5A Boys State Tennis: Cherry Creek takes three doubles titles
The Cherry Creek High School boys tennis team sent players in all seven individual events to the 5A Boys State Tennis Championships, held Oct. 12 at Denver City Park. When all was said and done, the Bruins took state titles in three doubles events. Several Bruins will continue play in the team championship against Regis Jesuit on Oct. 18 at Denver Tennis Center.
In 1 Doubles, the team of seniors Kris Kostadinov and Matthew Hu had a straight sets victory over Regis Jesuit’s Agustin Azcui and Brady Jenkins, winning 6-3, 6-4.
“It feels great,” Kostadinov said. “Great to win for our school. Just really excited to play them again on Tuesday, and see what happens then.”
Creek’s Matthew Hu agreed.
“Feels amazing to win for Creek and definitely win with my partner,” Hu said. “We’ve know each other for a long time, and it’s been a journey. Since it’s my last year, it feels great to end on a win, and it’s not over yet, we still have to win on Tuesday.”
3 Doubles saw Bruins’ senior Colin Brown and sophomore Tyson Hardy edge Regis Jesuit’s Adam Rydel and Kevin Solichein (7-6 [8-6], 6-3) to take home the state title.
“Feels great,” Hardy said. “It was tough match, in the first set especially. I guess I just relaxed more in the second set and got my first serves in.”
The Bruins’ duo had to take an 8-6 tiebreaker in the first set.
“Our plan was to be aggressive at the net,” Brown said. “We then get our first serves in, which helped a lot.”
Finally, in 4 Doubles, Cherry Creek junior Wills Possehl and sophomore Adam Eikenberner had to overcome a very tough second set to defeat Valor Christian’s James Van Winkle and senior Aidan Case (6-1, 7-6 [8-6]) to get the straight sets victory. After cruising 6-1 in the first set, the Creek tandem had a 5-2 lead in the second set. Then, things abruptly changed.
“We won that first set pretty easily,” Eikelberner said. “That second set, we got up big, we could taste it, but they just kept fighting and really came back on us, so we had to keep going and find it in us. We got down 5-6 after being up 5-2, got it to 6 all, got down in the tiebreaker 1-5, but just kept fighting.
Possehl said he and his partner had to battle through the adversity of that second set.
“We were playing super well, playing our game and they (Valor Christian) came back,” he said. “But we fought and stayed with it, especially in the tiebreaker, as we went down 1-5 and we found a way to win.”
Bruins Head Coach Art Quinn was very pleased with the way his doubles players performed.
“It was a great effort by all participants,” he said. “Really nice stuff for the players who had gone up and down with all of the travails and adversity that go along with being a student athlete. These doubles performances were special, and hopefully players are able to bring this up for the rest of this year and inspire them to move forward.”
Grandview sophomore Justin Son battled his way to the final in No. 1 Singles last week, only to come up short against Broomfield senior Kai Trujillo in straight sets (6-2, 6-3). It was only the second loss of the season for the young Wolves player, as he defeated sophomore opponents from Pine Creek, Arapahoe, and Regis on his way to the final.
See the complete brackets and results here.
Congratulations to Grandview’s Justin Son and Creeks’ doubles teams, and good luck to the Bruins in the team championship!
Girls State Flag Football: Cherry Creek takes second place at state
The Cherry Creek Blue flag football team was the only qualifier from the district to appear at the Girls High School Flag Football State Championships last Saturday. The event, hosted by the Denver Broncos, was held at the Pat Bowlen Fieldhouse in Dove Valley.
The Bruins went 3-1 on the day, getting wins over Mountain Vista and Legend before defeating Ralston Valley 19-18 in the semifinal contest. The championship game saw the Bruins falling to State Champion Arvada West 34-14.
Co-Head Coach David Knoeckel’s club finishes the season at 19 -3.
“It was awesome,” Knoeckel said. “We had more girls show up, we improved everywhere, and just had a great time together, making it to the championship. Obviously, it didn’t end the way we wanted it to, but I think you have to view getting to a championship game as a pretty successful season.”
Flag football has had huge growth in the last year, with more than 70 teams playing from six school districts across the metro area.
5A State Softball: CTHS, EHS, and GHS advance to state
Softball clubs from Cherokee Trail, Eaglecrest, and Grandview high schools are headed to the State Championships on Oct. 20-21 at Aurora Sports Park after getting through Site play in venues across the metro area.
In Site 1 play at Arvada West last Friday, 16th-seeded Eaglecrest got two consecutive wins to take the top spot in the regional. The Raptors took down No. 17 Heritage 11-2, and then upset the overall No. 1 seeded Wildcats in a thrilling pitching duel. Final score 2-1.
Site 7 at ThunderRidge High School saw No. 10 Cherokee Trail take out 23rd-seeded Legacy, 12-2, in Friday’s first game. The Cougars then fell to the host and 7th-seeded Grizzlies 8-2. On Oct. 14, CT defeated No. 23 Legacy by a score of 14-6 to advance out of the consolation round.
No. 26 Cherry Creek lost on Friday, 8-0 to ThunderRidge and were eliminated by Legacy, 9-6, on Saturday.
9th-seeded Grandview also needed wins in both rounds at Site 8 play at Broomfield High School on Oct. 14. The Wolves defeated No. 24 Fort Collins 12-5, but lost the second contest to the host Eagles 5-1. On to the consolation round later Saturday, as the Wolves got through by downing No. 25 Arapahoe 11-4 to advance in the state tourney next weekend.
The 5A State softball brackets were announced on Monday morning.
See the bracket and seeding here.
5A Football: Regular season for district clubs is winding down
CCSD football teams are getting ready for the playoffs which are just a few weeks away.
Cherry Creek stayed a perfect 8-0 last Friday as they shut out a good Eaglecrest team 21-0. The Bruins got all their scores on the ground, as senior Jordan Herron got to the end zone twice, and junior Caleb Llamas also rushed for a touchdown. The Creek defense kept the potent Raptor offense off the board in the first half, going to the break leading 14-0. Cherry Creek added a third touchdown in the third quarter, and the Bruins defense continued the shutdown of Eaglecrest in the win.
Next, the Bruins are in a showdown with 7-1 Arapahoe at 7 p.m. on Oct. 20 at the Stutler Bowl. Eaglecrest (6-2) hosts Smoky Hill at 7 p.m. on Oct. 19 at Legacy Stadium.
Grandview defeated the Buffaloes on the road at Stutler on Friday evening, winning 41-8. The Wolves led the contest 41-0 at the halftime break. Senior Liam Szarka had another solid outing for GHS, throwing three touchdowns – two to junior Dominic Henning – and running for a score. Junior Donavon Vernon and sophomore Chris Blanks also ran for touchdowns in the win. Smoky’s Elijah Sims threw a touchdown for the Buffs' only points of the evening.
Next, the Wolves (6-2) are at Cherokee Trail for a 7 p.m. tilt next Thursday at Legacy Stadium. Smoky Hill (1-7) will face Eaglecrest at 7 p.m. on Oct. 19 at Legacy.
The Cougars fell to 3-5 on the campaign, losing to Arapahoe 56-7 on Oct. 12 at Littleton Public Schools Stadium. Cougars junior Tyson Smith rushed for a touchdown for CT’s only points in the loss. Cherokee Trail hosts Grandview next Friday for a 7 p.m. contest at Legacy Stadium.
Overland is 4-4 after falling to Denver East in a 5A Metro North Conference game last Friday. The final score at All-City Stadium was 24-6 Angels. The Blazers’ Jarrius Ward scored the lone Overland touchdown on the night, a 2-yard plunge into the end zone in the fourth quarter.
Next, the Traiblazers face Mountain Range at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 19 at North Stadium in Westminster.
Posted 10/16/2023.
