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CCSD Athletics: Highlights from the week of Dec. 7, 2024
5A State Spirit: Cherokee Trail and Eaglecrest take titles
Three Cherry Creek Schools’ spirit squads earned the title of State Champions, and a fourth earned runner-up honors at the 2024 State Spirit Championships, held Dec. 12-14 at the Denver Coliseum.
Cherokee Trail took home the 4A/5A Game Day Cheer State Championship on Thursday, edging out Valor Christian. Cherry Creek placed fourth, and Smoky Hill eighth.
The Cougars had the added challenge of switching disciplines (from Cheer to Game Day Cheer) at the beginning of the season, but the results speak for themselves.
“It was a really fun experience, from jumping to that division, to watching my girls work really, really hard,” CT Head Coach Kelsey Goodson said. “Day in and day out, they always show up, willing to give their best. I think watching them buy in has been one of my favorite things because it is a different division, a different challenge, a different focus every single day. It was fun competing against some of the best in the state.”
Cherokee Trail also won the state title in the Dance Jazz division, beating runner-up Chaparral. It was the fourth time in six years the CTHS jazz team has taken home the first-place trophy. The Cougars last won in 2022.
“I’m happy to bring it back,” Head Coach Mia Brown said. “I am just super proud of my team. This season has presented its own challenges, and we were definitely off to a slow start. But the girls really tackled every challenge that they were presented, and slowly climbed and grew. I feel like we peaked at the right time.”
Eaglecrest won the Hip-Hop division for the fourth straight year, and the fifth in six years. Co-coaches Cayla Warneke and Mistelle Jimenez have been at the helm.
“The kids were so excited,” Jimenez said. “I don’t think any of us really expected it to happen, so we were pleasantly surprised and all the hard work we have been putting in has paid off, so that was pretty exciting.”
Coach Jimenez said trying to repeat at this level is a challenge all its own.
“We really thought our prelims performance was amazing, and I just think it’s hard for kids to go in having won three straight championships and have all that pressure on their backs,” she said. “We’ve been saying that ‘pressure is a privilege’, and they fully embraced that. We couldn’t have asked for anything better. Their mental strength during the weekend handling the pressure was there, and they didn’t let it show.”
Finally, the Cherry Creek Bruins team took home the State Runner-Up trophy in the Poms competition on Saturday. The Bruins came in second behind State Champion Rock Canyon. Grandview finished fourth.
The Cherry Creek School District has become one of the leaders in the state in spirit athletics.
“We’ve all put our time into these programs,” CTHS Jazz Coach Brown said. “We’ve learned from each year and have really grown, and all (district spirit programs) have done well developing, making changes, and taking risks.”
Congratulations to all the district spirit teams for a great showing at state!
State Esports: Cherokee Trail is the League of Legends Champion
The Cherokee Trail League of Legends team won the first Esports Championship in program history during the 2024 Fall Esports Championships. The in-person semifinals and finals in the three disciplines of Rocket League, League of Legends, and Splatoon 3, took place at Localhost Gaming Center in Lakewood.
The Cougars bested Ponderosa 2-0 to take home the League of Legends state title. The CTHS team of seniors Ethan Loi and Erick Drew, and juniors Alexander Galimov, Micah Stevens, and Michael Andrews, took home the hardware in the third, officially sanctioned League of Legends competition. Prior to that, CT defeated defending State Champion Cherry Creek in the semifinal round to reach the title match.
CCHS had teams competing in all three disciplines. In Rocket League play, the Bruins fell to eventual State Champion Denver East in semifinal play. In the first-ever CHSAA Splatoon competition, Creek fell to Lakewood in the semis, with Mountain Vista taking the inaugural first-place crown.
Congratulations to the Cherokee Trail and Cherry Creek Esports teams!
Posted 12/16/2024.