Preps: Persson leads AHS girls golf to another regional title; state track gets underway
Courtesy photo
The Aspen High School girls golf team is regional champion yet again after winning Tuesday’s state qualifying tournament at Cattails Golf Club in Alamosa.
The Skiers shot a collective 249 to win by 13 strokes over runner-up Montezuma-Cortez and cleared third-placed Peak to Peak by 27 strokes.
AHS junior Lenna Persson continued her strong play by winning the tournament with a 1-under-par 71. This was the third straight individual regional championship for her.
Her senior teammate, Brooke O’Sullivan, was solo second with 82 — a full 11 strokes back of Persson. A trio of Montezuma-Cortez golfers finished third, fourth, and fifth.
Junior Madison Nelson tied for 13th overall for the Skiers, shooting 96, while AHS junior Audrey Woodrow tied for 15th, shooting 98.
The Skiers will get to send all four golfers to the Class 3A state championship, scheduled for Monday and Tuesday at The Olde Course in Loveland. Aspen finished a program-best tied for second in 3A last spring, when Aspen Golf Club hosted the championship tournament.
Smith, Read lead local track athletes at state
The state track and field championships begin on Thursday and run through Saturday at Jefferson County Stadium in Lakewood. There are a handful of area athletes who are expected to compete. Here’s a quick rundown of what, or who, to look for:
Nico Smith: The Aspen senior is qualified first in the boys 400-meter dash, his seed time of 49.07 seconds — the best by any 3A runner this spring. Prelims are Thursday at 7:13 p.m. He also qualified 10th in the 200 in 22.64 seconds (Thursday prelims, 6:10 p.m.).
Jacey Read: The Basalt senior will be a podium factor in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, as well as the girls high jump. Her best qualifying spot is sixth in the 100 in 12.61 seconds (Thursday prelims, 2:30 p.m.). She is qualified ninth in the 200 in 26.15 (Thursday prelims, 6:05 p.m.). She also qualified seventh in the high jump in 5-feet-2 (Thursday finals, 4 p.m.).
Jared Tennenbaum: The Basalt junior is a contender in both hurdles events. His seed time of 40.45 seconds in the 300-meter hurdles (Friday prelims, 11:20 a.m.) qualified him fifth, while he qualified sixth in the 110-meter hurdles in 15.54 seconds (Thursday prelims, 4:10 p.m.).
Kyra Reeds: The Roaring Fork senior comes in seeded ninth in the girls 100-meter hurdles (Thursday prelims, 4 p.m.). Her seed time of 16.54 seconds has her in podium contention. She also qualified 18th in the 300-meter hurdles (49.71; Friday prelims, 10:55 a.m.).
Lorenzo Salazar Tedin: The Basalt junior is seeded 11th in the boys 300-meter hurdles (Friday prelims, 11:20 a.m.). His qualifying time of 41.77 seconds has him flirting with a podium position. He also narrowly qualified for the high jump; his 5-feet-11 height tied for 18th place (Saturday finals, 8:30 a.m.).
Best of the rest: Other qualifiers include Basalt senior Owen Lambert in the 800-meter run (18th, 1:59.77; Friday final, 12:35 p.m.). The BHS boys 4×800 relay team also qualified 18th (Thursday final, 4:45 p.m.). BHS senior Willow Bower qualified 17th in the girls 300-meter hurdles (49.70) alongside Reeds. Roaring Fork sophomore Nikki Tardif is qualified 16th in the girls 400-meter dash (1:02.71; Thursday prelims, 7:05 p.m.). The Basalt girls qualified 15th in the 4×100 relay, while the Aspen girls qualified in both the 4×400 relay (18th) and 4×800 relay (15th).
Basalt baseball makes regional field
The Basalt and Roaring Fork baseball teams found out Wednesday they were part of the Class 3A regional bracket, while Aspen was left out of the 32-team field.
As the No. 31 seed, Basalt (7-16) will play in Region 2, hosted by No. 2 Berthoud (22-1). The other two teams in the four-team quadrant are No. 15 Wellington (11-12) and No. 18 Prospect Ridge Academy (12-11). BHS and Berthoud will start play on Saturday at 10 a.m., while the other game begins at 12:30 p.m. The championship will follow.
As the No. 27 seed, Roaring Fork (11-12) will play in Region 6, hosted by No. 6 Colorado Academy (16-4). The other two teams are No. 11 Sterling (15-7) and No. 22 La Junta (12-11). The Rams against Colorado Academy is scheduled as the second game, at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Aspen, despite a 12-10-1 overall record and a 9-6 win in the regular-season finale at Basalt on Tuesday, was left out of the field. AHS was listed as No. 34 in the seeding data used by CHSAA to determine the postseason field.
Eaton is the No. 1 seed in the regional field. Coal Ridge (21-2) is the No. 5 seed and will host its regional on Saturday in New Castle. Delta is the No. 7 seed.
Soccer season wraps up
The Class 3A girls soccer season is down to No. 3 Kent Denver and No. 2 Jefferson Academy in one semifinal, and No. 1 Colorado Academy vs. No. 4 Delta in the other on Thursday.
Roaring Fork had the best local run, advancing to the quarterfinals before losing to Jefferson Academy, 7-0. As the No. 10 seed in the 32-team bracket, the Rams beat No. 23 Longmont and No. 7 Manitou Springs in the first two rounds.
No. 20 Basalt lost in the first round to No. 13 Eagle Ridge Academy, 8-7. No. 30 Aspen lost in the first round to Kent Denver, 8-0.
Lacrosse season wraps up
The Class 4A boys lacrosse semifinals is down to No. 1 Erie vs. No. 4 Battle Mountain, and No. 6 Air Academy vs. No. 7 Northfield. Both games are Saturday, while the championship is Monday.
As the No. 15 seed, Aspen’s season ended with a 16-4 loss to No. 2 Cheyenne Mountain in the second round. The Skiers beat No. 18 Grand Junction in the first round, 10-7.
As the No. 21 seed, Glenwood lost in the first round to No. 12 Windsor, 16-8.
The Aspen girls lacrosse season ended as the No. 10 seed via a second-round loss to No. 7 Green Mountain, 20-9. The Skiers beat No. 23 Telluride in the first round, 11-9.
No. 11 Roaring Fork girls lacrosse beat No. 22 Rampart in the first round, 15-6, before losing to No. 6 Northfield in the second round, 21-13.
No. 1 Mead, No. 4 Heritage, No. 6 Northfield, and No. 2 Evergreen were the state semifinalists in 4A. Those games had been scheduled for Wednesday evening.
Junior Gents win rugby championship
The Junior Gents high school rugby team recently capped off its spring season by winning the Colorado Rugby Division 2 state championship on Saturday at Infinity Park in Denver.
The Junior Gents, a spinoff of the Gentlemen of Aspen Rugby Club, beat the Fort Collins-based Hammers Rugby side in the final, 20-15. They rallied from a 10-7 halftime deficit.
