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  • Fossil Ridge aims to topple Valor Christian’s volleyball dynasty in Denver Coliseum

    The “what could have been” still stings.

    Two years ago, the Fossil Ridge SaberCats had dynastic Valor Christian in deep trouble. In the fifth and deciding set, Fossil Ridge led Valor 11-8 and was on the brink of a major upset. But the Eagles won seven of the last eight points to capture their second consecutive Class 5A state volleyball championship.

    Now, the SaberCats, stocked with college-bound talent, have a chance to avenge that loss when it matters most.

    The ‘Cats entered this year’s tournament with a 23-2 record and the No. 1 seed, having secured it with a four-set win over Valor on Oct. 14. The ‘Cats ended Valor’s run of 72 consecutive victories that dated all the way back to the 2021 state tournament.

    But Fossil Ridge’s streak-stopper won’t mean much if it doesn’t hoist the championship trophy on Saturday night at the Denver Coliseum.

    “We still look back on that loss (in 2023) and it sucks, it still hurts,” said Fossil Ridge senior and Wyoming commit Emery Johnson. “So this is a huge chance for us.”

    The SaberCats’ only two losses this fall came in an out-of-state tournament, and they had dropped only eight sets all season going into this weekend’s tournament. That number was still at eight after their second-round sweep of ninth-seed Pine Creek (25-9, 25-9, 25-18) on the first day of competition Thursday.

    But to win a championship, Fossil Ridge will likely have to topple mighty Valor in the finals. The second-seeded Eagles (22-2) are playing for history. Last year, they won their third consecutive state championship, becoming the first team to win three titles in a row in Colorado’s largest classification since Evergreen won eight straight titles from 1978 to 1985.

    “It’s a challenge for us,” first-year Fossil Ridge coach Kayla Afoa said. “Valor is a very well-coached team. They’re very gritty and they know they’re legit.”

    However, Afoa’s SaberCats feature a talented team that grew up playing together for the NORCO Volleyball Club, based in Loveland. Bringing some recognition to northern Colorado’s volleyball scene gives the players some extra incentive.

    “We want to show that northern Colorado volleyball is just as elite as Denver,” said 6-foot-5 senior middle blocker Olivia Ewing, who’s headed to Colorado State on a volleyball scholarship.

    Her older sister, Delaney, is a Fossil Ridge graduate who lost to Valor in that classic 2023 championship match. Delaney now plays for Florida State.

    This season’s Fossil Ridge team has five players who played in that excruciating loss to Valor in ’23: Senior libero Trinity Burchett, who’s headed to Colorado Mesa; senior outside hitter Alyssa Cottingham, who’s debating her college options; junior middle blocker Ella Wilson, who’s committed to Idaho State; and Johnson and Ewing.

    “It would just mean everything to win it this year,” Ewing said.

    Patrick Saunders

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  • Mountain Vista assistant coach ejected, suspended for role in sideline kerfuffle vs. Valor: What we know

    HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. — An assistant football coach at Mountain Vista High School has been suspended for his role in a sideline skirmish late in its win over Valor Christian Friday night, according to our media partners at The Denver Post.

    People affiliated with both Highlands Ranch schools have reached out to Denver7 since the incident, so we went looking for answers.

    Denver7 obtained two different angles of video showing the kerfuffle, which followed a game-sealing interception by Mountain Vista’s defense with about 30 seconds left in a 38-36 Mountain Vista win.

    One of those videos, taken by a spectator in the stands behind the Mountain Vista sideline, appears to show at least one Valor player being shoved at the tail end of the scuffle.

    Handout

    A broadcast angle shows the play that led up to the brawl. After a Hail Mary heave by Valor quarterback Dawson Olk was intercepted, the defensive back returned the ball about 30 yards back upfield. As he appears to be sliding out of bounds, Valor running back Chase Hanosh delivered a big hit to his head and shoulder area.

    Hanosh was flagged for a late hit on the play.

    A chaotic scene ensued, in which several Valor players were mixed in with a crowd of Mountain Vista players. The broadcast footage doesn’t appear to show the physical altercation in question.

    After a nearly four-minute stoppage of play, a referee announced that a Mountain Vista coach had been flagged for a “non-player foul” and ejected from the game for “hitting a player.”

    Mountain Vista’s head coach, Garrett Looney, told The Denver Post that the Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) had suspended assistant coach Dylan James for one game as a result of the incident.

    CHSAA didn’t comment on the incident to Denver7, but referred us to its bylaws, which state that a coach who has been ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct “shall be suspended from coaching for 10 percent of the season’s regularly scheduled matches,” automatically placed on probation and required to take some behavioral training courses.

    In a statement sent to Denver7 over the weekend, Valor Head of School Bryan Ritz called the coach’s behavior “unacceptable.”

    “No coach or adult should ever put their hands on a student,” the statement read in part. “Our community expects and deserves better from those entrusted with mentoring young people.”

    A Mountain Vista parent reached out to Denver7, saying the coach did nothing wrong.

    The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office told us an investigation into the incident is ongoing.

    If criminal charges aren’t filed, further discipline for the suspended coach would be decided by the athletic directors at Mountain Vista and the Douglas County School District, according to The Denver Post.

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    Denver7

    Denver7 | Your Voice: Get in touch with Adria Iraheta

    Denver7’s Adria Iraheta shares stories that have an impact in all of Colorado’s communities, but specializes in reporting on education and stories in Arapahoe County. If you’d like to get in touch with Adria, fill out the form below to send her an email.

    Landon Haaf

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  • Derrick White is cheering on his childhood basketball rival Wyndham Clark at BMW Championship

    Derrick White is cheering on his childhood basketball rival Wyndham Clark at BMW Championship

    CASTLE ROCK — Twenty years before they rekindled a friendship in Europe, the Euro step was a controversial subject between rivals Wyndham Clark and Derrick White.

    They played for opposing youth basketball teams in the Denver area, first matching up around the third grade. Both were point guards. White guarded Clark. Clark guarded White. White was a little more advanced than his peers — little did they know, he was a future NBA champion and Olympic gold medalist — and at some point during the mid-2000s, he implemented an unfamiliar move to his game. It was just beginning to get popular in the pros.

    “He was doing the Euro step at a young age,” Clark remembers, “and our whole team kept thinking it was traveling. So every time he would do the Euro step, all our dads and everyone was like, ‘That’s a travel!’ And they would never call it.

    “Fast forward to next year, and we’re all doing the same thing.”

    White was teaching Clark new tricks on the basketball court. Now it’s finally Clark’s turn to return the favor on the golf course. He’s the fifth-ranked golfer in the world, the winner of the 2023 U.S. Open and the fan favorite this weekend at the BMW Championship. Valor Christian High School, Class of 2012. White is a two-time All-Defensive Team honoree in the NBA, a glue guy for the Boston Celtics and Team USA, and a Clark groupie this weekend. Legend High School, Class of ’12.

    White has never played golf or gotten invested in the sport, “but I’m gonna start,” he declared while walking the first fairway at Castle Pines Golf Club on Thursday. He walked all 18 holes in support of his former basketball foe, who was paired with Rory McIlroy.

    “It’s fun because he’s kind of new to golf, and so (he) got his real first experience of pro golf at the Olympics, watching and walking with us,” Clark said. “And he really has the bug. We’ve been talking about it. He’s like, ‘I love it so much.’ It was really cool to have him out there.”

    Clark finished his first round at even par, but that doesn’t even begin to tell the story. He endured a hectic back nine that included multiple shots into the water and multiple double-bogeys. And that was before a cartoonishly timed lightning delay forced him and McIlroy to wait more than three hours to complete their final putts on the 18th hole. Spectators (even White) had vacated the premises by the time they resumed.

    “I was hoping it was going to be one of those quick Colorado 30-minute storms, but there was another one behind it,” Clark lamented. “Definitely a bummer being here for three hours.”

    Before that awkward conclusion without a crowd, Clark had been treated to resounding applause throughout the afternoon. Coloradans who noticed White gave him some love, too. He was hard to miss during the first hole, cradling the Larry O’Brien Trophy as he strolled downhill. Whether it was Boston’s Larry or Denver’s from the previous year, though, is unclear. The trophy was also on display Wednesday during the pro-am event, which featured Nuggets president Josh Kroenke.

    “I didn’t even know it was gonna be here,” a confused White said, starting to regret his decision to lug Larry along. “I’m really just here to support Wyndham and cheer him on. … I didn’t know it was gonna be here. I was walking in, and I see it on the ground, and I’m like, ‘Let me hold that.’”

    His opportunity to reacquaint with Clark this summer was truly last-second. Kawhi Leonard’s withdrawal from Team USA opened a roster spot two weeks before the Paris Olympics. White was the first choice to fill in. He flew solo to Abu Dhabi, UAE, to join the team for its remaining exhibition games, and soon enough he was floating down the Seine with Clark at the opening ceremony.

    “(We had) big battles. Big rivalry on the court,” White said. “And then obviously he went and did big things, so it was great reconnecting. And we ended up on the boat in the Olympics.”

    “Hanging out in Paris was pretty cool,” Clark said, grinning.

    Bennett Durando

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  • Valor Christian’s Quinn VanSickle scores 33 points, leads Eagles into 6A final

    Valor Christian’s Quinn VanSickle scores 33 points, leads Eagles into 6A final

    Years ago, Chauncey Billups carved out his place as a Colorado prep basketball legend. Later, at the University and in the NBA, he gained fame as “Mr. Big Shot.”

    Well, move over Mr. Billups, and make some room for Ms. Big Shot.

    That would be Valor Christian junior point guard Quinn VanSickle, who poured in 33 points and made her presence felt in nearly every key moment of the Eagles’ 71-59 win over Cherokee Trail in Thursday’s Class 6A state girls basketball Final Four matchup at the Denver Coliseum.

    “Quinn is a big shot type of kid and she rises to the occasion in key moments,” said Valor coach Jessika Caldwell. “I knew she was a little bit disappointed in how she played in the last round, so she hit the gym early, every day, and worked on her shooting.”

    No. 4 Valor (22-4), seeking its first state title since 2021, will play for the championship at 1:15 p.m. Saturday against the winner of Thursday night’s late semifinal between No. 7 Regis Jesuit (19-7) and No. 3 Legend (24-2).

    “I do want the ball,” said VanSickle, who has scholarship offers from Marquette and Utah State, among others, but hasn’t committed yet. “It comes down to hard work and all of the hours I put in. And so much of it comes from my faith in God.”

    Quinn played all 32 minutes, shot 9 of 18 from the field (including 5 of 12 from 3-point range), made 10 of 11 free throws, handed out four assists and had six steals. She was everywhere, all at once.

    She had to be because junior guard Rylie Beers went down with a left knee injury in the second half and didn’t return. Caldwell didn’t know the extent of Beers’ injury, but said, “It doesn’t look promising.” Beers, who scored seven points, was in tears at the end of the game as she congratulated her teammates.

    Cherokee Trail was led by junior forward Delainey Miller’s 21-point, six-rebound performance. Her powerful inside game caused major problems for Valor, especially in the second quarter when the Cougars outscored Valor to take a 33-27 lead. But VanSickle kept the Eagles in the game and she had 26 points by the end of three quarters when the Eagles carved out a 50-48 lead entering the final frame.

    Valor was excellent from the foul line — making 24 of 30 shots — and also got a big game from sophomore Peyton Jones, who scored 13 points.

    The Valor Christian Eagles, lead by Quinn VanSickle (11), right, celebrate their victory over the against the Cherokee Trail Cougars to win the 6A girls Colorado state high school Final Four game 71-59 at the Denver Coliseum in Denver on Thursday, March 07, 2024. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)

    Patrick Saunders

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  • Regis Jesuit rides stellar performance by freshman goalie Easton Sparks to beat fellow behemoth Valor Christian in Class 5A title

    Regis Jesuit rides stellar performance by freshman goalie Easton Sparks to beat fellow behemoth Valor Christian in Class 5A title

    Led by a freshman goalie who stood on his head, Regis Jesuit won its seventh hockey title on Tuesday at Magness Arena by outlasting fellow powerhouse Valor Christian in a 3-1 thriller.

    The Raiders used a brick wall performance by goalie Easton Sparks to claim the championship, in conjunction with a second-period goal by senior Reece Peterson and then two empty-net lamp-lighters in the final minute to dethrone the defending champion Eagles.

    Sparks stymied the Eagles with 23 saves, including three on one-on-one breakaways and another on a stuffed penalty shot in the opening period. The freshman was sensational in all aspects, and his play was the clear difference in the game.

    “He stood on his head all season,” Reece Peterson said. “Freshman, coming into the biggest game of his life, and he played amazing. He played like a legend.”

    Fans cheer for Regis Jesuit’s goaltender Easton Sparks (33) after he makes a save during a shoot out against Valor Christian’s Maddux Charles (23) during the Class 5A Colorado state championship game at Magness Arena in Denver on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. Valor Christian High School played Regis Jesuit High School for the state title. (Rebecca Slezak/Special to The Denver Post)

    Counting Tuesday, either Valor Christian or Regis Jesuit has appeared in the last nine Class 5A/unclassified state title games and combined to win seven of them. The two hockey behemoths met twice earlier this season, with Valor Christian winning 4-1 on Jan. 19 and Regis Jesuit retaliating with a 3-1 victory on Feb. 3.

    In the championship rubber-match, the teams played to a first-period 0-0 draw as Sparks and Valor Christian senior goalie Trudeaux Coffey both turned away a number of promising chances.

    Sparks’ denial on sophomore Maddux Charles’ penalty shot was an early omen of the goalie’s game-changing performance. After stopping the puck, Sparks got up, skated over to the raucous Regis Jesuit student section, threw his hands in the air and roared.

    “I knew that was a big moment in the game, because I knew it was going to be a close game,” Sparks said. “I don’t even know what I was thinking as (Charles approached) — my mind just went blank. It was sort of like that all game. They had a couple more breakaways in the second, and I kept stopping them.”

    Peterson got Regis Jesuit on the board with a wrister through Coffey’s five-hole on a breakaway a little over a minute into the second period. Then, about 45 seconds later, Peterson found the five hole again, and it appeared the Raiders had taken a commanding 2-0 lead.

    But the referee near the goal indicated it wasn’t a score, and play went on. Video replays showed the shot went into the goal, then careened off the bottom of the inside of the net and back out.

    Regis Jesuit's Andrew Brennick (15) pushes Valor Christian's Eddie Chen (4) to move the puck stuck at their skates during the Class 5A Colorado state championship game at Magness Arena in Denver on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. Valor Christian High School played Regis Jesuit High School for the state title. (Rebecca Slezak/Special to The Denver Post)
    Regis Jesuit’s Andrew Brennick (15) pushes Valor Christian’s Eddie Chen (4) to move the puck stuck at their skates during the Class 5A Colorado state championship game at Magness Arena in Denver on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. Valor Christian High School played Regis Jesuit High School for the state title. (Rebecca Slezak/Special to The Denver Post)

    Peterson said another referee later told him it was a goal, and the Raiders were determined to not let the botched call quash their momentum.

    “We focused on the fact that we were getting the chances,” Regis Jesuit head coach Terence Ott said. “It would’ve been nice to (officially) bury that one, and we had a couple other odd-man rushes in that period where we elected not to pass the puck and we tried to make a move with it. But we built on the positive of that moment and that we were creating momentum.”

    In a tense 1-0 game in the third, Sparks continued to come up clutch, and the Eagles pinged a shot off the crossbar just as they had done in the second period.

    “(Sparks) plays with such calm, it really resonates with the team,” Ott said. “He doesn’t get rattled back there. And he’s athletic. He’s not blessed with the size, but what a super performance, and he kept it going (in the third).”

    Valor Christian pulled Coffey with 1:20 to play, and the last minute was firework-filled.

    Raiders junior Parker Brinner scored on the empty net with 57 seconds left, but Valor Christian finally broke the shutout with 19 seconds to play on senior Brock Benson’s top-shelf shot to cut the score to 2-1. But Regis Jesuit held on in the final seconds, and Ian Beck’s breakaway slap-shot on the empty net with with one second left was the exclamation on the Raiders’ revenge.

    “Last year, we played Valor four times and lost every single game (including the semifinals) by one goal,” Peterson said. “So winning tonight, this is the perfect cap to my high school career. They gave us a great game, but I’m so happy this win came against them.”

    Ott, in his second year as the Raiders’ head coach after serving the previous 17 seasons as an assistant, said his team — led by seven seniors — “did a great job of re-establishing the hockey culture that we want to have at Regis Jesuit.” The Raiders’ last title came in 2019, when they went back-to-back after beating Valor Christian in the championship the year prior.

    “You win six championships, you’ve gone to 14 straight Frozen Fours (before a loss to Fort Collins in the 2022 quarterfinals) — you kind of start resting on the laurels of the men who came before you,” Ott said. “And we got away from being a team and doing the work you need to do to be a champion. This group got us back to where we needed to be.”

    Regis Jesuit and Valor Christian players battle in front of the net to gain possession of the puck during the Class 5A Colorado state championship game at Magness Arena in Denver on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. Valor Christian High School played Regis Jesuit High School for the state title. (Rebecca Slezak/Special to The Denver Post)
    Regis Jesuit and Valor Christian players battle in front of the net to gain possession of the puck during the Class 5A Colorado state championship game at Magness Arena in Denver on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. Valor Christian High School played Regis Jesuit High School for the state title. (Rebecca Slezak/Special to The Denver Post)

    Kyle Newman

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