Several Key Players and Teams Earn Playoff Status
It is now official that the fall sports season in Woodland Park has screeched to a halt, with official playoff action closing for eligible teams
The good news is that Woodland Park High School can celebrate one of their most successful fall athletic stints in recent history, with most teams waving a winning banner. In fact, several local high school sports teams earned the chance to move on to the playoffs, and some even got the chance to play in a state championship.
This year, the majority of the fall sports teams were successful with most having winning seasons or producing top players in the sport. The following is a wrap-up of how all the fall sports teams at Woodland Park High School did in 2022.
Girls’ Volleyball
The volleyball team ,coached by Stacey Roshek. has been very successful in the past few years and this season they didn’t disappoint fans. Roshek celebrated her 200th win as coach this year, and she led the team to second place in their league which qualified them for the Tri-Peaks Regional Championship.
The girls went to the regional tournament and absolutely dominated the netter field. The Lady Panthers swept both teams at the tournament and moved on to the state championship.
Last week, the volleyball team was given a giant send off from the community as they made their way up to the Denver Coliseum for the state championship tournament. The team’s first match of the elimination-style tournament was against Niwot last Thursday at 11 a.m.
However, the first round of the championship did not go in the girls’ favor as they lost the best of three series 3-1. The Lady Panthers will lose many of their star players this year to graduation, but Roshek has done a good job of feeding the high school team with star athletes from the middle school and club teams.
Overall Record: 17-10 League Record: 11-1
Football
The Panther football team got fans super stoked this year when they completed their most successful season in more than two decades. The fans at Panther Field have proven that they are a strong “12th man” out there as the team has won every home game for the last two seasons, with the exception of their last loss against Alamosa.
The Panthers had their first winning season in recent years, and despite a few end-of-the season losses, the team made it to post-season play. With their loss to Alamosa, they moved back to 10th place in 2A statewide and they were matched up against the Basalt Longhorns on the road.
The team traveled west to Basalt, but they could not overcome the Longhorns’ stellar passing game. They lost the game in the end and were thus eliminated from the state championship playoff bracket.
The Panthers will lose some key players like running back/linebacker Aiden Hernandez and lineman Noah Nelson to graduation. But their star quarterback/punter/defensive end Bryce Broeker will be back on the field next year for his senior year.
Overall Record: 6-4 League Record: 3-2
Boys’ and Girls’ Cross Country
The cross country team was another squad, which doesn’t receive that much publicity, but is one that had quite a successful year. Both the boys’ and the girls’ teams won several matches, and they both took fourth place at the regional tournament to qualify for the state championship tourney.
In fact, it was the first time at the high school since 2007 that both teams of runners did well enough to make it to state. At the state tournament, the boys placed 14th and the girls took 17th place.
Individually, Emma Graber placed in eighth and Stella Schroeder took ninth for the girls’ team. Joseph Begley on the boys’ team took 12th place.
“Congratulations to both teams; your hard work and perseverance throughout the season led you to your success today! Keep it up; we can’t wait to see you next season!,” said the team’s coach Jeremy Grier.
Boys’ Golf
The boys’ golf team, which practices regularly at Woodland Park’s Shining Mountain, had another great year, with many of the local players getting high ranks. This year, the Panthers qualified one golfer to the state tournament. Tanner “TJ” McAfee, who had his most successful season on the team, showed amazing promise and immense improvement since he was once paired with TMJ staffers Trevor Phipps and Rick Langenberg in a fund-raiser tourney several years ago.
During his senior year, McAfee shined on the links and earned the chance to play at the state championship in the 3A division, McAfee competed against more than 80 other star golfers in this bracket.
McAfee had a decent game in the two-day state tourney, as he shot an 83 in the first round and carded an impressive 80 in the second round for a total score of 163. The Woodland Park golfer ended up tying in 42nd place in the tournament. He finished better than more than half of the field.
Softball
The softball team this season came out swinging with a young team and a new coaching staff. The girls struggled in the first part of the season, but they were able to pick up some key wins during the season.
Lexy Curran ended up with the most stolen bases in the 3A Tri-Peaks league and 14th in 3A statewide with 26. Pitcher Izabella Newsom had an impressive season by getting the second most strikeouts in the league with 90.
Marin Kleppe led the team behind the bat with 33 runs, 25 hits, and seven RBIs. Kleppe also took third in the league for stolen bases with 24.
Overall Record: 6-17 League Record: 2-6
Boys’ Soccer
The boys’ soccer team this year had a new coaching staff and some freshman players that came in to start the season. The boys had some key wins and they came close to getting .500 when it came to league play.
In the end though, the team finished in fifth place in their 3A Tri-Peaks league, which was not quite good enough to qualify for postseason play. However, with such a young team, the Panthers have much hope for next season.
Freshman goalie Noah Magistrelli placed third place in the 3A Tri-Peaks league with a goals-against average of 2. The starting goalie played 14 out of 15 games and gave up a total of 28 goals.
Freshman Miles Wiley led the team on scoring with seven goals during the season. Junior Caden Howard was second best with five goals and seven assists.
Overall Record: 5-10 League Record: 2-3