CCSD Athletics: Highlights from the week of May 26, 2025
5A State Baseball: Cherry Creek wins second title in a row
The Cherry Creek High School baseball team is on top of the mountain once again. Creek defeated Regis Jesuit 8-1 on Saturday at All-Star Park in Lakewood. It was the Bruins’ second state baseball championship in a row, and the tenth in program history.
“It’s the end of a journey,” first-year Head Coach Joe Smith said. “It started really in September and October, getting the seniors together through winter ball and faced a lot of adversity, and we battled through. We have twelve seniors that really carried this team. This is really about them, and they made my job easy.”
“It feels great,” said Connor Larkin, Creek senior first baseman and an Oklahoma commit. “It’s everything we could have asked for. The seniors are trying to make sure everyone is getting better every day, trying to make sure they’re on the right path to get better.”
The Bruins were led by senior pitcher and University of Michigan signee Wyatt Rudden. Rudden went five innings allowing one run on three hits. Rudden had to escape a bases-loaded jam in the top of the fifth inning.
“I had to battle throughout the whole game,” Rudden said. That’s a good lineup, so I had to bring my best stuff and bear down during moments, and I think that’s what I did.”
Regis had to deal with the loss of junior Hudson Alpert, the Raiders number one hurler throughout the season, who was injured earlier in the tourney. Raiders senior Luke Reasbeck and sophomore Mike Kroll were both unavailable as they both pitched Raider victories on Friday to get to the championship round.
Cherry Creek had some growing pains early in the season, going 1-4-1 (the four losses were against out-of-state competition in Arizona). The Bruins put it into high gear after that, going 22-1 the rest of the way, to finish the 2025 campaign at 23-5-1.
Head Coach Joe Smith said his storied predecessor (Marc Johnson) had a definite impact on this year’s club.
“Coach (Marc) Johnson built a program and a family, a family that I walked into and have been a part of and he deserves a lot of credit for the culture and these seniors coming in, ready to go,” Smith said. “We believe in everybody on this roster. Everybody on this roster has a role, and they were ready to go, and I believed in them.”
Grandview, seeded number one before the tournament started, fell short of the program’s high expectations. The Wolves were also 2-0 going in to semifinal play where they lost to Cherry Creek on May 24. The Wolves then fell to Regis this past Friday, eliminating them from postseason play. Grandview finishes the 2025 campaign at 23-6.
5A Girls Lacrosse: All-State teams named
The Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) released the All-State Teams for the 2025 season on May 27. Honorees are chosen by members of the Colorado High School Lacrosse Coaches Association.
Second Team:
Lorelai Gearity – senior, Cherokee Trail – Attack
Brittan Gullick – senior, Cherry Creek – Midfield
Amaya Costas – senior, Grandview – Defense
Honorable Mention:
Cameron Kelly – junior, Cherry Creek – Attack
See all the team members here.
5A Girls Soccer: All-State teams named
CHSAA also released the All-State teams for the 2025 Girls Soccer season on May 29. Head coaches across the state fielded nominations and then voted on finalists.
Second Team:
Delaney Lenig – junior, Cherry Creek – Fullback
Ava Willard – junior, Cherry Creek – Forward
Honorable Mention:
Annika Boex – senior, Eaglecrest - Midfielder
Ivy Daniel – senior, Grandview – Goalkeeper
Sam Garofalo – junior, Cherokee Trail – Defender
Anslei Knopinski – sophomore, Cherry Creek – Midfielder
See all the honorees here.
Congratulations to all CCSD student athletes on another great season!