5A Girls Tennis: Cherry Creek takes four of seven state individual titles
The Cherry Creek High School girls tennis team made an impressive showing in the state individual tournament held last Saturday at Denver City Park. The Bruins had student athletes in the finals of six of the seven events (No. 1 Singles, No. 2 Singles, No. 3 Singles, No. 2 Doubles, No. 3 Doubles and No. 4 Doubles).
In No. 4 Doubles, the tandem of junior Julia Karlberg and sophomore Zoey Hao defeated Valor Christian’s Anna Schouten and Sawyer Cruikshank (6-1)(0-6)(6-3) for the State Championship.
In No. 3 Doubles, senior Farrah Bendel and freshman Karissa Manley took top honors, besting Fossil Ridge’s Avery MacKenzie and Afton Sidwell (6-1)(6-3).
No. 2 Doubles saw the junior team of Syeeshah Garud and Anika Laxminariyan fall to Fairview’s Maya Brakage and Jane Roth (1-6)(2-6).
In the Singles category, Cherry Creek junior Jisele Boker won over Fairview’s Elle Middleton (6-4)(6-0) for the No. 3 Singles crown.
In No. 2 Singles, Creek junior Anika Sharma defeated Fairview’s Stella Laird (6-1)(6-2) for the title.
And in No. 1 Singles, the Bruins’ senior Lorena Cedeno was defeated by Fairview junior Quinn Bernthal in three sets (6-3)(2-6)(4-6).
See the bracket and complete results here.
5A State Team Tennis: Cherry Creek to face Fairview in finals
Top-seeded Cherry Creek advanced to the 5A State Team Finals on May 9, with a 6-1 win over No. 5 Mountain Vista. The victory propelled the Bruins to the 5A State Team Championship, where they will face 2nd-seeded Fairview. The championship will be held on May 16 at Denver City Park.
See the complete team bracket here.
5A Boys Diving: Cherry Creek sophomore takes state
Cherry Creek sophomore Luke Ogren is the State Diving Champion for 2023. Ogren bested Rampart senior Bryce Porter by 30 points through the 11-dive competition on May 11 at the Veteran’s Memorial Aquatic Center (VMAC) in Thornton. Cherry Creek junior Garrigan Ryder came in 11th and Overland sophomore Chad Hamilton finished 20th overall.
“I feel great,” said Ogren. “It’s an honor to win and I loved being here. It was a fun meet.”
Last year, Ogren finished 5th in the state finals as a freshman. The win contributed 24 points to his Bruins squad in the overall team competition.
Congratulations to Cherry Creek’s Luke Ogren!
5A Boys Swimming: Cherry Creek takes second at state
The Cherry Creek High School Bruins are the 5A State Runners-Up for 2023 in boys swimming and diving. Finals were held May 12 at VMAC. CCHS was edged out by Regis Jesuit by 10.5 points for the state crown. Smoky Hill finished 5th, Grandview 9th and Cherokee Trail 16th overall.
The Bruins took the night’s first state title in the 200 Yard Medley Relay. Senior Zach Reese, sophomore Trevor Boodt, junior Brodie Johnson and senior Jason Fan bested Chatfield and Columbine for the crown. Grandview placed 5th and Smoky Hill 8th.
Bruins’ swimmers finished in at least one of the top four positions in eight of 12 events. Creek Junior Brodie Johnson took the state title in the 100 Yard Butterfly. Grandview sophomore Oliver Schimberg won the state crown in the 100 Yard Backstroke and was third in the 100 Yard Butterfly. Smoky Hill junior Daniel Yi took second in the 100 Yard Breaststroke and third in the 200 Yard Individual Medley. Buffs sophomore Ian Noffsinger and junior Jake Baker placed third and fourth respectively in the 500 Yard Freestyle event.
See the full swimming and diving results here.
Congratulations to all CCSD swimmers and divers!
5A State Volleyball: Eaglecrest has a great run at state
The Eaglecrest High School boys volleyball team is the 2023 state runner-up. The Raptors played a tough final match at Overland High School with defending champion and tournament favorite Discovery Canyon, who prevailed with a three sets (21-25)(17-25)(18-25) to one set (25-16) victory.
To get to the championship, 7th-seeded Eaglecrest had to play three tough matches, starting with No. 3 Valor Christian on May 11. The Raptors upset the Eagles in a dramatic, close match, winning three sets (25-22)(25-22)(15-12) to two sets (23-25)(20-25).
On Saturday, it was the Raptors and No. 1 Discovery Canyon in the two clubs' first meeting of the day. The Thunder prevailed in four sets (21-25)(25-16)(17-25)(18-25). Then came the consolation round against No. 4 Legend. The Raptors prevailed three sets (25-22)(25-21)(25-23) to one set (23-25), setting up the final against top-seeded Discovery for the second time that day.
Raptors Head Coach Chad Bond said the busy play schedule took its toll.
“We were tired,” said Bond. “We didn’t have what we had the first time we played them this morning (Saturday), which I thought was pretty wonderful. But I’m so proud of these guys because they never quit. They never slowed down. They gave one-hundred percent, the entire time, and you can’t ask for any more than that.”
The Raptors end a great season at 20-10.
5A Boys Lacrosse: Cherry Creek advances in the 5A state playoffs
The top-seeded Cherry Creek High School boys lacrosse club defeated No. 16 Columbine on May 13 in the second round of the 5A State Tournament. Final score was 15-6. Next, the Bruins will host No. 8 Denver South in a third-round match on May 17 at the Stutler Bowl.
No. 14 Cherokee Trail got off to a good start with an 11-10 home win over No. 19 Chatfield on May 11 at Legacy Stadium. However, the Cougars’ season came to an end on the road in the second round, as they fell to No. 3 Regis Jesuit 14-2 on May 13. CT finishes the season at 9-8.
5A Girls Lacrosse: Cherry Creek reaches the Final Four
The CCHS girls lacrosse team advanced to the semifinals of the 2023 5A State Tournament. Creek, the 4th-seed, won its first-round match over 13th-seeded Columbine 19-8 on May 11. On May 13, No. 5 Fairview came calling and the Bruins won a tough 8-5 decision to get to the third round of the state tourney on May 16 at Englewood High School. Creek will face three-time defending champion and top-seeded Colorado Academy.
4A Girls Lacrosse: Cherokee Trail ends its season at state
The Cherokee Trail High School Cougars went 1-1 last week and finished their season at 9-8. The Cougars won their first round contest in the 4A State Tournament over 19th-seeded Denver North 15-12 last Tuesday at Legacy Stadium. On May 11, No. 14 CT fell on the road to third-seeded Evergreen, with a final score of 18-7, ending the Cougars' season.
5A Track and Field: GHS and CTHS are tops at Centennial Championships
The Centennial League Track and Field Championships, hosted by Eaglecrest High School, took place last weekend at the Stutler Bowl. Huge rains last week threatened the meet’s schedule, but facilities were prepared for competition in good order by a crack maintenance team.
For the girls, Grandview took top team honors, followed by Cherry Creek and Eaglecrest. On the boys’ side, Cherokee Trail garnered first place, with Grandview finishing second, and Eaglecrest third.
For complete results, click here.
The 2023 Track and Field State Championships will take place on May 18-20 at Jefferson County Stadium in Lakewood. Qualifiers were named on May 15.
You can see the complete list here.
5A Girls Soccer: District teams end postseason play too early
CCSD girls soccer teams began state tournament play on May 9.
15th-seeded and defending state champion Grandview fell to No. 18 Chatfield. The two clubs were tied 3-3 at the end of regulation. After overtime periods, the match went into a shootout, with the visiting Chargers taking the extra kicks by a 4-1 margin. The Wolves end 2023 at 9-6.
No. 20 Cherry Creek travelled to the Western Slope last Tuesday and got a big win over No. 13 Fruita Monument at Canyon View Park in Grand Junction. Final score was 4-1. Next, Creek faced 4th-seeded Heritage on May 12. The Bruins fell to the Eagles in a tight, 2-0 shutout. Creek finishes its season at 10-7.
Round 1 also ended early for the 22nd-seeded Cherokee Trail Cougars, who were on the road in Fort Collins to play No. 11 Rocky Mountain at French Field. The Cougars fell to the Lobos by the score of 2-1, ending their 2023 season at 10-6.
Boys lacrosse photo courtesy of Theodore A. Stark.
Posted 5/15/2023.
