Those same thoughts are held by Wheat Ridge coach Carol Degenhart, as well as one of the top players for the Farmers, Kelsey O'Connor.
Wheat Ridge beat Conifer 10-6 Thursday in a game played at Lakewood's Trailblazer Stadium, with both players having big roles for their teams and demonstrating they will be counted among the state's finest players this season.
Although on the losing side, Vaggalis scored five of her team’s six goals, while O'Connor had three among a balanced scoring Wheat Ridge team.
Lacrosse is a one-classification sport for both boys and girls in Colorado, with the boys fielding 71 teams among 10 leagues and the girls 53 among seven leagues. Arapahoe, 2-0 and ranked No. 7 after two weeks of competition, is the defending boys champion. Air Academy (4-0) won the girls title last season, but currently is ranked No. 2 by MaxPreps.
Cherry Creek holds down the No. 1 spot in this week's boys and girls rankings. The Bruins boys, who reached the semifinals the past two years, have a 4-0 record early, with victories against Heritage (8-4), Fort Collins (8-6), Fairview (13-7) and Douglas County (15-3). The Cherry Creek girls, who were beaten in the semifinals last season, are 3-0 with wins against Kent Denver (14-12), Rampart (19-1) and Grandview (19-1).
"I'm not sure if we are there with the Cherry Creeks and the Kent Denvers yet, but we can be up in the top eight with the likes of Regis, Mullen or Chaparral," Degenhart said. "So, that is nice to see. As for the season, I think we are all still trying to get our teams together as we have had so much bad weather. Grass, turf, we are still struggling with the transitions in the field things."
So far, O’Connor is pleased with the start to her season.
"I've done pretty well," O'Connor said. "I've been starting since I was a freshman and I've been able to pick things up pretty well. This is a fun sport with more girls becoming involved. I play volleyball and basketball, too, and would like to play either in college. But I would love to play anything in college and if it's lacrosse, that would be fine.
"Our sport has grown," O'Connor added. "Right now, I don't know a lot about the other teams in the other leagues as weather has slowed a lot of us down. But, we all are looking for a very good season"
Vaggalis has also been a starter since her freshman season and is pleased her school picked up the sport.
"We are progressing a lot," Vaggalis said. "Colorado is not as recognized as other places, but anyone has a chance. Lacrosse is progressing for sure across the state and you see the leagues and participation expanding. I think we can all forward to good things ahead."
The early leaders for individual scoring as reported to MaxPreps are Jordan Smith at Highlands Ranch with 14 goals and Trace Wollner of Columbine with 12 on the boys side. Anna Salenio of Heritage/Littleton (10 goals) and Annie Larson of Columbine (seven) are the top girls at this time.
