Local and State Sports Action
A Glimpse into the “Good, Bad and Ugly”
2025 got off to a pretty decent start when it comes to high school sports.
The boys and girls wrestling teams were the stars of the ’24-’25 winter sports season. But then fans stayed thrilled with the success of the baseball team last spring.
During the wrestling season, there were many stars that were rising in the ranks. In fact, at one point, the Woodland Park wrestling teams had a handful of wrestlers that ranked in the top 10 statewide.
In the end, the high school sent two boys and three girls to the state wrestling championships at the Ball Arena in Denver. The wrestlers all battled hard at the state tourney, but only two grapplers fared well enough to earn a spot on the podium.
On the girls’ team, junior Cheyenne Becker fared the best as she finished in third place in her 4A 235 lbs. weight class. On the boys’ team, senior Bryson Leonhardt ended up in sixth place in his 3A 175 lbs. weight class.
Also, last winter, the boys’ basketball team made vast improvements. The boys came close to the postseason, but then just missed out after losing their final three matches. Unfortunately, the girls’ basketball team and the boys’ hockey team failed to win a single game last year.
Then when spring came, the baseball team seemed to steal all of the thunder. The baseball team literally came out swinging when they launched an impressive 11-1 start. This marked their best season start in recent history.
The team stayed strong for most of the season and finished with a 13-9 overall record and a 6-3 league tally. The team made the playoffs for the first time in several years but then lost 21-1 to the Classical Academy in the first round. Still, it was quite a run for a local sport that never achieved much success in Woodland Park due to the area’s rough weather conditions for baseball.
The track and field team also had a great season last year. The team had several team and individual accolades during the season as they qualified several athletes to the state championship tournament
The track and field athletes also accomplished quite a bit in the state championship tournament. The girls 4x100m relay team snagged third at 50.33 seconds. Aidan Bates took 13th in the boys’ triple jump and long jump. Joe Johnson took 7th in 100m hurdles.
Silas Tiemen took 6th in the high jump. Toni Ciccarelli took 14th in the girls high jump (4 foot, 9 inches). The girls 4 x 200 relay team finished 12th and the girls 4 x 800 relay team finished 8th.
Then when fall came, everyone had high hopes for the football and boys soccer teams who both hosted playoff games in 2024. But unfortunately, both teams failed to make the postseason.
In fact, the best team of the fall sports season proved to be the cross country team. The cross country athletes achieved much success during their fall 2025 season.
When it comes to sport action across the state from and professional teams during 2025, here is a short synopsis:
The Good
At the time this article was written, it was a great year to be a Colorado professional sports fan. For the ’25-’26 sports season, the Denver Broncos, Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets were all looking stellar.
In mid-December, the Broncos were the best team in the NFL. The Nuggets were second place in the NBA’s Western Conference. And, the Avs were first in the NHL’s Central Division.
Only time will tell, but Colorado sports fans have their fingers crossed that at least one team can take home a championship and do better than they did during the ’24-’25 season. Last year, the Broncos made the playoffs with a 10-7 record and then lost to the Bills in their first and only postseason match.
The Nuggets made it to the playoffs and then lost in the second round. The Avalanche also made the playoffs but then lost to the Dallas Stars in the first round.
The Bad
Well, it’s easy to say that the Colorado Rockies were by far the state’s worst pro sports team yet again. In 2023, the Rockies broke a franchise record for the worst season ever when they lost more than 100 games. In 2024, the Rockies won a few more matches, but lost over 100 for the second year in a row
But then things got even worse in 2025. The Rockies officially finished their worst season ever when they finished the 2025 season with a 43-119 record.
But this year the Rockies weren’t alone in the “bad” category. In fact, the Colorado Buffaloes, Colorado State Rams and the Air Force Falcons all had losing seasons and were not eligible for bowl games.
The Ugly
Baseball fans locally took another hit after learning that the Rocky Mountain Vibes would be leaving Colorado Springs. The team had a decent season but missed the playoffs before they announced that they would not be playing anywhere in 2026.
The news came as a shock because at one point in 2025, Colorado Springs had two baseball teams after the Noco Owlz folded as a franchise. The Owlz rebranded to the Colorado Springs Sky Sox to play their final season as a team.
But after the news struck, there have been some action going on behind the scenes to get a new baseball team for Southern Colorado in 2026. Rumors have circulated that Colorado Springs may gain a Double A team this summer: fingers crossed.
