The Regis Jesuit girls lacrosse team made it all the way to the Class 5A state championship game for the first time in program history.
Coach Crysti Foote’s Raiders were unable to stop the juggernaut that is Colorado Academy — which won its eight straight state title — but they were competitive until the end. Much of Regis Jesuit’s top talent appears on the 2023 Sentinel Colorado All-Aurora Girls Lacrosse Team, which is picked by the Sentinel in conjunction with balloting of city coaches.
Sophomore Maddy Jokerst paced Regis Jesuit’s attack with 56 goals to go with 19 assists, which put her just outside the top 10 in 5A in total points. She made CHSAA’s All-State second team along with senior midfielder Carly Kennedy and senior defender Charlotte Ford, who also earned All-Aurora nods.
Jokerst had a big hand in helping the Raiders (12-5) make it to the championship game as she racked up 12 goals and had seven assists in the first three rounds, including a four-goal semifinal against Valor Christian. She also had a four-goal game against Colorado Academy in a 12-8 regular season loss.
Kennedy — who was a key member of the Regis Jesuit field hockey team that made it to the state championship game in the fall — signed with Division I Towson University prior to her senior season. She went on to finish fourth on the Raiders with 39 points (30 goals, 9 assists), while she also tied for the team lead with 38 groundballs and did some key work on draws as well.
Regis Jesuit’s second All-Aurora midfielder was senior Ava Rogala, who finished second on the team in goals with 34, which included 11 in four postseason games (four in the semifinal win over Valor Christian). She added 11 assists to give her 44 points, while she led the team in caused turnovers (33) and tied with Kennedy for first in groundballs with 38.
Regis Jesuit’s defense allowed just 121 goals in 17 games, which was 36 fewer than the next-closest team.
Ford (also a standout in field hockey) shifted into more of a midfield role for Regis Jesuit, though she was still a strong defensive presence. She registered 19 groundballs, nine goals and eight assists. Junior Katie Kieran was an outstanding force on Regis Jesuit’s defense and she racked up 29 groundballs (which ranked her fifth on her team) and also was credited with 27 caused turnovers, many of which she pushed forward to create an attack on the other end of the field.
The Raiders had several freshmen make the roster and two them made especially big impacts in Delaney Sitzmann on attack and Rayn Parker in the goal.
Sitzmann played like a veteran throughout the season and she finished tied atop all Aurora players with 24 assists. She added 21 goals for 45 points, which ranked only behind Jokerst on the team.
Parker had Aurora’s lowest goals against average of 6.5 per game, while her acumen in the crease also helped diffuse opposing offenses. She made some key saves in the postseason and finished with 77 on the season.
Cherokee Trail qualified for the 4A playoffs for a second straight season and again earned an opening victory in the postseason before falling in the second round.
Coach Blake Macklin’s Cougars — who were easily Aurora’s most productive offensive team — had two CHSAA All-State honorable mention picks in junior midfielder Aubrey Benton and junior defender Cassie Bruning, who were two of the best around at their respective positions.
Benton, one of the team captains, racked up 59 goals (six more than junior teammate Kyla Bieker) that put her just outside the top 10 in 4A. She more than doubled her goal output from her sophomore year (28) with a season in which she scored multiple goals in 14 games, including a high of seven against Arapahoe. Benton added six assists and also ranked in the top 10 in 4A in draw percentage.
Bieker also saw a growth in production from her previous season as she passed the 100-goal mark for her career with a 53-score campaign. She scored in every single game and racked up six on three occasions, the last time in the Cougars’ 15-12 win over Denver North in the opening round of the playoffs.
With a lot of capable scorers around her, Bieker also dished out more assists than the previous season and had the same amount of assists as Sitzmann (24).
On her way to all-league first team honors, Bruning finished with 25 groundballs to lead Cherokee Trail defensive players and rank fourth on her team.
Rangeview sophomore Shylin Collins was the most productive offensive player in the city with a whopping 77 goals, which ranked her sixth in the state regardless of classification and more than doubled her output from 2022. She has 110 goals scored in two varsity seasons thus far.
Collins had a 13-goal outburst against Eaglecrest and also reached double figures in a game against St. Mary’s Academy for coach Nicole Dyrdahl’s Raiders, while she also had three assists and a team-leading 39 groundballs.
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2023 SENTINEL COLORADO ALL-AURORA GIRLS LACROSSE TEAM
FIRST TEAM
Attack: Kyla Bieker, jr., Cherokee Trail; Maddy Jokerst, soph., Regis Jesuit; Delaney Sitzmann, fr., Regis Jesuit; Midfield: Aubrey Benton, jr., Cherokee Trail; Shylin Collins, soph., Rangeview; Carly Kennedy, sr., Regis Jesuit; Ava Rogala, sr., Regis Jesuit; Defense: Cassie Bruning, jr., Cherokee Trail; Charlotte Ford, sr., Regis Jesuit; Katie Kieran, jr., Regis Jesuit; Goalie: Rayn Parker, fr., Regis Jesuit
SECOND TEAM
Attack: Jada Cousin, jr., Grandview; Phoebe Rogala, jr., Regis Jesuit; Abigail Vanzant, soph., Cherokee Trail; Midfield: Emily Bradac, sr., Regis Jesuit; Lorelei Gearity, soph., Cherokee Trail; Laurel Johnson, jr., Grandview; Ashley Weiss, sr., Grandview; Defense: Amaya Costas, soph., Grandview; Heather McFadden, sr., Regis Jesuit; Lainey Phillips, fr., Regis Jesuit; Goalie: Sophia Liley, fr., Cherokee Trail
HONORABLE MENTION
Alyssa Dozier, jr., Rangeview; Violet Garcia, jr., Overland; Kylee Hayes, jr., Cherokee Trail; Haley Howard, sr., Eaglecrest; Haley Kenna, jr., Cherokee Trail; Natalie Krier, jr., Grandview; Avery May, jr., Grandview; Vianca Medoza, sr., Overland; Olivia Meldahl, fr., Rangeview; Nilani Meyers, sr., Eaglecrest; Lexi Pettes, jr., Rangeview; Talei Ricketson, sr., Eaglecrest; Kyra Shipp, jr., Cherokee Trail; Sage Sorrells, sr., Cherokee Trail; Sarah Stadler, sr., Overland; Alexa Weaver, sr., Grandview
