The level of field hockey played by Aurora’s three area programs — Grandview, Regis Jesuit and Smoky Hill — continued to improve in the 2025 season, though it didn’t result in any championship hardware this time.
The 2025 Aurora Sentinel All-Aurora Field Hockey Team — picked by the Sentinel in conjunction with balloting of area coaches — features a strong collection of talent, the majority of which suited up at Regis Jesuit.
Coach Spencer Wagner’s Raiders made an abnormally early exit from the postseason in 2024 — losing in the quarterfinals — but rebounded with a quality regular season, followed by a spirited playoff performance that resulted in a trip to the championship semifinals.
As the No. 5 seed among 16 teams, Regis Jesuit won a home first round playoff contest, pulled off a mild road upset of No. 4 Arapahoe in the quarterfinals and then rallied from a two-goal deficit against defending state champion Cherry Creek in the semifinals before a loss on penalty strokes. That concluded a 10-8 campaign that put the program in double figures in the win column for a fifth straight season.
Part of Regis Jesuit’s winning ways had to do with an uptick in offense, as it produced 10 more goals than the previous season, even as last season’s assist leader and co-goal leader departed due to graduation.
The player who took the biggest step forward was junior midfielder Natalie Chilton, who led the team in both goals (nine) and assists (12) for 30 points, which put her just outside the top 10 for the entire state. Chilton nearly doubled her goal total of five from 2024 — with an opening game in which she scored four times against Dakota Ridge — and quadrupled her assist number from the previous season. She was a Colorado High School Activities Association honorable mention all-state pick.
Regis Jesuit’s dominance locally in the midfield also included junior Izzy Nichols along with sophomore Phoebe Lane, who combined to contribute 27 points.
Nichols made the CHSAA all-state first team after a two-goal, seven-assist season that also saw her play a key role in possession, while Lane tied for third among all Aurora area players with seven goals — including the winner in the postseason against Arapahoe and another in the semifinal against Cherry Creek — and accounted for 16 points.
Up top, junior Katie Rasure bettered the seven goals she scored in 2024 with eight in the new campaign, while she doubled her assist production to six for a total of 22 points. Also at forward, senior Amina Pope — who is headed to play lacrosse at San Diego State — accrued the third-most points among Aurora area players with 19, which came on seven goals to go with five assists.
Defensively, the Raiders were very similar to the previous season, as they allowed four more goals in one more game played. Seniors Kate Lamar and Julie Ryan were backline pillars.
Smoky Hill won the consolation bracket championship last season, but lost a slew of significant contributors, especially on offense and finished 6-10-1.
Coach Lisa Griffiths’ Buffaloes did remain tough on the back end, however, especially with a senior Riley Leeser (a Cherokee Trail student) back in the goal.
Leeser — a University of Rochester signee —was named the CHSAA All-State Defensive Player of the Year after a season in which she made 150 saves (which ranked third in the state) and led goalies with a 1.443 Goals Against Average. Leeser made 34 saves against Regis Jesuit and 27 against Cherry Creek, while she did not yield a goal in six of her appearances on the season.
In front of Leeser, junior captain Lyla Bailey played stout defense, yet was also among the team’s leader in goals scored. Senior Bristol Whitehead triggered in the Buffaloes’ corner opportunities — which were often successful — and earned CHSAA All-State honorable mention status.
Grandview hadn’t won a game since the opener of the 2022 season — going 0-44-2 since that victory — but picked up three in the first season under alum Lorraine Tuti as head coach.
The Wolves generated nine goals and four of those came from junior forward Etta Brannan, who scored in two of the team’s three wins and achieved CHSAA All-State honorable mention accolades.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports