Trio of runner-up squads enter Colorado lacrosse playoffs as top seeds

The seeds changed somewhat, but for the most part, the names are the same in the boys state lacrosse playoff brackets.

The field of 16 was released Monday morning for Class 5A and 4A, and if the brackets have a familiar look to them that's because 14 of the 16 teams were in the postseason a year ago in both classifications. Thirteenth-seeded Heritage (Littleton) and No. 14 Dakota Ridge (Littleton) are the two exceptions in 5A, while No. 10 Littleton and No. 11 Evergreen are new in 4A headed into first-round play Tuesday.

Regis Jesuit (Aurora) earned the No. 1 overall seed in 5A and will host Legend (Parker) at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. Defending state champion Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village) is the No. 5 overall seed.

In 4A, two-time runner-up Dawson School (Lafayette) draws the top seed for the second year in a row and opens with Vail Mountain. Two-time defending champion Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch) is the No. 8 seed and would likely face Dawson School should the Eagles win their opener. The 11-day postseason culminates with the state championship games May 18 at Mile High Stadium in Denver.

The 20-team girls bracket was also released, with Cherry Creek garnering the No. 1 seed. Three-time defending state champion Colorado Academy (Denver) is the No. 2 seed. The state championship is May 23 at the University of Denver's Peter Barton Stadium.

Here is a quick look at each of the three postseason fields headed into this week's first round:

Boys
Class 5A
Defending champion: Cherry Creek
Top four seeds: 1. Regis Jesuit, 2. Kent Denver (Englewood), 3. Mountain Vista (Highlands Ranch), 4. Columbine (Littleton)
Overview: Cherry Creek and Regis Jesuit have traded off the previous four 5A state championships. A year ago the Bruins defeated the Raiders 17-8. … Regis Jesuit's only loss this season came in San Diego, and the Raiders have posted victories over teams seeded 2-6 in the state tournament. That includes a 13-12 victory over Cherry Creek on March 21. Junior Jake Taylor leads 5A with 50 goals, and senior Anders Erickson is tied for seventh with 27 assists. … Kent Denver won eight of its last nine games, with the only loss a two-goal setback to Regis Jesuit. The Sun Devils defeated Mountain Vista and Cherry Creek during that stretch, limiting the Bruins to a season-low four goals. … Mountain Vista and Arapahoe (Centennial) find themselves in the same seeding as last spring, when the Warriors upended the Golden Eagles to reach the semifinals. The two teams met in the regular-season finale, with Mountain Vista edging Arapahoe 10-9 in two overtimes. … Tanner Giles of Chaparral (Parker) led 5A with 44 assists and finished second in points. Garrett Ziegler of Lewis-Palmer (Monument) is tied for third in points with 72, and Columbine's Gabe Mein is fifth with 69 points.
Team to watch: Chaparral finds itself in the unenviable position of being the No. 9 seed for the second year in a row. But the Wolverines, who lost to Cherry Creek in the quarterfinals last May, look to have made big strides this season. Chaparral's three losses came by a combined 11 goals to playoff teams, and the team has good balance. Four players have scored at least 30 goals, led by sophomore Jake McIntyre's 38, and Giles has a had a break-out year. Should Chaparral get past Denver East in the first round, top-seeded Regis Jesuit would likely be up next.

MaxPreps Colorado Class 5A state bracket

Class 4A
Defending champion: Valor Christian
Top four seeds: 1. Dawson School, 2. Thompson Valley (Loveland), 3. Battle Mountain (Edwards), 4. Golden
Overview: Dawson School lost to Valor Christian in each of the previous two 4A championship games, but the Mustangs are a team on a mission this spring. Dawson (14-1) has won eight in a row since a loss to 5A Mountain Vista, and the team defeated second-seeded Thompson Valley and Valor Christian by identical 10-9 scores during that span. Senior Gavyn Pure became the state's all-time points leader this spring and is currently second in the state with 96 points (55 goals, 41 assists). Fellow senior Hunter Watts has 27 goals and 29 assists. … The state's points leader is junior Greg Bilek of No. 2 Thompson Valley. Bilek has 99 points and also leads the state with 63 goals, and junior Jared McFerran has 31 goals and 19 assists. The Eagles (14-1) had their only loss come by one goal to Dawson School. … Battle Mountain (12-2) and Steamboat Springs (11-4) each earned top-five seeds out of the Western League. The Huskies defeated the Sailors 5-4 in three overtimes back in late March. … Golden's only in-state loss came to Thompson Valley. The Demons defeated the other four Foothills League teams in the 4A playoffs. … Littleton's Matty Paredes and Liam O'Malley were third and fourth in 4A in points, combining for 162 between them. Paredes had 59 goals in the regular season and O'Malley added 56.
Team to watch: It seems strange to say that the two-time defending state champion is an upset-special, but No. 8 Valor Christian is still a dangerous squad. The Eagles have a balanced offense, with four players tallying at least 24 goals. Senior Austin Saupe leads the team with 38 points, followed by sophomore Cooper Rich with 36 and senior Sean Traynor with 34. The Eagles lost to Cheyenne Mountain (Colorado Springs) and Dawson School by only one goal each and have won of their past nine games headed into the playoff opener against Green Mountain (Lakewood). A victory could set up a rematch against top-seeded Dawson School.

MaxPreps Colorado Class 4A state bracket

Girls
Defending champion: Colorado Academy
Top four seeds: 1. Cherry Creek, 2. Colorado Academy, 3. Columbine, 4. Regis Jesuit
Overview: After finishing as the state runner-up in each of the previous four seasons, Cherry Creek is hoping this is its year. The top-seeded Bruins (15-0) ran the table during the regular season, including a pair of tough victories in a tournament in Virginia. Cherry Creek pretty much had its way with in-state competition, save for a tight 12-10 victory over Kent Denver on May 2. Junior Katie Collins leads the Bruins with 51 goals, and senior Hali Sibilia finished the regular season with 39 goals and a state-leading 57 assists. … Colorado Academy (15-0) also finished undefeated in the regular season, allowing only 43 goals to in-state opponents and 62 overall. The Mustangs allowed more than seven goals only once all season. Senior Lauren Russell leads three players with at least 40 goals with 59 overall. Sophomore Ella Marks played all but 25 minutes in goal. … After dropping its first two games of the season, Regis Jesuit has won 13 games in a row. Should the Raiders (13-2) reach the quarterfinals, they would face a Continental League opponent in either Chaparral or ThunderRidge (Highlands Ranch). … Five of the state's 15 leading goal scorers are from the Jeffco League. Chatfield (Littleton) junior Ryley Caron leads the state with 74 goals (and 105 points overall) and Dakota Ridge senior Kailee Lammers is second with 72 goals and fourth with 90 points. Columbine's Maeve Hungerford is fifth in points with 83.
Team to watch: A year ago, Arapahoe was the No. 12 overall seed but upset No. 5 Columbine and No. 4 Chaparral on its way to the state semifinals. The Warriors returned their top two scorers and went 10-5 this season, and played both Colorado Academy and Cherry Creek tough. Senior Andie Thompson is second in the state to Sabilia with 47 assists, and senior Meg Hanson scored a team-high 59 goals. Arapahoe has a tough second-round matchup in No. 7 Pine Creek (Colorado Springs), with the winner likely facing No. 2 Colorado Academy in the quarterfinals.

MaxPreps Colorado girls state bracket