The summer is quickly nearing the end and the fall prep sports season is just around the corner.
The Colorado High School Activities Association has outlined the key postseason dates and locations for the jam-packed season, which includes a newly-sanctioned sport in girls flag football.
Sentinel Sports Editor Courtney Oakes takes a brief look at what’s changed and what’s the same as well as the key details for the upcoming fall season, which begins with practices in the first and second week of August:
FOOTBALL
For the second year in a row, the state championship games for Classes 5A, 4A and 3A football will be contested at Canvas Stadium on the campus of Colorado State University in Fort Collins, with the title games all scheduled for Dec. 7. Columbine defeated Cherry Creek last season in the first 5A final held at the venue after it previously took place at its longtime home, Empower Field. The 2A, 1A, 8-man and 6-man finals will be on Nov. 29-30 at Colorado State-Pueblo. An Aurora-area team hasn’t made it to a state championship football game since Eaglecrest in 2017, while Cherokee Trail, Eaglecrest, Grandview (a quarterfinalist) and Regis Jesuit were 5A playoff qualifiers in 2023.
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
The Denver Coliseum will again be the destination for all girls volleyball teams hoping to play for state championships in all classifications, as the venue continues its regular run as the tournament destination save for a short time at the World Arena in Colorado Springs during the coronavirus pendemic. This season’s tournament is scheduled for Nov. 14-16. Grandview was the Aurora area’s lone representative among the 12 teams that played in last season’s 5A state tournament.
BOYS SOCCER
The championship pitch for the boys soccer season is again Switchbacks Weidner Field in Colorado Springs, with title day for all classifiications set for Nov. 16. Quarterfinal and semifinal venues have yet to be determined for teams that advance through the first two rounds played on the home field of higher seeds. An Aurora-area tournament last made it to the 5A state championship game in 2021 when Grandview won the title, while Lotus School For Excellence played there in the 2A final in 2021 and 2022. Regis Jesuit lost to Denver East on penalty kicks in the semifinals of last season’s 5A playoffs, which also included Aurora Central, Cherokee Trail, Grandview and Vista PEAK Prep as local qualifiers.
SOFTBALL
The Aurora Sports Park is perfectly suited to championship tournaments and the city’s sparkling multi-use venue equipped with three four-field complexs will yet again be where winners get crowned. This season’s Class 3A, 4A and 5A state tournaments will be there Oct. 25-26 following regional qualifying tournaments the previous week. Cherokee Trail, Eaglecrest and Grandview were among the 16 qualifiers for the 5A state tournament last season.
CROSS COUNTRY
Individuals and teams that make it through regional meets will then take the familiar path south, as the state championship meets in all classifications return to the Norris Penrose Event Center in Colorado Springs Nov. 2. Grandview (5th), Regis Jesuit (13th) and Cherokee Trail (18th) competed in the Class 5A boys race last season and accounted for all 21 racers in the field between them. Aurora had two girls teams in last season’s 5A state race, as Regis Jesuit finished 18th and Grandview placed 20th. The Raiders and Wolves comprised 14 on the 15 area girls in the race, as Cheorkee Trail’s Made McDaniel made it as an individual.
BOYS TENNIS
For the third straight season, team and individual state tournaments will be held and will share the same venue (Denver Tennis Park) this season. The Class 5A team state tournament will be played at local sites after the 16-team field is seeded Sept. 30, while it will conclude Oct. 22 at the Denver Tennis Park, while the 5A individual state tournament will be there Oct. 17-19 following regional play at various sites Oct. 9-12. Regis Jesuit finished as the 5A state team runner-up last season after a 4-1 loss to Cherry Creek, while the Raiders had the area’s lone individual state champion in No. 3 singles player Vlad Sukhovetskyy. Grandview’s Justin Son (No. 1 singles) plus Regis Jesuit’s Alec Rodriguez-Fields (No. 2 singles), Agustin Azcui and Brady Jenkins (No. 1 doubles), KC Eckenhausen and Carl Siegel (No. 2 doubles) and Adam Rydel and Kevin Solichien (No. 3 doubles) also played in finals and finished as runners-up at their positions.
FIELD HOCKEY
The postseason has changed in field hockey for the 2024 season, as a bracket with championship and consolation paths that will include all 16 of the state’s varsity programs. The final six games of the season will be contested at All-City Stadium in Denver with championship semifinals Nov. 4 and consolation semifinals Nov. 5, followed by consolation and championship finals back-to-back Nov. 6 at the same venue. The regular season concludes Oct. 24 and the 16 teams will be seeded based on CHSAA’s Selection and Seeding Index. Aurora fields three programs in Grandview, Regis Jesuit and Smoky Hill. The Raiders were the area’s lone state tournament qualifier last season and lost in the quarterfinals.
BOYS GOLF
The first fall season to begin isi the first season to conclude, as the boys golf season is scheduled to end with state tournaments Oct. 7-8 at various sites. The Class 5A state tournament will be held locally, as it is scheduled for CommonGround G.C. on the Aurora-Denver border, while 4A heads to Tiara Rado G.C., 3A to Pueblo’s Walking Stick G.C. and 2A to The Club at Rollins Hills in Golden. Cherokee Trail tied for the runner-up spot in the 5A state tournament last season, while Regis Jesuit finished in 6th place. The Cougars and Raiders combined for eight of the Aurora area’s 11 qualifiers and were joined by individuals from Grandview (Michael Rosman), Eaglecrest (Gregory White) and Smoky Hill (Hudson Roth).
GYMNASTICS
Another fall sport with a longstanding state meet venue is gymnastics, which will head to Thornton High School Nov. 7-9 for team and individual competition in Classes 5A and 4A. The Class 5A team state competition is Nov. 7 and the 4A on Nov. 8, with individual event finals for both classifications on Nov. 9. The Aurora area’s only program — a co-op based at Overland High School — will play host to one of three regional state qualifying meets on Oct. 31, while Mountain Range (Nov. 1) and Arvada West (Nov. 2) will have the others. Overland finished tied for 2nd at last season’s 5A state meet and had four individuals qualify for the individual event finals, which include the top 15 scorers from the team competition on each event.
GIRLS FLAG FOOTBALL
Details are still getting finalized for the end of the girls flag football season, the first as an officially sanctioned sport. There will be two classifications (Classes 5A and 4A) for 64 programs and state champions will be crowned in November at a yet-to-be determined location. The regular season is set to run Aug. 17-Oct. 19 with the first round of postseason play scheduled for Oct. 22-23. Dates of remaining postseason rounds have not been announced.
OTHER FALL SPORTS/ACTIVITIES
Championship dates and locations have been set for CHSAA’s other fall sports and activities. Unified Bowling returns to AMF Belleview Lanes in Englewood for its state tournament Nov. 22, while Esports concludes Dec. 10 with all finals at Localhost in Lakewood and state spirit spans three packed days (Dec. 12-14) at the Denver Coliseum. Aurora area teams were heavily involved in all three events last season and Eaglecrest won a hip hop championship and Cherokee Trail won the 5A all-girls cheer crown.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
