The 2023 Sentinel Colorado All-Aurora Boys Lacrosse — which was picked by the Sentinel in conjunction with balloting of city coaches — has its fair share of Regis Jesuit players, but also individual standouts from a variety of other places.
In what turned out to be the final season after 32 years for Regis Jesuit boys coach Jim Soran, the Raiders made it to the Class 5A state semifinals before they were eliminated by Valor Christian, which went on to fall to Mountain Vista in the state final.Regis Jesuit had standouts throughout the field and found success more with a deep lineup rather than a bunch of superstars.
Offensively, the Raiders — Aurora’s top-scoring team with an average of 10.3 goals per contest — had quality weapons in a lot of places, including senior midfielder Fletcher Sullivan, who is headed to Division I Monmouth University. Sullivan’s numbers weren’t gaudy (30 goals, 9 assists), but he was a major presence and attracted plenty of attention as he earned CHSAA All-State second team selection. His season-high in goals was five, which came in Regis Jesuit’s 13-12 win over previously undefeated Cherry Creek in the regular season finale.
Junior attackman Jamie Rosenzweig led Aurora players with 32 assists and he also registered 21 goals, which gave him 53 points (up from 22 in 2022), which was the third-most points among locals. Rosenzweig finished with at least one point in every game Regis Jesuit played and he had four goals and seven assists in three playoff games.
Senior Ethan Hughes racked up 31 goals to Regis Jesuit and had tallied 40 points total. The Sacred Heart signee and honorable mention all-state performer had a goal or assist in every game save for the regular season and semifinal meetings with 5A runner-up Valor Christian. Hughes’ season-high in goals was four, which came in a regular season win at rival Kent Denver.
Senior Ryan Coughlin in the faceoff circle came up big in key moments, including a key faceoff win and goal in Regis Jesuit’s win over Cherry Creek. Coughlin boasted an impressive .578 win percentage on faceoffs, scooped up 61 groundballs to easily lead his team and he added seven goals and two assists.
Regis Jesuit yielded just 108 goals in 18 games (an average of six per contest), which was 24 fewer than the next-closest city program. The Raiders had an outstanding defense unit led by senior Jack Casey that also included junior Gordon Reynolds, junior long stick middie Cal Schieffer and senior Spencer Day in the goal.
Casey came back from an injury that cost him his junior season and returned to the form that earned him second team all-state honors as a sophomore. Casey — a U.S. Military Academy recruit — was even better than that, as he made CHSAA’s all-state first team. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound Reynolds gave the Raiders a physical presence in the back, which helped discourage opposing offenses. The University of Denver recruit and honorable mention all-state pick also secured 25 groundballs and managed to score three goals (on six shots).
The tenacious Schieffer (who has committed to the Air Force Academy) paced his team with 26 takeaways and helped the Raiders turn defense into offense regularly.
Day yielded just 6.525 goals per game — which was the sixth-lowest in 5A — against a slew of quality opponents. Only four times did an opponent score in double figures with Day in nets and two of those came to 5A runner-up Valor Christian, another to Denver South and another to then-undefeated Cherry Creek, while the Villanova University signee allowed a single goal twice. Day had six double-digit save performances.
Cherokee Trail had an outstanding season in the debut year of coach Matt Cawley, as it defeated rival Grandview to win the Predators Cup for the first time, qualified for the 5A postseason and advanced a round with a thrilling overtime win of Chatfield before Regis Jesuit ended its season.
The Cougars finished just five goals behind Regis Jesuit for top honors as a team for Aurora and they did so with a lot of offensive threats, the foremost of which was junior Nate Gilmore. The attackman notched 46 goals plus 11 assists to finish second among all Aurora players with 57. Twice, Gilmore tallied five goals in a game (including in a near miss for Cherokee Trail against Kent Denver) and had finished with two goals and an assist as the Cougars topped Grandview to win the Predators Cup.
Gilmore contributed in a variety of other ways as well, including an infusion of fire, and he earned selection to the Froelicher-Toll All-State Game.
Senior midfielder Craig Nam also played a vital role in a lot of Cherokee Trail’s accomplishments and took a large step forward in terms of his contributions from last season. He scored nine goals and had nine assists in 2022, but soared to 23 goals and 12 assists, while his groundballs swelled from 23 to 67.
Nam had two goals and two assists in the cathartic Predators Cup win and he sent the Cougars into the second round of the 5A playoffs with an overtime goal against Chatfield that came in the midst of a downpour.
Aurora’s goal leader again had the last name of Alie, as Grandview junior Joe Alie — whose now graduated brother John led city players last season in goals — had that distinction with 52 goals, which gave him seven more than the previous season. Alie (who scored three or more goals nine times, topped by an eight-goal explosion against ThunderRidge) added eight assists to lead Aurora with 60 points, a total that ranked him just inside the top 20 in the 5A.
Alie, a Froelicher-Toll selection, was a constant in a big season of change for the Wolves, who were in their first season under coach Conner Graves.
Without as much possession as in the past, Grandview’s defense felt more strain, especially against an unforgiving group of offensively talented opponents.
Senior Mitchell Festi stepped up in a major way, however, and he led Aurora players in groundballs (credited with 131, a total which ranked him second in 5A) and takeaways (53). Both of those totals were easily tops among locals.
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2023 SENTINEL COLORADO ALL-CITY BOYS LACROSSE TEAM
FIRST TEAM
Attack — Joe Alie, jr., Grandview; Nate Gilmore, jr., Cherokee Trail; Jamie Rosenzweig, jr., Regis Jesuit; Midfield — Ethan Hughes, sr., Regis Jesuit; Craig Nam, sr., Cherokee Trail; Fletcher Sullivan, sr., Regis Jesuit; Defense — Jack Casey, sr., Regis Jesuit; Mitchell Festi, sr., Grandview; Gordon Reynolds, jr., Regis Jesuit; LSM — Cal Schieffer, jr., Regis Jesuit; Face off — Ryan Coughlin, sr., Regis Jesuit; Goalie — Spencer Day, sr., Regis Jesuit
SECOND TEAM
Attack — Luke Aspnes, sr., Cherokee Trail; Mason Kelly, fr., Grandview; Brek Thielen, sr., Cherokee Trail; Midfield — Cameron Festi, jr., Grandview; Reed Foltz, sr., Regis Jesuit; Presten Legette, sr., Eaglecrest; Brady Smith, jr., Smoky Hill; Defense — Walker Guthrie, sr., Eaglecrest; Ryan Morris, sr., Regis Jesuit; Clayton Turner, soph., Eaglecrest; LSM — Connor Nesbitt, jr., Regis Jesuit; Face off — Alex Madrid, sr., Cherokee Trail; Goalie — Camden Colglazier, fr., Eaglecrest
HONORABLE MENTION
Greg Atencio, jr., Smoky Hill; Everett Breniser, jr., Eaglecrest; Sam Burnette, jr., Cherokee Trail; Mattie Cain, sr., Regis Jesuit; Nic Chau, sr., Grandview; Tyson Clark, sr., Eaglecrest; Bennett Closset, sr., Rangeview; Cooper Conger, sr., Smoky Hill; Logan Farrington, sr., Regis Jesuit; Dempsey Gibbs, soph., Cherokee Trail; Cameron Hostetler, sr., Rangeview; Ryan Hubbard, jr., Cherokee Trail; Jibreal Jones, jr., Rangeview; Brendon O’Brien, sr., Eaglecrest; Logan Place, sr., Grandview; Cody Scott, soph., Smoky Hill
