14ners

Kritapas Thanakornjuk, Fountain Valley, jr., boys soccer – Thanakornjuk has seven goals this season but has scored in just two games. That means the Danes’ striker had a monster game somewhere.

Thanakornjuk blasted Ellicott in a 6-1 victory last week and scored five goals against the Thunderhawks. His outburst against Ellicott is his second multigoal game this year and set a career high.  

Jose Canales Portillo, Mitchell, jr., boys soccer – In matches where Portillo scores at least one goal, the Marauders don’t lose. So imagine how dominant Mitchell looks when he nets four.

Portillo finished Mitchell’s match with Elizabeth on Oct. 1 with four of the Marauders’ seven goals in their 7-1 victory over the Cardinals. Portillo also earned an assist to finish with nine points.

It’s the fourth time this year Portillo has scored a goal and the Marauders are 3-0-1 in those contests.

Olivia Pitts, Falcon, so., girls volleyball – Pitts has dazzled all season for the Falcons, but the sophomore especially shined in a pair of games last week.

Against Sand Creek, Pitts finished with a game-high 13 kills and four aces to lead the Falcons past the Scorpions 3-1 (25-21, 25-12, 18-25, 25-18).

On the road against Elizabeth, the Falcons won 3-1 (20-25, 27-25, 27-25, 25-18) behind another big match from Pitts. She finished with 16 kills and a team-high .333 hitting percentage against the Cardinals.

Shila Ansell, Vista Ridge, sr., girls volleyball – The Wolves’ outside hitter reached 19 kills two times in her career prior to Vista Ridge’s match with Liberty. Those came in losses, however.

Ansell matched a career-high 19 kills in a 3-2 (25-11, 25-21, 21-25, 22-25, 15-12) win against Liberty last week to give the Wolves their fourth win. It’s the Wolves’ first five-set victory since Sept. 29, 2022, when they defeated Fountain-Fort Carson 3-2. This is Ansell’s second time with double-figure kills this season.

Brooklyn Bolander, Mesa Ridge, jr., softball – The Bolander barrage boosted the Grizzlies to a 17-2 victory against Palmer last week in her best hitting performance of the season.

Bolander finished 3-of-3 hitting with three RBIs against the Terrors and notched her first homer. The junior righty’s perfect on-base percentage was her highest of the season.

Isabel Perez, Vanguard, sr., girls cross country – Perez went 364 days between first-place finishes and returned to the scene where she captured her lone meet win in 2024.

The Coursers senior clocked in at 20 minutes, 35 seconds at the Courser Lightning Invitational meet on Saturday at Monument Valley Park and cleared the field by more than 30 seconds in the small schools race.

Perez’s placement is her third consecutive top-10 finish and her fourth race of the year in the 20-minute range.

Chloe Bresnahan, Manitou Springs, so., girls cross country – For the first time in her career, Bresnahan put the entire field in her rear view.

Bresnahan finished first in 18:36.30 at the Thunder-Storm XC Invite at Walking Stick Golf Course in Pueblo on Friday. The Mustangs won the meet with 28 points and placed four of its runners in the top fivet.

For Bresnahan, her time set a personal record and is the first sub-19-minute race of her young career.

Kelsey Peterson, The Classical Academy, jr., flag football – The Titans play caller had the best game of her career in a 47-6 victory over Vista Ridge on Wednesday.

Peterson finished the game 31-of-38 passing for 314 yards, seven touchdowns, no interceptions and an .816 passing percentage against the Wolves. Peterson’s passing yardage, completions and touchdowns all set career highs and the Titans had their second-best scoring game of the season.

Sydney Ramirez, Vanguard, sr., flag football – Although Ramirez finished the 33-6 loss against Air Academy without a touchdown Thursday, it’s clear who was the favorite target.

The wide receiver had a career-high 17 receptions for 114 yards. Coursers QB Reghan Klem completed 29 passes, meaning Klem completed nearly 60 percent of her passes to the wideout.

Ramirez has six contests with 10 or more receptions and back-to-back matchups with 114 yards.

Gabe Herman, Vista Ridge, sr., football – Opposing offensive lines hate to see Gabe Herman coming their way.

The Wolves’ defensive end created havoc in Liberty’s backfield all Friday night in Vista Ridge’s 42-7 victory to help his team move to 5-1. Herman finished with his first two sacks of the season and caused three quarterback hurries.

Herman also finished with a team-high 12 tackles and two tackles for loss against the Lancers.

Colt Kugler, Cheyenne Mountain, so., football – Kugler’s best game of his young career came at the perfect time for the Red-Tailed Hawks.

The Cheyenne Mountain running back finished Friday’s 54-35 win over Centaurus with 14 carries for 119 yards, both career highs, and two touchdowns.

Kugler’s performance also marks the sophomore’s second career 100-yard rushing game. In his one varsity game as a freshman in 2024, Kugler ran for 114 yards and two scores on four carries in a 44-0 win against Gateway last season.

Achilles Evans, Sand Creek, sr., football – There wasn’t much Evans didn’t do Friday night against Thornton. In a 61-0 victory against the Trojans, Evans scored on offense and played the role of pest on defense for the Scorpions.

Evans finished the game 1-of-1 passing for 14 yards and a score, the first passing TD of his career. The Scorpions athlete also had one reception for 24 yards and a touchdown, his first career TD reception. On defense, Evans ended with two tackles, both for losses, two sacks and two hurries.  

Ethan Kiptui, St. Mary’s, so., boys cross country – Kiptui fell 10 seconds shy of matching his personal-best time but managed a strong performance at the Courser Lightning Invitational.

The Pirates runner clocked in at 16:28 at Monument Valley Park to place second in the large school section and finished 3 seconds behind Garden City (Kan.) runner Trevor Fry, who won in 16:25.

Kiptui has back-to-back finishes in the top three and, for the season, the sophomore has four overall.

Exciting finish

Boys soccer

Palmer Ridge 3, Woodland Park 2

Despite the final score, the Panthers held the advantage for much of this contest.

Woodland Park led 2-0 for much of the first half and took a 2-1 advantage into the break after Liam Doyle struck for the Bears with 13:47 left in the opening 40 minutes.

Canyon Furrer knotted the contest at 2-2 12 minutes into the second half and, with 10 minutes left in the contest, Doyle netted his second goal to give the Bears a lead they never relinquished.

If you haven’t heard…

Kyleigh Croyle earns 150^th career hit

The Pine Creek senior laid prone on grass with a softball in her right hand as Croyle’s teammates held a banner displaying her photo and, in bold white letters “150 hits” in the top right corner as the bunch posed for a photo.

Croyle finished the 11-0 win against Liberty on Sept. 30 with two hits to give her 150 for her career along with another victory in the circle as the Eagles’ pitcher. As of Tuesday afternoon, Croyle has 29 hits and a .558 hitting average – just .002 points shy of her career-best mark.

In four years on varsity, Croyle also has 129 RBIs, 44 doubles, six triples and seven home runs. The Eagles’ ace is 40-10 in four years as pitcher.

Cheyenne Mountain, Air Academy combine for 31 runs as Red-Tailed Hawks softball team earns W

Two of the areas’ top softball teams engaged in a slugfest last week and tallied 27 hits, seven home runs and 30 RBIs which led to a 17-14 Red-Tailed Hawks victory.

While both teams were tied 10-10 after the third inning, the Red-Tailed Hawks went cold and watched Air Academy build a 13-10 lead.

Cheyenne Mountain scored seven in the seventh. Corrine Harlow’s leadoff homer sparked the Red-Tailed Hawks. Harlow’s two-RBI double with two outs drove home Gabrielle Sisson and Madison Anderson to make it 17-13.

After Monday’s game against Discovery Canyon, which the Red-Tailed Hawks won 11-10, they’re 16-4 and one win shy of their best mark since 2017 when Cheyenne Mountain finished 17-5.

Coronado girls volleyball sweeps Widefield to earn first win

The Cougars had dropped all 11 in a row ahead of their matchup with then 11-4 Widefield. Make that 1-11 after their matchup with the Gladiators.

Coronado handed Widefield its fifth loss and earned its first victory since Oct. 29, 2024, with a 25-20, 28-26, 25-23 sweep of the Gladiators. Despite their record, the Cougars’ success against the Gladiators continues and Coronado owns a 14-match win streak against Widefield.

The Gladiators last won this matchup in September 2009.

Football results

The Classical Academy 2, Lincoln 0 (forfeit)

Durango 47, Rampart 7

Denver West 57, Mitchell 6

Montrose 57, Falcon 6

Cheyenne Mountain 54, Centaurus 35

Legend 57, Pine Creek 30

Elbert 52, St. Mary’s 21

Buena Vista 51, Ellicott 0

Florence 42, Manitou Springs 17

Fountain-Fort Carson 56, Douglas County 9

Pueblo West 49, Doherty 6

Simla 29, Calhan 20

Rye 14, Peyton 7

Banning Lewis Academy 27, Woodland Park 13

Sand Creek 61, Thornton 0

Vista Ridge 42, Liberty 7

Palmer Ridge 42, Air Academy 0

Mesa Ridge 41, Widefield 0

Hanover 66, Kiowa 20