Neither
Brett Olson or
Jamie Katuna were able finish their senior seasons by hoisting a state championship trophy this season, but each departed high school hoops with a glitzy consolation prize.
Olson, a guard on the Highlands Ranch boys basketball team, and Katuna, a guard on the Longmont girls team, were named Colorado's Gatorade players of the year for their respective genders. Olson, who will play at the University of Denver along with teammate Marcus Byrd, averaged 18.4 points and 7.4 assists. The Falcons advanced to the Class 5A semifinals.
Katuna, a San Francisco recruit, averaged 23.7 for a Trojans team that finished 4A runner-up for the second consecutive season.
"I'll always love talking about high school basketball and how good of friends we were," Katuna said. "But I won't want to talk much about that final game."
COUGARS SURGINGThe
Cherokee Trail (Aurora) baseball program has progressed with light-speed effciency in its first eight seasons, but there was something the Cougars had never done – or even come close to doing. Since moving to 5A two seasons ago, the Cougars were 0-4 against Cherry Creek and had been outscored 54-5.
On Thursday, the Cougars went to the Bruins' Tom McCollum Field and blasted Creek 10-4. Cherokee Trail was up 10-0 before surrendering four runs in the bottom of the seventh.
"It's a good win, but like I told those guys, it's the sixth game of the season," Cherokee Trail coach Allan Dyer said. "We'll see them again and some other good teams, so we put it in perspective."
Daniel Mackay pitched 6 1/3 innings, striking out eight, and hit a two-run home run for the Cougars (5-1).
FOLLOWING IN BIG BROTHER'S FOOTSTEPSDakota Granzella, now at Mesa State, once hit a team-record 14 home runs for Salida. His younger brother,
Dillon Granzella, is coming after the achievement. He has mashed five round-trippers in Salida's first six games this season, doing so in just 20 at-bats.
Dillon, a junior, is tied with Abraham Lincoln's
Austin Davalos for the state homer lead spanning all classifications. Davalos, though, has had 42 at-bats.
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR?Frontier Academy freshman
Hannan Braun has amassed 19 goals and seven assists in the Wolverines' first eight girls soccer games, leading many to believe she is the most talented freshman in the state. But the second-most proficient freshman in the state also can be found on the Wolverines roster.
Katie Dodge has produced 13 goals and six assists, helping
Frontier Academy (Greeley) to six straight wins after an 0-2 start.
BERGGREN GETS SOME FACE TIMEMiddle Park (Granby) three-sport athlete Samantha Berggren recently was featured in Sports Illustrated's Faces in the Crowd. Her sports aren't the most common: cross country, Nordic skiing and track (she won the 400 meter dash at state last season). Berggren has committed to Auburn.
TOP PERFORMERS* Kyle Freeland, Thomas Jefferson: The senior whiffed 14 batters as the 4A Spartans upended 5A Ralston Valley 9-4 on Thursday. Earlier in the season, Freeland struck out 13 against top-ranked Golden, a game suspended with the teams tied 4-4.
* Emma Lazaroff, Centaurus: The junior scored eight goals and added three assists in the Warriors' wild 25-17 girls lacrosse win against Heritage/Littleton on Tuesday. The Warriors buried all but 13 of their shots on goal.
* Sade Akindele, Legacy: The senior striker scored four goals and added two assists Tuesday in the Lightning's 9-0 win against Greeley Central. Akindele was also a basketball standout on a Legacy squad that reached the 5A state quarterfinals.
* Jake Gonzales, Columbine: The Rebels' sophomore scored five goals and added three assists Saturday in a 15-12 boys lacrosse win against Cherokee Trail at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium on the University of Denver campus.
RECRUTING NEWSWhile it's no secret Mullen quarterback Cyler Miles will be the state's hottest commodity next season, another Mustang is starting to get an abundance of big-school looks. Offensive lineman
Arthur Flores received an offer from Utah last week according to The Denver Post, and soon, others came calling. By the end of the week, Colorado and Central Florida also had extended offers.
Paul Willis is a regular sports freelancer for The Denver Post and covered high school, college and pro sports for the Rocky Mountain News from 2000-09. You can reach him at gdpdub@aol.com.
