Preps: Aspen boys lacrosse earns No. 1 seed, girls No. 8 as brackets released
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times
Playoffs? Yes, let’s talk about playoffs.
The postseason brackets were announced on Sunday for both boys and girls lacrosse, as well as girls soccer, with local teams receiving good and bad news. Shall we dive in?
Boys lacrosse
Following its historic undefeated run through the regular season, Aspen boys lacrosse earned the No. 1 overall seed in the 24-team Class 4A state tournament and will be one of eight teams with a first-round bye. The Skiers await either No. 16 Green Mountain (7-8) or No. 17 Glenwood Springs (7-7), with that game scheduled for Friday on the AHS turf. A time was not yet available. First-round games are slated for Tuesday.
The Skiers were the only team in 4A to finish undefeated, going 14-0 with Thursday’s 8-7 overtime game at Steamboat Springs the latest win. Should the Demons prevail in their first-round game, AHS did win 14-1 earlier this season in Glenwood. Aspen hasn’t played Green Mountain in recent years.
Dakota Ridge is the No. 2 seed, followed by No. 3 Evergreen and No. 4 Air Academy. Possible quarterfinal matchups for the Skiers include No. 8 Grand Junction, No. 9 Steamboat Springs, or No. 24 Conifer. Vail Mountain is the No. 14 seed (vs. No. 19 Windsor), and Battle Mountain is No. 11 (vs. No. 22 Durango).
Girls lacrosse
Aspen girls lacrosse safely made the 24-team state tournament in 4A and will be the No. 8 seed. By being among the top eight seeds, AHS (10-5 overall) will have a first-round bye and host either No. 9 Durango (10-3) or No. 24 St. Mary’s Academy (5-9) in the second round on Thursday. A time was not yet available. The first-round games are Tuesday.
As the No. 7 seed, Roaring Fork (11-4) will also get a first-round bye. The Rams await either No. 10 Mullen (9-5) or No. 23 Liberty (2-13) in their second-round home game on Thursday. RFHS did host Mullen earlier this spring, winning 19-12 on April 5.
Evergreen is the No. 1 seed in 4A, followed by No. 2 Green Mountain and No. 3 Battle Mountain; Steamboat Springs is No. 6.
Girls soccer
The season continues for Roaring Fork soccer (7-5-3) as the Rams were awarded the No. 19 seed in the 3A state tournament and will play at No. 14 Montezuma-Cortez (9-1-3) in the first round on Thursday. The winner advances to play either No. 3 Delta or No. 30 Elizabeth in the second round on Saturday.
Missing from the 32-team field are both Aspen and Basalt. The final seeding data ranked AHS (7-6-1) at No. 33 in 3A, making them the first team left out. BHS (3-9-3) finished at No. 43.
Colorado Academy earned the No. 1 seed, followed by No. 2 Kent Denver. Vail Mountain is No. 13 (vs. No. 20 Alameda) and Steamboat Springs is No. 16 (vs. No. 17 Englewood).
Glenwood Springs did not make the 4A postseason field, finishing 3-12.
Girls tennis
Following regionals last week in Grand Junction, Aspen girls tennis will send one singles player and two doubles teams to the 3A state tournament, held Thursday through Saturday in Colorado Springs.
At No. 3 singles, AHS freshman Olivia Mandelblatt finished second to Vail Christian’s Heidi Iverson, with the top two per flight at regionals making state. Joining Mandelblatt at state will be the No. 3 doubles team of Anna Dangler and Quintessa Frisch, who took second at regionals, and the No. 4 doubles team of Grace Gallagher and Luna Murray, who were regional champs.
Aspen does not have any state alternates (must have finished third at regionals). Basalt did not have any state qualifiers or alternates.
Glenwood Springs did have a state qualifier in senior Amanda Madden, who was second at No. 1 singles at regionals. Demon junior Grace Sims will be a state alternate at No. 2 singles.
Baseball
The regular season isn’t quite over for baseball.
Aspen is 7-12 overall following Saturday’s doubleheader split with Gunnison. AHS plays on Wednesday at Roaring Fork before the Rams make the return trip on Saturday.
RFHS is 6-14 overall following a doubleheader sweep of Moffat County on Saturday.
Basalt is 9-9 overall after losing twice at Delta on Saturday. The Longhorns host Glenwood Springs (14-5) on Wednesday.
Only 32 teams will qualify for regional play, with the top eight seeds hosting. As of Sunday afternoon, BHS was No. 23 in the CHSAA seeding index, Roaring Fork was No. 31, and Aspen was No. 35 in 3A; Coal Ridge (17-2-1) was No. 3.
Girls golf
Aspen girls golf competed on Wednesday at Eagle Ranch Golf Course. Individually, AHS senior Lenna Persson was second, shooting 11-over 83 to finish six strokes back of Battle Mountain junior Makena Thayer. Junior Josie Cole was next best for the Skiers, finishing 11th with 103.
This week’s schedule includes a trip to Tiara Rado in Grand Junction on Tuesday. The regional tournament is scheduled for next Monday, May 12, at RainDance National in Windsor. The Skiers are competing in the newly created 2A classification this spring.
Track and field
Area track and field teams competed on Friday and Saturday at the WSL/SWL league championships at Stocker Stadium in Grand Junction — the last big hurrah before state.
Coal Ridge won both the boys and girls 3A Western Slope League titles, while Basalt was fourth for both. Aspen was seventh (girls) and sixth (boys), while Roaring Fork was sixth (girls) and seventh (boys). The Glenwood boys were second in 4A.
Of note in finals, Basalt’s Jared Tennenbaum won the 3A WSL boys 300-meter hurdles in 39.03 seconds, which is a new school record. His teammate, Lorenzo Salazar-Tedin, was second in 41.14. The duo also finished 1-2 in the 110-meter hurdles, Tennenbaum winning in 15.29.
The BHS boys 4×400-meter relay team won the 3A WSL race in 3:32.29. That team consisted of Dylan Johnston, Mik Levy, Tennenbaum, and Salazar-Tedin.
Basalt junior Towler Scott was fifth in the boys 3200-meter run in 10 minutes, 4.8 seconds, and he was sixth in the 1600-meter run in 4:34.95. BHS freshman Max Rooding snagged fourth in the boys triple jump (37-7.75) and AHS sophomore Yale Gieszl was fourth in the boys discus (119-08).
Basalt’s Sidney Barill was fourth in the girls 100-meter hurdles (17.63).
State track is scheduled for May 15-17 in Lakewood. A full list of state qualifiers is expected out next week, after this weekend’s last-chance qualifiers.
Preps: Aspen boys lacrosse earns No. 1 seed, girls No. 8 as brackets released
The postseason brackets were announced Sunday for both boys and girls lacrosse, as well as girls soccer, with local teams receiving good and bad news.
New Colorado gun law triggers response in Pitkin County, Basalt
Colorado’s new law introduces sweeping restrictions on the manufacture, sale, and ownership of certain semiautomatic firearms and devices designed to increase firing speed.
