Girls just want to have fun: Aspen lacrosse handles Summit in opener as promising season begins
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
Is it possible to both have fun and win? The Aspen High School girls lacrosse team seems determined to find out this spring.
“We want to have fun. We have swagger this year, and we are all having a good time, and the team camaraderie is really good, and the overall morale is really high,” AHS senior Haley Schmela said. “Especially for the seniors, we have such a good group of seniors, and we just want to give it one last shot. Everything we got.”
The upbeat Skiers opened their season on Thursday night, beating Summit 23-3 on the AHS turf. After a somewhat sleepy start, AHS turned it on and faced little resistance from the Tigers through most of the contest.
Kaely Wolf is back for her second season as the team’s head coach, with former head coach Amanda Trendell again serving as the assistant.
“We feel really good this year. The attitude is really good. I know the girls talked about having fun, which is obviously very high on the priority list,” Wolf said. “The first 12 minutes, I think everyone was a little anxious, a little nervous to get out there. But we are psyched with how the rest of the game went, and we ultimately did what we wanted to do, which was win.”
Aspen is coming off an 11-6 campaign in 2024, which included a 6-4 mark in league play. AHS made the 24-team playoff in Class 4A as the No. 10 seed, beating No. 23 Telluride in the first round, 11-9. The season ended in the second round with a 20-9 loss to No. 7 Green Mountain.
No. 2 Evergreen beat No. 1 Mead in the 4A title game last spring, 11-10.
“We are feeling really confident right now. We’ve been working hard, so overall we are just super excited to bring it to the field and see what we can do together,” AHS senior Darienne Kenny said after Thursday’s win. “We don’t know what the other team is going to bring, so we really just want to see what we can do together, and we think it’s going to be something really special.”
-
Aspen High School girls lacrosse freshman Devon Ryan, left, brings the ball upfield against Summit on Thursday, March 13, 2025, on the AHS turf.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
-
Aspen High School girls lacrosse player Katherine Hicks brings the ball upfield against Summit on Thursday, March 13, 2025, on the AHS turf.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
-
Aspen High School girls lacrosse coach Kaely Wolf talks to the players after beating Summit on Thursday, March 13, 2025, on the AHS turf.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
-
-
Aspen High School girls lacrosse senior Darienne Kenny brings the ball upfield against Summit on Thursday, March 13, 2025, on the AHS turf. The Skiers rolled to a 23-3 win in what was their season opener.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
-
Players race upfield as Aspen High School girls lacrosse hosts Summit on Thursday, March 13, 2025, on the AHS turf.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
-
Aspen High School girls lacrosse player Gigi Trani, left, looks to pass against Summit on Thursday, March 13, 2025, on the AHS turf.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
-
The Summit High School girls lacrosse team huddles during halftime against Aspen on Thursday, March 13, 2025, on the AHS turf.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
-
Aspen High School girls lacrosse player Darienne Kenny brings the ball upfield against Summit on Thursday, March 13, 2025, on the AHS turf.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
-
Aspen High School girls lacrosse player Gigi Trani brings the ball upfield against Summit on Thursday, March 13, 2025, on the AHS turf.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
-
Aspen High School girls lacrosse player Lindsay Waldeck, right, brings the ball upfield against Summit on Thursday, March 13, 2025, on the AHS turf.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
-
Aspen High School girls lacrosse player Haley Schmela, center, eyes a shot against Summit on Thursday, March 13, 2025, on the AHS turf.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
-
The Aspen High School girls lacrosse team plays Summit on Thursday, March 13, 2025, on the AHS turf.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
-
Players battle for the draw as Aspen High School girls lacrosse hosts Summit on Thursday, March 13, 2025, on the AHS turf.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
-
Players battle for a loose ball as Aspen High School girls lacrosse hosts Summit on Thursday, March 13, 2025, on the AHS turf.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
-
Aspen High School girls lacrosse player Haley Schmela brings the ball upfield against Summit on Thursday, March 13, 2025, on the AHS turf.
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
Weather permitting, the Skiers (1-0) plan to be back at it on Saturday afternoon when Steamboat Springs comes to town. First draw is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on the AHS turf.
The Sailors are 1-1 after beating Roaring Fork in their March 8 opener, 10-8, and losing to Battle Mountain on Wednesday, 12-11. Aspen and Steamboat played twice within six days early last spring, AHS winning both by scores of 11-8 and 15-7.
“It’s a really, really talented senior class. We are really lucky. Coach Amanda and I think they can go really far this year,” Wolf said. “We think the attitude is there. The effort is there. These last two weeks, they have been working really hard. Last weekend, we had scrimmages in Denver. They showed up, they played well. We have really high hopes for this season and for this group in particular.”
Summit dropped to 2-1 on the season after beating Pueblo West (7-5) and Eagle Valley (14-1) in its first two games.
New state bill to ‘streamline’ Roaring Fork Valley modular home construction
New Colorado state legislation will reduce the requirements for modular home construction.
Staple Snowmass store to close as owner retires
Since the 1970s, Sherry Flack and her retail businesses have been a recognizable part of Aspen and Snowmass. Now, after half a century, Flack has made the decision to retire.
