Metro rides quick start to win over Mesa

DENVER — Coming into Auraria Event Center on Friday evening, the Colorado Mesa University men’s basketball team needed the hot hand early in order to hang with No. 4 Metro State. The Mavericks also had to hope the Roadrunners weren’t playing at their best, but less than five minutes into the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Shootout semifinal it was apparent this would be Metro State’s night. The regular-season champions knocked down their first six attempts from ...

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Second-half run by Regis dooms Tigers

AURORA — With a little more than three minutes remaining in the third quarter Wednesday evening, Grand Junction High School’s boys basketball team had to be feeling good about how things were developing in the Sweet 16 of the Class 5A state playoffs. The Tigers only trailed host Regis Jesuit by five points and were within striking distance of the region’s top seed. Unfortunately for Grand Junction, a seemingly innocent basket from Raiders standout guard Josh Perkins ...

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Fruita girls routed by Arapahoe

CENTENNIAL — It didn’t take very long Tuesday for Fruita Monument High School’s girls basketball team to realize it was in for a tough evening. Facing top-seeded Arapahoe on its own floor, the Wildcats got off to a slow start in the Class 5A Sweet 16 state playoff and never recovered. The Warriors used a stifling full-court press to force 10 turnovers in the first quarter, and Fruita Monument didn’t connect for a field goal until the final two minutes of the first ...

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Hannigan wins first crown for ‘Dogs in 10 years

DENVER — For the first time in a decade, a member of Palisade High School’s wrestling team is coming back to the Western Slope with a state championship. Junior Dalton Hannigan became the first Bulldog to earn state glory since Travis Bounds in 2003 on Saturday night at the Pepsi Center. Hannigan dominated the Class 4A title match at 126 pounds from the get-go, using four takedowns and a near fall to post a 12-4 major decision over Cheyenne Mountain’s Bobby ...

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Second-place
 finish is a ‘blessing’ for Jacob Solseth

DENVER — Given where Jacob Solseth was only a few months ago, standing on the podium Saturday evening at the Pepsi Center was a moment to cherish. The Olathe High School senior was obviously feeling the sting of a one-point loss in the Class 3A 132-pound championship match, but he wasn’t so devastated that he couldn’t appreciate just how far he has come. “I’m definitely glad to be here. It’s definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Solseth ...

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Determination

DENVER — Even with a bloody nose that twice forced a stoppage in the Class 4A state semifinals, Palisade junior Dalton Hannigan persevered to earn a shot at his first state wrestling title. Hannigan survived a tense third-period battle with Fort Morgan’s Ian Wingstrom on Friday evening in the 126-pound semis, taking a 5-4 victory at the Pepsi Center to advance into tonight’s championship finals. The junior faces Cheyenne Mountain’s Bobby Amond, hoping to become the ...

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Hotchkiss seniors Head, Boyle one win from glory

DENVER — In a span of only three matches, Hotchkiss senior Jesse Head has done away with the role of underdog and developed into one of the most dominating performers at the state wrestling tournament. Head has spent a grand total of two minutes, 27 seconds on the mat through the first two days at the Pepsi Center, storming into the Class 3A state finals tonight at 138 pounds. On Friday morning Head pinned defending state champion Jared Mestas in the first period, and he followed ...

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Rohrig gives Bears a lift on opening night

DENVER — It can’t always be easy trying to follow in the footsteps of a state champion, especially when that man is your father. But for Rifle junior Dallas Rohrig, having a champion to look up to has only heightened his own wrestling career. “He’s been there, done that,” Rohrig said of his father, Bo, who won his title for Rifle back in 1990. “It’s a big help.” The younger Rohrig took a big step of his own Thursday evening in the first ...

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Mavs fall to Mines in RMAC

GOLDEN — Colorado Mesa University’s volleyball team came into Tuesday night’s RMAC tournament contest at No. 12 Colorado School of Mines playing with nothing to lose. It showed in the first set of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference quarterfinal, as the eighth-seeded Mavericks led 21-20, forcing top-seeded CSM to call a timeout. That’s when the momentum shifted. Mines senior Jackie Stabell started a five-point swing with a thunderous kill, and the Orediggers ...

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Mullen rallies to push way past Montrose

DENVER — For a No. 13 seed that had traveled close to six hours, Montrose’s boys soccer team looked nothing like an underdog Saturday morning. The Indians jumped on top of Mullen early, and even after giving up a pair of goals to fall behind, Montrose never allowed the Mustangs to pull away in the second round of the CHSAA Class 4A state playoffs. The Mustangs eventually came away with the 2-1 victory, but Montrose coach Jim Pavlich found no fault in his players when it came to ...

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Mullen edges Montrose in 4A boys soccer playoff

The Montrose High School boys soccer team scored first, but Mullen came back to defeat the Indians 2-1 in their second-round game of the CHSAA 4A state playoffs today in Denver. Montrose finished the season 10-6-1, while fourth-seeded Mullen improved to 9-5-3 and advanced to the state quarterfinals. Read more about the game in Sunday’s Daily Sentinel or at GJSentinel.com.  ...

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Grand Junction unable to rally on the road

ARVADA — The last time Grand Junction’s football team tasted defeat in the regular season, it was in 2010, when the Tigers lost to Highlands Ranch in their season opener. More than two years had passed since then as Grand Junction rattled off 20 consecutive regular-season victories. Hitting the road Friday for the first time this season, the Tigers saw that run come to an end thanks to a smash-mouth Ralston Valley rushing attack and a pair of big plays on special teams. The ...

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Skipper shuts down Tigers in districts

LITTLETON – At 6-foot-11, Ralston Valley High School junior Daniel Skipper has a tendency to tower above the competition on the baseball diamond. When Skipper is on the mound, he’s even more imposing. Still, the right-hander hadn’t quite put it all together this spring — until Saturday afternoon. Facing Grand Junction in the Class 5A District 3 tournament at Columbine High School, Skipper hurled seven shutout innings of five-hit baseball as the Mustangs took a 2-0 ...

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Grand Junction qualifies five wrestlers for state

WESTMINSTER — In Dylan Reed’s eyes, the pressure was off going into Saturday night’s 215-pound regional title match. The Grand Junction senior had already accomplished the hard part, forging his way into the Class 5A state wrestling tournament for the first time. His finals match against Lakewood’s Joey Garcia was simply the icing on the cake. Reed used four takedowns to take care of Garcia, winning his first regional title by a 9-3 decision. Teammates Dylon ...

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Olathe tops Faith Christian to advance to Class 2A football semifinals

ARVADA — Two years ago, en route to the first state football championship in school history, Olathe High School held off Faith Christian Academy in the Class 2A state semifinals. One week later, the Pirates topped Erie to win the state title. Now Olathe is hoping history will repeat itself. Thanks to a defense that forced four turnovers and an offense that came to life in the second half, the Pirates rallied for a 14-11 victory over Faith Christian on Saturday in the quarterfinals ...

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Career capped: Reed ends run at Paonia with three state titles

LAKEWOOD — With less than 200 meters remaining in the girls 1,600-meter run Saturday morning, Paonia senior Johanna Reed was so far out in front of the pack that the public address announcer at Jeffco Stadium encouraged the crowd to pump up the volume as Reed made her way to the finish line. “I could hear that. It was kind of funny,” Reed said with a laugh. “I was just trying to focus and finish up the race as hard as I could.” She did exactly that, ...

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Clearing the bar: Delta high jumpers fine with second-, third-place finishes

LAKEWOOD — It wasn’t quite the finish that either Clinton Botts or Phillip Decker envisioned, but the Delta High School seniors came away from the Class 4A state track and field meet with a sense of accomplishment. The Panthers were able to stand near the top of the podium after the conclusion of the boys high jump Thursday morning at Jeffco Stadium. Botts took second and Decker tied for third in the event, which was won by Golden’s Trevor Evanson. The Demons’ ...

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Pirates make waves: Seven Olathe wrestlers advance to Class 3A quarterfinals

DENVER — If the Olathe High School wrestling team goes on to capture the Class 3A state championship, the Pirates can point to matches like Kyle Piatt’s first-round contest as difference-makers. The Olathe junior was one of seven Pirates to post a victory on the first day of the state tournament Thursday afternoon at the Pepsi Center. Piatt was leading 14-0 in the 152-pound match and had a technical fall if he wanted it, but kept battling until he was able to pin Discovery ...

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High school wrestling’s big tourney a real treat for Wildcats

BROOMFIELD — Jim Stockert likes to tell his Fruita Monument High School wrestling squad that the state tournament is an experience to remember. With three of the Wildcats’ four state qualifiers headed to the Class 5A state tournament for the first time, they’ll get their chance to discover what the biggest weekend of the year in prep wrestling is all about. The tournament gets under way Thursday at the Pepsi Center in Denver. Fruita Monument placed fourth in the 5A ...

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Mines ends Mavs’ soccer season in overtime

ARVADA — The Mesa State College women’s soccer team knew that in order to advance in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament, the Mavericks couldn’t allow Colorado School of Mines standout Kayla Mitchell to be the one to beat them. The conference’s second-leading scorer had 21 goals going into Wednesday’s quarterfinal game at Long Lake Ranch Park, and the junior made it 22 goals on the season with a late score that forced overtime. Mesa State ...

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Hotchkiss wins 3A soccer title

GOLDEN — It was only fitting on a night when the theme of change reigned supreme in the nation, there was a changing of the guard in Colorado high school boys soccer. Hotchkiss High School shocked the Class 3A ranks Tuesday evening, capping an unbeaten season with a game to remember. Manuel Ramirez scored the game’s only goal in the 25th minute of the first half and the Bulldogs’ defense withstood a furious charge from Colorado Academy for the 1-0 victory in the 3A state ...

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