Deep breath: 5 immediate takeaways from the spring season

The high school spring season officially ended for all local teams on Friday when Holy Family was eliminated by Golden in the Class 4A baseball tournament in Colorado Springs. So what did we learn?

The Boulder, Broomfield and Longmont areas had a total of four team titles in this last sports session of the 2022-23 school year. That doesn’t account for the more than 40 individual titles claimed by local kids, including 29 in track and field alone.

Looking back on these last three months, here are a few of the biggest takeaways.

Local spring champs probably not done yet

The Niwot girls’ track and field team is already a running — and fielding? — dynasty. It won its fourth straight team title — and while the Cougars now graduate multiple gold medal winners in Kimora Northup and Madison Shults, they have a mesh of returning talent. Addison Ritzenhein, the cross country runner-up and 3,200-meter-run champ, will be just a sophomore next year.

Track and field: Niwot girls dominate 4A competition, boys place 3rd

Then there’s Erie’s girls golf team. Nobody in Class 4A was close to the Tigers as they won their second straight title going away. If there was an underground high school betting circuit that released odds for next season, they’d be huge favorites, too. 2022 champ Hadley Ashton is back for two more years. 2023 champ Logan Hale will look to repeat as a senior in 2024.

Halestorm: Erie’s Logan Hale propels Tigers to back-to-back golf titles

Mead, meanwhile, won in its inaugural year as a girls lacrosse program. Teams along the way did their darndest to contain Michigan commit Allie Hartman, mostly to no avail. And even though she is now gone, a star like Lucy Connors, who scored eight times in the 4A final, is among those returning.

“We did it”: Mead wins 4A girls lax champ in its inaugural season

Jefferson Academy reached the 3A girls soccer final for a fourth time in five seasons, winning its second title in program history. The Jags graduate stars like Kate Runyon and Allie Jo Kirkpatrick but get another year from 2023 32-goal scorer Gianna Gagliano.

Girls soccer: Jefferson Academy dominates its way to a 3A state crown

May never see a baseball season like Dawson’s Ashtin Gilio’s 2023

The Georgetown commit finished with the 14th-best batting average in a high school season, per MaxPreps’ record books. Names he went ahead of include current Detroit Tigers slugger Javier Baez and Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona.

He hit .784. Baseball, of course, usually isn’t that easy.

He walked 30 times, many intentionally. And he didn’t strike out in 72 plate appearances.

 

Not the last we’ve heard of Mead’s Tavon Underwood

The Mavericks track star is headed to Kansas State. Then, who knows where the heights of his talents could take him.

Good bet: He’s getting there fast.

At the state meet, he posted the fastest time in Colorado prep history in the 400 at 45.36 seconds. It was the fastest 400 run by a high schooler in the nation — and that’s at altitude.

He also set the 4A meet record in the 200 at 20.93 and took gold in the 800 (1:51.97).

Track and field: Mead’s Tavon Underwood smashes records in prep finale

Girls tennis’ top individual prize retained by local talent

Cherry Creek won its 39th team title in the spring, but the top individual prize in the sport, the 5A No. 1 singles title, went to a local player for a third straight season.

After two straight titles from Boulder’s Lily Chitambar, Fairview junior Quinn Bernthal rallied to beat Cherry Creek’s Lorena Cedeno in three sets. She’ll have a chance to go for a repeat bid in 2024.

Triple crown: Fairview girls tennis nabs 5A state titles at 1 singles, 1 doubles and 2 doubles

Girls soccer scene bids farewell to star senior class

Broomfield coach Jim Davidson said he had one of the most talented senior classes in program history headed into this spring season. And perhaps he wasn’t alone in that sentiment around town.

After the Eagles’ quarterfinals loss to eventual champ ThunderRidge, Davidson called star midfielder Reagan Kotschau the best player he’s ever coached. High praise from a coach that has sent talent out in waves. Kotschau is headed to Washington State.

Girls soccer: Broomfield finds the right touch, beats Valor Christian

Broomfield wasn’t alone. Fairview and Legacy graduate scoring sensations Claire Silverman and Kendall Rippley. Silverman was a magnet for the biggest moments, the postseason especially, and finished with 43 goals in her career for the Knights. Rippley, the Front Range League player of the year, finished her career with 67 goals.

Then there’s the lone area champ in Jefferson Academy, which sailed through the 3A competition led by Tennessee-bound Runyon and fellow-senior Kirkpatrick. Runyon scored twice in the 3A final, Kirkpatrick once.

Prospect Ridge Academy, meanwhile, loses Kateri Trujillo, who led the Miners to the quarterfinals in 2023 and finished her career with 62 goals and 52 assists.

Girls soccer: Trujillo, Prospect Ridge Academy highlight battle-tested Metro League

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