Column: Colorado prep sports mark 95th year
The Aspen Times
No. 95.
This fall, Colorado high school sports begin their 95th year of official, sanctioned competition.
There were high school games and matches before 1921 — mostly regional contests, such as the state’s oldest high school football rivalry: Delta versus Montrose.
But in May 1921, a group of school superintendents and principals met in Boulder and organized the first Colorado High School Athletic Conference.
The group was formed to regulate and develop interscholastic athletic programs.
There were nine leagues initially in Colorado: Northern, North Central, Western Slope, Suburban, Southeastern, Arkansas Valley, South Central and San Juan Basin.
Colorado’s first official state champions that year:
Colorado Springs in football.
Greeley in basketball.
Fort Collins in track and field.
In 1924, the Colorado organization went national with the National Federation of State High School Associations. And CHSAA was born; the Colorado High School Activities Association.
In Colorado football this year, the reigning state champs are:
1A Paonia
2A Brush
3A Pueblo East
4A Pine Creek (Colorado Springs)
5A Cherry Creek (Englewood)
Sporting quotes
“On Independence Pass, it was not easy to breathe.”
— Czech cyclist Roman Kreuzinger, winner of a stage of the USA Pro Challenge.
“At the top of all of the passes, I was cross-eyed.”
— French cyclist Laurent Didier on the USA Pro Challenge in Colorado.
“It’s about knowing how to suffer.”
— USA Pro Challenge winner Rohan Dennis of Australia.
The list
Back by popular demand, the ever-growing list of folks who’ve passed me recently on my bike:
Coryn Rivera
Abby Mickey
Gabe
Andrea Quarenghi
Storm Silich
Evergreen Cycling Club
Mikey
Tejay van Garderen’s father-in-law
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Colorado Classic cancels the 2021 race because of COVID, hopes for 2022 return
The canceled 2020 race would have been the fourth running of the Colorado Classic, which each year has included stages in Colorado’s mountain towns before finishing with a final stage in the heart of downtown Denver. Snowmass had been scheduled to host a stage last summer for the first time.
