Latest News – February 19

Sports: State Meets & Tournaments

Medina, Arguello Head to State Wrestling Tournament

It’s off to the State Wrestling Tournament for LCHS Panthers Aaron Medina (Photo left) and Ryan Arguello (photo inset). Good Luck! Go Panthers! Photo: Nick Rose.

Last Friday, four Lake County High School (LCHS) wrestlers fought for their right to advance to the state tournament when they competed at the 3A Region 1 Wrestling meet at the Middle Park High School in Granby. Two LCHS Panthers earned their right to move forward and will be headed to the State Wrestling Tournament on Feb. 20-22 at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

LCHS senior Aaron Medina will make his third trip to State after becoming the new Regional Wrestling Champion in the Class 3A Region 1, (220 lb) on February 14.

LCHS junior Ryan Arguello (132lbs) placed fourth in the tournament and will compete at the state level for his first time.

Congratulations Aaron & Ryan! Good Luck at State! Go Panthers!  

“They worked hard and that’s why they’re there,” stated LCHS wrestling Coach Nick Rose. As a team, Lake County High School ranked 11 in the Class 3A Region 1 with a team score of 48.0. The two other wrestlers who competed at Regionals on Feb. 14 were Darian Sandoval (138lbs), Terrell Sandoval (113lbs).

Follow the Panthers Progress at State . . . online!

One very cool thing about new technology is that you will be able to track Aaron and Ryan’s success online as they wrestle the competition to the mat at the State Tournament! Readers can log on to trackwrestling.com then search CHSAA 3A – Region 1,  then click on their weight class. And the finals will be live-streamed!

Here’s an easy link to Medina: LINK

Here’s an easy link to Arguello: LINK. 

LCHS Panthers Skate Strong at State Nordic Meet

The Lake County High School Nordic Ski Team competed in the State Championships at Eldora Mountain Resort last week, February 13 & 14.

Panthers Hannah Lufkin (right) and Whitney White (left) take a turn at the Nordic State Meet at Eldora Mountain Resort. Photo: Vicki Koch.

On Thursday, the races were classic individual start. Falling snow, high winds, and warm temperatures made the waxing tricky. The Panthers were not flustered by the challenging conditions. The course was a 2.5 kilometer loop that was mostly rolling terrain with small hills. 

Hannah Lufkin was one of the first starters, and she charged through the course to be the first skiers to cross the line. After the higher seeded skiers had finished, she ended up 21st, her best finish of her career at the state meet.  Kimberly Vierczhalek was chasing Lufkin’s time throughout, and ended up just behind her in 22nd place, also a best finish for her at the state meet. Whitney White skied an excellent race, placing 36th. She beat many of the girls who were seeded ahead of her and helped the team to place 7th. 

LCHS senior Ryan Morrison puts on the speed and places 24th at his last high school State Nordic Meet. Photo: Vicki Koch.

The winds did not die down for the second day, Feb. 14 which was a mass start skate race. The course consisted of a series of sharp climbs after a fast opening kilometer. The course then descended and finished with a rolling set of climbs and a brutal last stretch into a 40-mile-per-hour headwind. 

Kim Vierczhalek had her best skate race of the season at the State Meet at Eldora. Photo: Vicki Koch.

“We had our best overall weekend of racing for the whole season,” Coach Karl Remsen remarked after the race, “which is what you would hope at the state meet. I have a lot of seniors who have been great leaders that I will miss greatly next year, but I am excited about our underclassmen and how well they skied today.” 

Many of the Panthers will take part in the Leadville Loppet this weekend. They will enjoy skiing on their home trails and representing Lake County one more time.

Charlie Koch powers on at the State Meet at Eldora, helping the Panther boys place 6th for the weekend. Photo: Vicki Koch.

Flame Soccer Team Blazes Tournament

The Leadville Flame finished their winter soccer season with an amazing performance at the CSU- Pueblo Massari Arena on February. This tournament is the premiere 5v5 indoor soccer tournament in the state, and is unlike any other tournament that the Flame participates. The tournament now in its 19th year, has vigorously maintained its Animal House vs Gladiator atmosphere.

Omar Hernandez sends the ball high to Uriel Bujanda. Photo: Leadville Flame.

“It’s the only tournament that I’ve been to, where teams add stronger or older players if they think they may lose,” explained Coach Kevin Cannell. “You beat a team early in the tournament, but when you face them in the playoffs they are pretty much a different team. It’s just how the tournament works. It’s a huge challenge.”

The Leadville Flame were placed into a Special Under 12 – Under 14 division, where they faced a huge variety of competition. They played the top U14 men’s teams and even played girls from the U14 Olympic Development team.

The Flame made it to the finals by stunning the crowd with a 3-2 win over the Santos U14 team who had not lost a single match all season. But they had to settle for 2nd place as they ran into a wall against the Pueblo Rangers in the Finals.

Bebe Navarro focuses in on goal. Photo: Flame.

“We did everything right, but they were just too good and too big,” Coach Cannell said of the competition, but added

It really worked out very well for our team to move up and play the older players. They would not have been challenged at their normal U12 division. We actually had a few teams laugh at us before our games because of our age and size. They stopped laughing after about a minute into the game.

The Leadville Flame will be competing in the U13 Boys Advanced Challenge Metro League this spring. This will give them the opportunity to bring back some of their older players who have been unable to play the past nine months. Their first match will be held March 22 (TBA).

Leadville Flame player Abby Holm is happy to finally get a chance to play against girls, even if they are a few years older. Photo: Leadville Flame.

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