5A State Baseball: Cherokee Trail advances to Final Four
The Cherokee Trail High School baseball club advanced to the final weekend of the state tournament for the second year in a row.
The 25th-seeded Cougars won Region 8 on May 22 by taking down No. 8 Legend and No. 9 Pine Creek to get to the 2023 5A Colorado State Baseball Tournament. On May 26, CT took down the top-seeded and defending state champion Broomfield Eagles, winning a tight ballgame by a score of 5-4. Weather then took over at All-Star Park in Lakewood and moved games to the next day.
On May 27, Cherokee Trail and No. 5 Rock Canyon took the field at 8:30 a.m. The Cougars took their first loss of the tourney, falling to the Jaguars 7-2. The weather held and it was on to All-City Field for an elimination game against No. 6 Chaparral. The Cougars had a 3-1 lead in the top of the fourth, with the home-half interrupted by an hour-long lightning delay. When play resumed, CT scored three runs in both the fifth and sixth innings on the way to a 9-4 victory.
“It’s pretty surreal right now,” said Cougars Head Coach Jon Digiorgio. “I didn’t know if we’d be here honestly, and going back to the final four is an amazing feeling.”
Coach Digiorgio’s charges reached the final four last year, but came up short against Legacy on the final day of the tournament. Coach Digiorgio wants to go further in 2023.
“We’re going to give it everything we can to get to that final game and keep going,” he said.
The Cougars will take on No. 3 Regis Jesuit at 10 a.m. on Friday, June 2 at All-Star Park in Lakewood.
You can see the complete double-elimination bracket here.
Good luck to Cherokee Trail!
5A Girls State Golf: District sends teams to state
The Cherry Creek School District will be well represented in the 5A Girls State Golf Tournament on May 30 and 31 at Black Bear Golf Club in Parker. District golfers did very well in regional tournaments held last week.
On May 22, Cherokee Trail took top honors at the 5A Northern Regional at Flatirons Golf Course in Boulder. The Cougars foursome was led by sophomore Kaleigh Babineaux who shot a 4-under-par 66,-which led all golfers on the day, and sophomore Haylee Clark, who came in with a 75. CT’s state-qualifiying team was rounded out with senior Chunya Boonta’s 80 and senior Sofia Johancen-Walt’s 92. In individual play, Smoky Hill freshman Sophia Stiwich qualified for State with a 76.
On May 23, Grandview qualified its team for the upcoming state tournament, taking second in the team standings at the 5A Southern Regional at South Suburban Golf Course in Centennial. Junior Caroline Ryan led the Wolves with a 78, good for fourth overall, followed by senior Courtney Ladymon’s 86, senior Allie Arritola with a 92, and junior Kate Anderson coming in at 101.
On May 24, Central Region play took place at Pine Creek Golf Club in Colorado Springs. Cherry Creek was the top team, with junior Kate Cowser firing an 81, sophomore Caitlyn Chin an 82, freshman Tatum Platt an 85, and junior Cecelia Murray coming in at 93. Individually, Eaglecrest senior Savanna Becker shot a 77 to finish second overall in the field, earning her a third trip to state.
Congratulations to all CCSD golfers!
Boys Volleyball: All-State teams announced
All-State honorees were named by CHSAA.Now.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps on May 26. The Cherry Creek School District student athletes named include:
First Team:
Ayden Shaw – senior, Eaglecrest
Second Team:
Dennis Ancheta – senior, Eaglecrest
John Clinton – junior, Cherokee Trail
Honorable Mention:
Daniel Xiao – senior, Cherokee Trail
5A Boys Swimming and Diving: All-State teams named
Members of the All-State Swimming and Diving Teams were announced on May 25. Honorees were selected based on results from the State Championships. Congratulations to:
First Team:
Trevor Boodt – sophomore – 200 Medley Relay, Cherry Creek
Jason Fan – senior – 200 Medley Relay, Cherry Creek
Brodie Johnson – junior - 200 Medley Relay/100 Butterfly, Cherry Creek
Luke Ogren – sophomore – 1 Meter Diving, Cherry Creek
Zachary Reese – senior – 200 Medley Relay, Cherry Creek
Oliver Schimberg – sophomore – 100 Backstroke, Grandview
Second Team:
Jamie Crawford – sophomore – 400 Freestyle Relay, Cherry Creek
Colin Mikulecky – junior – 100 Freestyle/400 Freestyle Relay, Cherry Creek
Daniel Yi – junior – 100 Breaststroke, Smoky Hill
5A Girls Tennis: All-State teams announced
The 2023 All-State girls tennis teams were announced last Thursday. The honorees were based on State Tournament results.
Cherry Creek Head Coach Chris Jacob was named Coach of the Year. Her charges won the State Team Championship a few weeks back.
The Honorees:
Farrah Bendell – senior – 3 Doubles, Cherry Creek
Jisele Boker – junior – 3 Singles, Cherry Creek
Lorena Cedeño – senior – 1 Singles, Cherry Creek
Zoey Hao – sophomore – 4 Doubles, Cherry Creek
Julia Karlberg – junior – 4 Doubles, Cherry Creek
Karissa Manley – freshman - 3 Doubles, Cherry Creek
Anika Sharma – junior – 2 Singles, Cherry Creek
Girls Golf photo courtesy Courtney Oakes, Sentinel Colorado.
Posted 5/29/2023.
