COLORADO HIGH SCHOOL ACTIVITIES ASSOCIATION GIRLS

The Team to Beat: Cherry Creek

The Bruins had their three-year run at the top and their 40-game winning streak against Colorado competition ended by Air Academy in last year’s state championship game. But for Cherry Creek, which has won a state-record seven titles since Colorado began crowning girls lacrosse champions in 1998, the loss will only serve to make this year’s returning group more focused.

Cherry Creek graduated nine seniors and brings back 12 varsity players from last year’s team. Included in that group are at least three future NCAA Division I players in Stanford-bound senior middie Annie Anton, Boston University-bound senior attack-middie Kameryn Downing and California-bound senior attack-middie Shelby Barrett.

Anton, a U.S. Lacrosse High School All-American selection as a junior, and Downing, an honorable-mention All-American as a junior, are both point-generating machines. In the Bruins’ semifinal win over Denver East last season, Anton registered 10 points and Downing had eight. Downing also scored five goals in the state-championship game loss to Air Academy, and Anton had a 14-point game against Heritage/Littleton in the regular season. Downing put up 10 points in the same game against Heritage/Littleton.

Contenders: Kent Denver, Denver East, Heritage/Littleton, Air Academy

Kent Denver hasn’t won a state title since 2005, but the Sun Devils will have as good a chance as anyone to knock off favored Cherry Creek. Kent Denver brings back seven starters after graduating seven starters, and it has several sophomores who made an impact on the varsity as freshmen last season. This year’s Sun Devils team will be led by senior middie Logan Galansky, senior attack Jessie Burke, senior goalie Melissa Julia, senior defender Kate Lang and junior middie Anneke Ossorio.

Denver East graduated eight seniors, including its top defender and goalie. But the Angels still bring back eight starters from a team that advanced to the state semifinals. Denver East will be led by senior middie Kelley McCarroll-Gilbert, senior defender Kelli Uhlberg, senior middie Helen Gaffigan, junior middie Tierra Romero, junior attack Lizzie Larson and junior middie Maxwell Blair.

Heritage/Littleton will have the bulk of its team back after it graduated just four seniors from a group that made it to the state quarterfinals. The Gryphons’ offense will be led by high-scoring junior middie Anna Salemo, senior attack Kait Clark, senior attack Ellen Brown and junior middies Maddie Hosack and Hannah Annalora. In the cage, senior Jenna Pauline will be back.

Air Academy enters the season on a 19-game winning streak after it won the state championship and finished 2009 as the No. 1 ranked team in the Western United States. But the Kadets graduated the heart and soul of its title-winning team, and a back-to-back effort seems extremely unlikely. Senior defender Jordan Kline is back after taking home All-State honors two years in a row, and she will be joined by senior middie Katie Reed, senior middie Hannah Kinderwater and sophomore middie Miranda Beal.

Sleeper: ThunderRidge

The Grizzlies are coming off the best season in program history in which they posted a 14-2 record and qualified for the postseason for the first time. This year’s ThunderRidge team looks even better, with 10 returning starters and several players who have been on varsity since their freshman year. ThunderRidge graduated just three seniors off last year’s team. Fort Lewis-bound senior attack Kylie Smith and senior middie Nicole Krook will lead the team along with senior goalie Adrianne Siefker, senior middie Chelsea Nugent and senior defender Audrey Paranka.

NCAA Division I Recruits: Kelsi Anderson, Att.-MF, Mullen (Oregon); Annie Anton, MF, Cherry Creek (Stanford); Shelby Barrett, Att.-MF, Cherry Creek (California); Kameryn Downing, Att.-MF, Cherry Creek (Boston University); Maxine Luckett, G, Fountain Valley (Stanford); Bridget McGann, Att., Regis Jesuit (Mount St. Mary’s); Megan McGinnis, G, Colorado Academy (California).

Other Top Players: Hannah Annalora, MF, Heritage/Littleton; Audrey Arbuckle, G, Cherokee Trail (Dana); Rachel Baines, MF, Chaparral; Miranda Beal, MF, Air Academy; Ellen Brown, Att., Heritage/Littleton; Maxwell Blair, MF, Denver East; Kendra Burch, MF, Cheyenne Mountain; Jessie Burke, Att., Kent Denver; Kait Clark, Att., Heritage/Littleton; Tori Dealer, G, Regis Jesuit; Jordan Dierkens, MF, Columbine; Kate Dunn, MF, Colorado Academy; Lauren Elliott, Def., Arapahoe; Kelly Florence, MF, Colorado Academy; Natalie Foerster, MF, Smoky Hill; Helen Gaffigan, MF, Denver East; Logan Galansky, MF, Kent Denver; Megan Gosselin, MF, Centaurus; Kasey Griese, Att., Chaparral; Rachel Hebberd, MF, Golden; Maddie Hosack, MF, Heritage/Littleton; Melissa Julia, G, Kent Denver; Hannah Kinderwater, MF, Air Academy; Jordan Kline, Def., Air Academy; Kari Koga, G, Centaurus; Nicole Krook, MF, ThunderRidge (Fort Lewis); Kate Lang, Def., Kent Denver; Annie Larson, Att., Columbine; Lizzie Larson, Att., Denver East; Emma Lazaroff, MF, Centaurus; Kelley McCarroll-Gilbert, MF, Denver East; Christen Neugebauer, Att., Columbine; Chelsea Nugent, MF, ThunderRidge; Megan O’Donnell, MF, Arapahoe; Anneke Ossorio, MF, Kent Denver; Audrey Paranka, Def., ThunderRidge; Jenna Pauline, G, Heritage/Littleton; Claire Peterson, Att., Colorado Academy; Callie Raymond, Att., Regis Jesuit; Katie Reid, MF, Air Academy; Tierra Romero, MF, Denver East; Anna Salemo, MF, Heritage/Littleton; Adrianne Siefker, G, ThunderRidge; Kylie Smith, Att., ThunderRidge (Fort Lewis); Vivian Snider, MF, Cheyenne Mountain; Lauren Snow, MF, Columbine; Analise Stein, Def., Arapahoe; Rachel Sutton, MF, Arapahoe; Maddie Tedford, MF, Columbine; Kady Tomlinson, MF, Smoky Hill; Kelli Uhlberg, Def., Denver East; Kelsea Wallace, Att., Golden (Fort Lewis); Lauren Wells, G, Chaparral; Chloe Williams, G, Arapahoe; Whitney Wood, Def., Chaparral (Fort Lewis).

Preseason Top 10: 1. Cherry Creek, 2. Kent Denver, 3. Denver East, 4. Heritage/Littleton, 5. Air Academy, 6. ThunderRidge, 7. Arapahoe, 8. Columbine, 9. Colorado Academy, 10. Chaparral.

Notes: Jolene Woodward has replaced Katie Peksa at Arapahoe. She inherits a competitive team that had a lot of talented young players last season. Senior middie Megan O’Donnell will lead the team....Columbine won 16 straight games to start the season last year before falling to eventual state-champion Air Academy in the quarterfinals. This year’s team will bring back eight starters from that group and will play a more challenging schedule, although it must cope with the loss of four standout players. Senior attack Annie Larson, junior middie Maddie Tedford and junior attack Christen Neugebauer will lead the Rebels....Colorado Academy will be light on numbers and not field a JV team this season, but it should still be pretty competitive at the varsity level. The Mustangs graduated three seniors and return nine starters, a group that will be led by California-bound senior goalie Megan McGinnis and senior middie Kelly Florence....Chaparral also only lost three seniors, but among those was one of the best players in the state. The Wolverines have nine starters back and will be led by sophomore attack Kasey Griese, senior goalie Lauren Wells and junior middie Rachel Baines....Expect Smoky Hill to have a junior-heavy team that is cohesive and competitive but perhaps a year away from making waves in the state. The Buffaloes bring back six starters, including junior middie Natalie Foerster....Golden graduated six seniors and brings back its top three scorers in senior middie Rachel Hebberd (64 goals), junior Kaitlyn Gilbert (25, goals, 20 assists) and senior Kelli Gallagher (23 goals, 19 assists)....Centaurus graduated eight seniors and brings back six starters from last season’s playoff team. Senior middie Megan Gosselin, sophomore middie Emma Lazaroff and junior goalie Kari Koga are three players to watch....Steph Coyne has replaced Ali Craig has head coach at Mullen. She inherits a team that is expected to be competitive and will be led by a future NCAA Division I player in Oregon-bound attack-middie Kelsi Anderson....Regis Jesuit should be another competitive team the season. The Raiders graduated four seniors and bring back seven starters. They will be led by Mount St. Mary’s-bound senior attack Bridget McGann, senior attack Callie Raymond and junior goalie Tori Dealer.