Windsor standout senior Jake Eccleston positioned himself for another couple state titles, while other local competitors also advanced past preliminary rounds during the first day of the two-day Class 4A boys swimming and diving championships Thursday at the Veteran’s Memorial Aquatic Center in Thornton.
Eccleston placed first in the prelims of the 200-yard individual medley (1:54.44) and the 100 breaststroke (57.10). He is the two-time defending champion in both events. He’ll have a chance to threepeat in the events when the finals take place, beginning at 5 p.m. Friday.
Windsor’s team of sophomore Elias Everitt, senior Talmage McGehee, senior Owen Burnett and junior Kaden Sanger was ninth (1:42.60) in the prelims for 200 medley relay, positioning itself for Friday’s finals.
Sanger was 15th (1:51.50) in the 200 freestyle, qualifying for the consolation finals.
McGehee placed 11th (2:03.94) in the 200 IM prelims, qualifying for the consolation finals. He was 15th (1:03.33) in the 100 breaststroke, earning another consolation finals berth.
Windsor junior Joshua Abram was 14th (22.75) in the 50 freestyle prelims, qualifying for consolation finals. Abram’s Wizards teammate, senior Keegan Nichols, placed 10th in the prelims for the 100 butterfly (54.30), earning the final berth into Friday’s championship finals. Windsor had two other swimmers qualify for the consolation finals: Burnett (55.19, 13th) and Everitt (56.37, 19th).
Windsor senior Booker Whittington placed 11th (50.21), and Abram was 17th (50.87), in the 100 freestyle, qualifying for the consolation finals.
Sanger qualified for the consolation finals in the 500 freestyle with an 18th-place finish (5:09.45) in prelims.
The Wizards team of Eccleston, Whittington, Abram and Nichols had an impressive third-place finish (1:28.32) in the 200 freestyle relay, punching its ticket to the championship finals.
Everitt was fifth (54.29) in the 100 backstroke prelims to qualify for the championship finals. In that same event, Burnett was 11th (56.82) and Nichols was 19th (59.84), earning their spots in the consolation finals.
Windsor’s quartet of Eccleston, Whittington, Abram and Nichols was fourth (3:19.43) in the 400 freestyle relay, punching its ticket to the championship finals.
Also, during the diving finals Thursday, Windsor senior Anthony Mascarenas placed seventh with a score of 463.40. Evergreen junior Carson Harrington won the event with a 601.50.
Finals bound
At least one local athlete is sure to be playing in a state finals match Saturday during the 4A girls tennis state tournament.
Windsor sophomore Zaylee Rose and Severance senior Ava Zink each won a pair of No. 2 singles matches Thursday during the opening day of the three-day tournament at Pueblo City Park.
As a result, Rose and Zink will face each other in the semifinals Friday with the winner taking on Cheyenne Mountain sophomore Sophie Zhou or Niwot senior Tracy Nu in the No. 2 singles championships Saturday.
Rose defeated Golden sophomore Nina Wither 6-2, 6-1 in the first round before knocking off Mullen junior Claire Lenich 6-2, 6-2 in the second round.
Zink defeated George Washington freshman Hannah Nguyen 6-3, 6-4 in Round 1 before beating Denver South senior Laney Pearson 6-1, 7-5 in the quarterfinals.
Severance freshman Joanna Carter wasn’t quite able to remain in title contention, despite defeating Grand Junction Central senior Alexis Wickham 6-3, 6-2 in the No. 1 singles first round. Carter fell 6-1, 6-2 to Niwot junior Saha Kolli in the quarterfinals.
Carter — and other second-round participants — can qualify for playbacks and receive a shot at third place if the opponent she lost to in the second round (Kolli) advances to Saturday’s final.
Windsor junior Delaney Kintz lost in the No. 3 singles first round to Ponderosa senior Kiera Sheehan, 6-2, 6-2.
Also, in the 4A No. 3 singles bracket, Severance senior Erin Crownhart defeated Lewis-Palmer senior Madison Dodge 6-1, 6-1 in the first round but lost in the second round, 6-1, 6-3, to Grand Junction junior Anara Munkhtogoo.
Windsor seniors Kinza Sagel and Bailey Webb fell in the No. 1 doubles first round to Erie seniors Francie Mueller and Kendall Wachowiak, 6-2, 7-6.
The Wizards No. 2 doubles tandem of senior Hannah Kraemer and sophomore Olivia Webb fell in the first round to Palmer Ridge junior Ulmer Kate and senior Madison Schoolsky, 6-1, 5-7, 6-3.
Severance’s No. 3 doubles pair of senior Sienna Henry and junior Lane Robinson defeated Evergreen freshman Abby Noto and junior Violet Penny, 6-4, 6-1 in the first round. A final result for their second-round match against Mullen juniors Grace Jeffers and Charlotte Morse wasn’t available at press time.
Windsor’s No. 3 doubles team of sophomores Mia Baatz and Taylor Meinen knocked off Erie junior Addie Rice and sophomore Brooke Jordan 6-2, 6-3, but lost to Discovery Canyon juniors Lily Gruber and Lauren Sincock, 6-0, 6-3, in the second round.
The Wizards No. 4 doubles squad of senior Abby Toerge and freshman Sally Dreyer defeated Denver South junior Emma Odland and freshman Eleanor Ekedahl 6-2, 7-6, before falling in Round 2 to Erie seniors Addie Osborne and Avery Gilcrest, 6-2, 6-3.
In the 3A tournament at Memorial Park and Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs, Resurrection Christian junior Isabella Prohs fell to Dawson sophomore Isabelle Jacobsma 6-0, 6-2 in the No. 1 singles first round. In that same round, University senior Halle Getting fell 6-1, 6-3 to Colorado Academy freshman Mira Leon.
Getting’s Bulldogs teammate, junior Hazel Byerly, fell to Peak to Peak junior Sydney Lewis 6-0, 6-0 in the first round of the No. 2 singles bracket.
Resurrection Christian freshman Ryann Siffring fell to Holy Family senior Clara Meisner 7-5, 6-0 in the first round of the No. 3 singles bracket.
Eaton’s senior No. 1 doubles duo of Tayla Wiedeman and Kallie Salberg fell to Peak to Peak senior Ziba Ahamad and sophomore Sydney Parkinson 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in the first round. Within that same bracket, University juniors Jaylee Morado and Victoria Aghanenu lost to Steamboat Springs seniors Evan Quinn and Kelsey Norland 6-1, 6-0 in the first round. Also, at No. 1 doubles, Resurrection Christian juniors Chloe Lincoln and Jordan Taylor lost to Holy Family senior Avery Alderman and sophomore Lauren Stonehocker 6-4, 6-0.
Eaton sophomores Maddy Smith and Trinity Salberg lost in the first round at No. 2 doubles to Steamboat Springs senior Amanda Dietrich and sophomore Leslie Jimenez 7-6, 6-4. Also at No. 2 doubles, Resurrection Christian senior Ryleigh Smith and junior Bentley Steyaert fell to D’Evelyn seniors Sky Young and Addie BaanHofman 6-0, 6-1 in the first round. And University junior Trinity Williams and freshman Charlie Sherman lost to Holy Family seniors Kylie Horning and Sophia Pham 6-2, 6-0.
University freshmen Brielle Barrett and Abby Martinez lost to Vail Christian freshmen Carys Highum and Olivia Zajac 6-0, 6-2 in the first round of the No. 3 doubles bracket. In the same bracket and round, Eaton juniors Lily Kennedy and Evie Gavette defeated St. Mary’s Academy freshman Palmer Phelps and sophomore Sidney Smith 6-2, 6-3. The Reds duo then won a quarterfinals nail-biter against D’Evelyn junior Nicole Reeb and freshman Sheena Wu 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.
Kennedy and Gavette will face Holy Family senior Kenna Dietz and junior Raelynn Pickup in the semifinals Friday.
At No. 4 doubles, Eaton sophomores Aya Kinoshita and Evelyn South defeated University sophomore Makayla Chambers and freshman Taylee Emmerling 6-0, 6-2 in the first round. Kinoshita and South then lost to Colorado Academy juniors Emily Archie and Bea Wadsworth 7-5, 5-7, 6-0 in the second round.
Pure Wizardry
A youthful Windsor squad lived up to its third seed in the first round of the 32-team 4A girls soccer state tournament with a clean 3-0 win against No. 30 Steamboat Springs (7-6-3) on Wednesday at H.J. Dudley Field.
The Wizards were in full control from beginning to end, leading 2-0 at halftime before tacking on an insurance goal in the second half.
Windsor improved to 12-3-1 overall and extended its win streak to 10 matches, dating back to April 10.
The Wizards move on to the second round and will play host to No. 14 Evergreen (10-5-1) at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Another 4A state qualifier wasn’t as fortunate Wednesday.
Northridge, seeded 20th, fell 6-0 to No. 13 Green Mountain (10-3-1) in the first round at JeffCo Lakewood Memorial Field.
The Rams went up 2-0 in the first half before slamming the door with four more unanswered goals in the second half.
Grizzlies senior goalkeeper Avery Suhr had 16 saves. Northridge ended its season at 9-5-2.
Upset-minded
Perhaps one of the biggest surprises of girls soccer state tournament first-round action came on Thursday during the 3A state tournament.
Despite being a lower seed, perennially contending 25th-seeded Frontier Academy (9-5-2) earned a clutch 2-1 win on the road against No. 8 St. Mary’s Academy (9-7) in the first round.
This was the Wolverines’ fifth consecutive victory.
Frontier will try to score another road win when it faces No. 9 Timnath (15-0-1) in the second round 1 p.m. Saturday. The Cubs defeated No. 24 Regis Groff 7-0 in Thursday’s first round. Timnath defeated Frontier Academy 9-3 on March 28 during Patriot League play.
Defending home turf
Local teams went two for two Tuesday and Wednesday during the first round of the 4A boys lacrosse state tournament.
Resurrection Christian (10-6), seeded 14th in the 24-team bracket, defeated No. 19 Lutheran 12-10 on Tuesday at Loveland 欧美巨乳色情片 Park.
The Cougars erased a 6-4 deficit, outscoring the Lions 4-3 in the third quarter and 4-1 in the fourth.
Freshman Jacob Adams led the way with four goals. Junior Zander Adfield won 23 of 26 faceoffs. Junior goaltender Dylan Crownover had 13 saves.
Resurrection Christian will face No. 3 Steamboat Springs (13-2) on the road in the second round at 5:30 p.m. Friday. The Sailors received a first-round bye.
Windsor (7-8), seeded 12th, was dominant in its 16-8 first-round home win against No. 21 Glenwood Springs (5-10) on Wednesday.
Wizards senior Cooper Tindle had a monstrous outing, recording 11 goals on 16 total shots.
Sophomore goaltender Carter Bailey had 11 saves.
Windsor moves on to a second-round road matchup of its own. It will face unbeaten fifth-seed Telluride (12-0) at 4:30 p.m. Friday. The Miners also received a first-round bye.
— Bobby Fernandez covers high school sports for the 欧美巨乳色情片 Tribune. Reach him at (970) 392-4478, by email at bfernandez@greeleytribune.com or on X @BobbyDFernandez.
