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www.canyoncourier.com
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The mountain area’s newspaper since 1958
est. 1958
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30, 2021
N VOLUME 62 ISSUE 34
NOW SERVING EVERGREEN, CONIFER, BAILEY AND PINE
75 CENTS
Evergreen girls lacrosse makes history Team wins first Class 4A state title BY DENNIS PLEUSS JEFFCO PUBLIC SCHOOLS
AURORA — Rachel Sanford knew when she took over Evergreen’s girls lacrosse program three seasons ago that the Cougars could win a state championship. “It’s crazy,” Evergreen senior Margo Miller said. “Rachel (Sanford) when she first came to our school, she looked at the (trophy) wall and said, ‘One day you are going to be state champs.’ I was a sophomore then, and we all kind of laughed, but today is that day.” Top-seeded Evergreen finished off its historic season by winning the first-ever Class 4A girls lacrosse state championship on June 23 at Legacy Stadium in Aurora. The Cougars took a 19-5 victory over No. 10 Castle View. Not only did Evergreen win the state title, but it is the first high school in Jeffco Public Schools to win the girls lacrosse title. “This is awesome,” Evergreen sophomore Bella Reece, who had six goals in the state title game. “To make a name for Evergreen. This is so big. All of our seniors, they hyped us up and brought our team together this year. I’m so excited.” The Cougars (11-2 record) never trailed in the title game. Evergreen scored 10 unanswered goals in the final 13 minutes of the first half to grab a commanding 14-2 lead after halftime.
Evergreen won the school’s first girls lacrosse title on June 23 at Legacy Stadium with a 19-5 victory in the Class 4A state title game PHOTO BY DENNIS PLEUSS/JEFFCO PUBLIC SCHOOLS against Castle View.
MORE STATE SPORTS COVERAGE • Boys lacrosse — Page 10 • Girls soccer — Page 10 For the second straight playoff game, Evergreen induced a running clock with a 10-goal lead in the first half. “We had to come out super strong and look for that extra pass,” Reece
said. “We were hyped. We were able to get that running-clock before halftime.” The Cougars had one of the most potent offensive attacks in 4A this season. Miller, along with sophomores Averi Gardner and Reece all finished the season with 40-goal seasons. “That’s pretty sweet,” Miller said about the three 40-goal scorers. “Bella and Averi are studs. I’m so excited to see what they do in the future
with this program. It was so great to have so many offensive threats.” Miller and Gardner had five goals each in the championship game, just behind Reece’s six tallies. Senior goalie Lauren Spence and Evergreen’s defense held all opponents under double-digit goals during the Cougars’ 11-game winning streak to finish the year. Spence will continue her playing career at SEE CHAMPS, P14
INSIDE THIS ISSUE Gardens Sports
3 Sheriff’s calls 10 Children’s Chorale
5 EPRD briefs 16 Happenings
6 Opinion 17 Marmot Fest
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