Colorado Preps Weekly

The last State Championships of the 2021-22 school year have been earned and by this time next week, all-star season will have wrapped up, as well. Girls golf finished early last week and baseball concluded over the weekend with some thrilling contests. Eight-man and 6-man football had their all-state games last weekend, and the Colorado High School Coaches Association will host their all-state games in many sports this week.

Class 3A golf hit the course at Broadlands in Broomfield early last week, and St. Mary's Academy ran away with the team title, beating runner-up Prospect Ridge by 43 shots. Holyoke took 13th place, with a 634 team score and Burlington was 15th at 646. St. Mary's Academy's winning tally was 480.

Individually, Swink's Kinzie Ensor wrapped up a great career by carding a two-round total of 175, earning her 14th place overall. She missed a top-10 finish by just five strokes. Emma Garcia from Rye tied for 19th place after recording a total of 182.

Emma Thompson paced Holyoke with a tally of 186, good for 23rd place. Erin Anderson carded a 204, earning a share of a four-way tie for 46th and Sabryn Burris was 82nd at 244. Burlington was led by Anna Marie Schaal, who finished in a tie for 37th with a final score of 196. Lauren Hays tied for 56th with a 211 and Tatumlynn Walkinshaw tied for 79th at 239.

Morgan McReynolds, who will be playing in the CHSCA volleyball games this week for Cheraw, represented La Junta in a five-way tie for 27th place finish (191). Rye's Paige Hyatt tied for 34th place with Washington County's Mary Dracon, as both shot a 195 for the two days. Haley Ostwald tied for 39th (199) for Brush, while Fowler's Jacelyn Hagerman was six spots back in 45th with a total score of 203.

Kendall Velder from Washington County was part of the logjam at 46th with a 204, while Limon's Katelyn Tacha (69th, 228), Rylie Pachelli from Trinidad (71st, 230) and Jenna Kienitz from Rocky Ford (73rd, 235) all had top-75 finishes. Wray's Sydney Chartier registered a 240 to finish 81st.

Class 4A attacked the Tiara Rado course in Grand Junction and the area's lone representative had a strong showing. Fort Morgan's Lexys Siebrands went 94/83 over her two rounds to card a final score of 177. That was good enough to earn a share of 17th place. Her 83 was one of the better second round scores.

Limon wrapped up a second consecutive undefeated season in 2A baseball, as the Badgers won the title in a thrilling 3-2 championship clash with St. Mary's on Saturday. The Badgers trailed 2-0 going into the top of the fifth after the Pirates did their damage in the bottom of the first.

The Badgers got a bases loaded triple from Trey Hines to take a 3-2 lead. Hines would come on in relief in the bottom of the seventh and record the final two outs to collect the save. Brady Rockwell earned the win as he shut down the Pirates after the first inning. Rockwell struck out a dozen, as Limon improved to 46-0 over the last two seasons.

Sterling went into the weekend needing a win over University on Friday to have a shot at the 3A crown. University scored three in the second and added another run in the third to lead 4-0 after three. Sterling struck for a six-spot in the top of the fourth but surrendered six in the bottom of the fifth. The Tigers could only manage a single tally in the seventh and saw their postseason run end in the 10-7 loss.

Cast Combs drove in three for the Tigers and Dylan DiOrio knocked in a pair. Both had a double, and DiOrio drew three walks. Eaton defeated Lutheran 5-2 on Friday and then recorded its second straight title with a 10-4 win over University on Saturday.

The 8-man all-state game was played last Friday with the South collecting a tough 14-12 win over the North. Defense stood tall on both sides, with Dove Creek's Chorbin Cressler recording an 83-yard pick-six and also recovering a fumble that set up a short scoring drive for the South. He won MVP for the South. Akron's Xavier Livesay, who was among the state leaders in sacks last season, made play after play to stymie the South offense. He took the MVP honor for the North.

On Saturday, offense took center stage at the six-man all-state game. The South took a 47-32 victory, thanks in part to a 77-yard touchdown run by their MVP, Evan Worley from Cheyenne Wells. Idalia's Yahir Enriquez caught four touchdowns from Prairie's Andy Long and he threw another TD, earning MVP for the North. Enriquez will be playing in this weekend's CHSCA football game in Pueblo.

Speaking of the CHSCA games, those will begin on Wednesday with the softball contest. Wrestling starts at 9am on Friday, followed by girls and boys basketball and volleyball, with the football game wrapping up the schedule at 7:30 p.m. Basketball and volleyball will hold placing games on Saturday. Spirit will be highlighted during the other sports over the weekend.