a good player and it was such a good match.”

The rest of Saturday’s finals resembled a head-to-head dual match between the Bruins and the Fairview Knights, who trailed the eventual champions by just two points to start Day 2. Cherry Creek advanced to the finals at six of the seven total ladder spots and played Fairview head-to-head in five of those matches.

At No. 2 singles, Cherry Creek’s Lorena Cedeno beat Fairview’s Natalie Stone, 6-2, 4-6, 6-0. At No. 3 singles, Cherry Creek’s Anika Sharma edged Fairview freshman Alexis Bernthal, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow.com)

Cherry Creek twins Eliza Hill and Nicole Hill, who played together for the first time this season, won 6-3, 6-1 over Fairview’s Virginia Gomulka and Elizabeth Roth at No. 1 doubles. In the No. 2 doubles finals, Mackiernan and Anna Fusaris won 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 against Fairview’s Jane Roth and Maya Brakhage. The No. 3 doubles title match went in favor of Cherry Creek’s Victoria Moldovan and Jisele Boker, who beat Fairview’s Mia Grayson, 6-2, 6-2. At No. 4 doubles, Cherry Creek’s Ella Barclay and Vivienne Bersin won 6-2, 6-0 over Fossil Ridge’s Katie Sollenberger and Avery MacKenzie.

The Bruins have now won 37 championships in total.

“The girls just persisted and they were intent on spending time together this season,” Cherry Creek head coach Chris Jacob said. “They bonded in a great way in a short amount of time and I think that made a huge difference. Our senior leadership was tremendous and when I see matches like two singles and three singles where the girls are cheering each other on and our girls are nervous but that helps them fight through it, I know a lot of that has to do with that connection they’ve made with one another.

“To do that in six weeks is pretty impressive.”

Fairview finished runner-up with 39 team points.

Heritage won the sportsmanship award.

(Brad Cochi/CHSAANow.com)

Fossil Ridge got team titles from the boys and girls at the Rocky Mountain Lobo track and field invite on Saturday.

Fossil Ridge girls soccer jumped out to an early led and cruised to a big 11-1 win over Horizon on Thursday.