FOUNTAIN | The Grandview boys volleyball team won the program’s first Class 5A state championship Saturday night at and finally got the best of rival Eaglecrest in the process.
Four previous meetings on the season all went to the Raptors, but things were different when the big prize was on the line in front of a lively crowd at Trojan Arena on the campus of Fountain-Fort Carson High School.
Junior Alex Garcia pounded out 22 kills, the last of which finished of the 25-19, 25-21, 22-25, 25-21 over previously unbeaten Eaglecrest, last season’s state champion. Junior Connor Deickman added 11 kills and senior setter Devan Hall dished out 31 assists to deliver the program’s first state title, which came in the first season under head coach Jaren Graham.
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Grandview (23-7) rebounded from a championship semifinal loss to Eaglecrest (28-1) with a defeat of fifth-seeded Discovery Canyon in the consolation semifinal.
Coach Chad Bond’s Raptors — who made the state championship match for the third time in four seasons — got 13 kills from junior Dallin Anderson, 12 from junior Will George and 11 from senior Ashton Bond.
It was the second straight season in 5A tournament that a team came through the consolation side of the bracket beat the team that hadn’t lost in the final, which is the same route Eaglecrest took last season after it lost to the Littleton Public School co-op in the championship semifinal before a four-set win in the title match.
BOYS SWIMMING: A trophy also went home with the Regis Jesuit boys swim team, which finished as the runner-up at the Class 5A state swim meet that concluded Saturday evening at the Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center.
Coach Nick Frasersmith’s Raiders — who had just 12 individual qualifiers plus three relay teams — scored just 50 points less than state champion Cherry Creek en route to a second straight runner-up finish.
Regis Jesuit piled up the points with the help of four event championships, three of which involved sophomore Treyvn Krauss.
Krauss dominated the distance freestyle events at the meet, as he won the 200 freestyle by a second and a half (with a time of 1 minute, 37.72 second) and had an even wider margin in the 500 freestyle (five-plus seconds, as he touched the wall in 4:26.98). To cap the meet, Krauss teamed with fellow sophomore Spencer Greene, junior Nathaniel Spencer and senior Nolan Kohl in a big win in the 400 freestyle relay.
Greene got a state title of his own, as he ruled the 100 yard butterfly.
GIRLS TENNIS: The Class 5A girls individual state tennis tournament concluded Saturday at the Denver Tennis Park with one Aurora area doubles team in competition.
The Regis Jesuit No. 1 doubles team of junior Abigail Puschaver and freshman Samantha Garcia Lucero rebounded from a semifinal loss the day before and came within one game of a third-place finish before falling in three sets to Valor Christian to finish fourth.
The Raiders had all seven lines in competition over the three-day tournament, while Aurora’s other qualifiers did not play, as Vista PEAK Prep No. 1 singles player Francesca Johnson withdrew a few days before and the Cherokee Trail No. 4 doubles team of seniors Aspen Cedeno and Aninko Madege were unable to play due to testing conflicts.
BOYS LACROSSE: Eight teams remain in the Class 5A boys lacrosse state playoffs and that group includes one Aurora area program, as No. 3 Regis Jesuit made it through the second round contested Saturday.
Coach Ross Moscatelli’s Raiders got multiple goals from five different players — including four apiece from senior William Wilson and junior Marco Walsweer — en route to a 17-6 win over No. 10 Northfield at Lou Kellogg Stadium. Regis Jesuit will be at home at 7 p.m. Wednesday to play No. 6 Fairview for a spot in the semifinals.
Aurora’s two first-round survivors — No. 12 Cherokee Trail and No. 13 Grandview — both had their seasons stopped by higher-seeded opponents in road contests. The Cougars came up just short of fifth-seeded Lakewood in a 10-7 defeat that ended their season at 10-7, while the Wolves (also 10-7) dropped an 18-3 tilt with No. 4 Arapahoe.
GIRLS LACROSSE: The second-seeded Regis Jesuit girls lacrosse team continued a dominant run in the postseason with a 20-5 home victory over No. 7 Arapahoe Saturday morning at Lou Kellogg Stadium in a Class 5A state quarterfinal contest.
Coach Crysti Foote’s Raiders got four goals each from senior Delaney Sitzmann and juniors Addison Kindy and Jasmine Lugo, plus hat tricks for junior Natalie Chilton and sophomore Anna Hodges in a decisive victory that put them in the semifinals for the third time in the past four seasons.
Regis Jesuit will play No. 6 Kent Denver in a 7 p.m. Final Four contest Tuesday at Englewood High School.
GIRLS SOCCER: The Aurora area’s two qualifiers for the Class 5A state playoffs — No. 21 Cherokee Trail and No. 24 Regis Jesuit — both could not pull off upsets for the second straight round and exited with second round defeats in consecutive games played Friday at The Stadium at Redstone Park in Highlands Ranch.
Cherokee Trail got a goal in the early second half from Selah Davis and held the lead over No. 5 Rock Canyon with inside two minutes left in regulation before the Jaguars tied the game and eventually won in overtime. The Cougars finished 8-3-6.
Regis Jesuit defeated Mountain Vista by a goal in the regular season finale, but it was the eighth-seeded Golden Eagles that prevailed 1-0 in the postseason rematch. The Raiders had a final record of 6-6-3.
On Saturday, Aurora West College Prep Academy fell in the second round of the 3A state playoffs with a 10-0 road defeat at Timnath. The Spartans — who won their playoff opener over Bennett — lost for the first time since April 1 and finished 13-3-1.
BASEBALL: Grandview played a home-and-home series with Cherry Creek Friday and Saturday with the Centennial League championship at stake and came away on top.
The Wolves looked to close the door on the title on Friday with senior ace Ethan Wachsmann on the mound, but the host Bruins managed to scratch across enough runs to earn a 4-1 win and set up a winner-take-all contest Saturday at Grandview.
Senior Logan Hurtado came up big for the Wolves, as he allowed four runs (three earned) over six innings, while junior Diesel Bernosky pitched a clean final inning to save a 6-4 victory for coach Scott Henry’s team. Wachsmann knocked in two runs to help the offense for Grandview, while seniors Kayden Bohmeyer, AJ Maroni and Jakson Bush also had RBI.
Overland played for the Colorado League championship and fell at Adams City 10-0.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
