SPORTS HIGHLIGHT

REGIS JESUIT’S WINTER & SPRING SPORTS

Senior Blakeley Stoughton slams the ball into the basket during the fourth quarter against Loveland in the first round of playoffs. The varisty boys basketball team advanced all the way to the Great Eight before George Washington knocked them out of playoffs, ending the season 14-2. Photo by Reilly Wible ‘22

Senior Sophie Walz grips her legs as she plummets toward the water during a dive meet against Rock Canyon. Photo by Reilly Wible ‘22

JUNIOR KEEPER GAGE BUSSEY STANDS IN FRONT OF THE GOAL DURING WARMUPS AS REGIS PREPARED TO TAKE ON VALOR. HOCKEY CLOSED OUT THEIR SEASON 12-1, LOSING IN THE FROZEN FOUR TO VALOR. PHOTO BY AUDREY HARMAN ‘22

Senior Bradley Butler flies through the air while tackling his opponent to the ground. Varsity boys wrestling adavnced to state, with Senior Anthony Segura taking home his third straight state title. Photo by Reilly Wible ‘22

Senior Sarah Wagner elegantly spins during the Mission Season Pep Rally. Poms took home 3rd place in the Ponderosa Classic, 2nd in league, and 9th in state. Photo by Reilly Wible ‘22

Junior Katie Loftus dribbles towards the goal as a Cherry Creek defender chases her. Girls varisty field hockey closed out the season with their big state win. Photo by Reilly Wible ‘22

Freshman Elena Medina slices through the air as she dives into the water during a race against Rock Canyon, assisting Regis with the 104-66 win. Varisty girls swim finished the season 6-5 with a state win from Emma Weber. Photo by Reilly Wible ‘22.

Freshman Alexis Seguar lifts her arm in triumph after defeating her Douglas County opponent. Alexis went on to place second in her weight class in the 5A State Wrestling Tournament. Photo by Reilly Wible ‘22

Senior Julia Davis skips across the mats during a cheer practice. Varsity cheerleading finished top 20 at competition. Photo by Reilly Wible ‘22

Senior Avery Vansickle pulls up for the jumper as a Castle View player contests the shot. The varsity girls basketball team advanced to state where they lost to Valor but took home second overall and finsihed their season 15-2. Photo by Reilly Wible ‘22

Sophomore Ana Francis runs the ball down the field during the first half of the varsity girls rugby game against Summit. The girls rugby team finished the season with 5-10. Photo by Reilly Wible ‘22.

Senior Brendan O’Toole races down the sidelines as a Heritage defended attempts to keep up. Boys soccer made it to the first round of playoffs and finished the season 7-1. Photo by Reilly Wible ‘22

1

3

4

After a heart wrenching loss against Broomfield High School in the state championship of fall 2020, a close score of 1-0, Regis Jesuit’s determined Boys Varsity Soccer team trained tirelessly for another grueling competition for the state title. Despite the season’s challenges, the boys came together to work diligently, celebrate their wins and hold each other up through the community they’ve built around the sport.

Out of the four captains on Regis’s boys varsity soccer team, Alex Billings ‘21 and Tanner Scarth ‘21 have both been raised playing the sport. They’ve been playing soccer since early childhood, and have grown into their athletic abilities phenomenally.

The web of connections within the team is deeper than surface level; with Scarth’s dad is an assistant soccer coach, and Billings with a close relationship with Coach Wolf that passion for theology, teaching the subject goes back many years. in both divisions. He firmly believes the

One thing for sure, is that there most rewarding thing about coaching is an overwhelming rapport that the is the people and the positive close team shared. relationships he establishes with his

“This year we have a unique and team. diverse skill set in the field. Each of us This year has been unique for a are fortunately individually gifted and multitude of reasons, but the closeness collectively gifted. It clicked very early and community that surrounds his soccer for us,” Scarth said. team has been an amazing asset. The

“The younger guys are always coaches leave most of the practices up to coming to our games, supporting us. the team captains, and this has paid off. We’re always looking out for them, “The leadership on the team, to begin especially in the hallways,” Billings with, is just amazing. The leaders are remarks on the outstanding bond. empowering the kids that are the leaders

Senior Alejandro Herrera has been on the team to really mold and shape the playing for his club team for three team the way they want it,” Coach Wolf years while he’s at Regis and wanted says. to be part of the soccer program. The other circumstance that has

“He’s a kid that has raised the changed this year drastically is the spread level of confidence and plays with of the pandemic, which moved soccer everything we’ve demanded with our kids from the first day of being part of our THE LEADERSHIP ON THIS TEAM, TO BEGIN WITH, IS “ from the fall to this spring. His take on the difficulties Covid19 has thrown at the sports teams is one of gratitude. program,” Says Coach JUST AMAZING. THEY ARE “There’s a lot of blessings that Wolf . EMPOWERING THE KIDS have come out of waiting to play

There’s always a THAT ARE LEADERS ON THE until now. It’s been good, difficult, lot of pressure on kids TEAM TO REALLY MOLD but rewarding,” Wolf said. to play for their club AND SHAPE THE TEAM THE Since the beginning of the teams, and Herrera’s WAY THEY WANT IT. pandemic has given Coach Wolf club coach told him much to be optimistic about. to turn his uniform in This season has brought a and that he wouldn’t be a part of his range of emotions to all who are invested. club again when they spoke about the After a heartbreaking game with Cherry change. Herrera didn’t waver and just Creek High School, the neck to neck game wanted to play for his fellow students. ended with Creek scoring in the last two That showed a large amount of minutes to win 1-0. trust in the bond he shared with his The Regis Jesuit Varsity Soccer team teammates. played their hearts out, with a record

Rick Wolf has been a soccer of 7-1 for the season and winning the coach at Regis for over 17 years, Conference Title. The brotherhood within starting in 2003 but become the the team has unwavering support for each head soccer coach during 2012. He other and that’s a bond no outcome could juggles his coaching along with his break.

1.TANNER SCARTH ‘21-Photo by Reilly Wible 2. VARISTY BOYS TOGETHER Photo by Tyler Chan 3. ALEJANDRO HERRERA ‘21 - photo by Tyler Chan 4. ALEX BILLINGS '21 Photo by Chloe Simon

STATE champions A WIN THAT BROUGHT THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER AND PROVIDED A SENSE OF NORMALCY BY SABRINA VIZURRAGA ‘22 1. FANS GATHERED and cheered on the girls Varsity field hockey team as they played in the championship game. 2. ?? ??? 3. PLAYERS LEAP from the sidelines, hair swinging after the first goal of the State Championship game against Cherry Creek. Photos by Audrey Harman ELEVATE: WHEN YOU STARTED THE SEASON WHAT WERE YOUR GOALS AS A TEAM? ANNIE TARTELL: We started the season with the intention and goal of going to state. On the first day of practice for the season, I remember Coach telling us that today was day one of preparing for state; I honestly think that sent the tone for the whole season. Our goal was to play our game this season. We recognized our strengths and weaknesses and made sure we used each players strengths to the best of their ability.

ELEVATE: HOW DID COVID EFFECT YOUR SEASON? TARTELL: COVID definitely made the season unique as we didn’t play many of the teams we usually do. They broke the regular season up into three brackets and we only played within our bracket until semis and the championship. It also affected us as the team had to quarantine for a week, so we couldn’t practice and had to miss some of our regular season games. Luckily the coaches were able to move games, so we had four games a week when we returned. But a positive from COVID was the delayed season getting to practice longer (18 months since the last championship game) and having a mini fall ball season just within the Regis program.

ELEVATE: WHAT DROVE THE TEAM THIS YEAR? GRACE WEIGAND: The team was really driven by the opportunity we had to play. We knew that nothing was going to be given to us and were excited to just be back on a field again. We wanted to give our all because we were so grateful to be out there and excited to be given the opportunity to play.

ELEVATE: WHAT WERE YOU FEELING WHEN YOU WENT INTO THE SECOND OVERTIME FOR THE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME? HOW DID THE TEAM COME TOGETHER FOR THE WIN & HOW DID IT FEEL LIKE WHEN THE FANS RUSHED THE FIELD AFTER THE BIG WIN? TARTELL: Going into the second overtime I knew the game wasn’t over yet and I had faith that we could do it, as we have practiced the overtime and the 7v7 before. Our offense has always been our strong suit, especially the speed in it. Coach says all it takes is two or three right decisions and executions in a game to score a goal and I knew Cate and Ellie could do that. It was honestly one of the best feelings having the student section there with that many people supporting us and believing in our team. I was overwhelmed with joy when they rushed the field! It is something I am never going to forget! One of the highlights of my time at Regis because that support and community we felt is what makes Regis who we are.

WEIGAND: I was really excited when we went into the second overtime. I was grateful to be given extra time out there with my friends and to have just a little more time on the field. I was confident in the seven we put out there and I knew how skilled our front line was. It was so much fun when everyone stormed the field. I was so excited that we won but I was even more happy that all the kids were enjoying themselves. It was one of the first times it felt like high school in over a year since COVID started. It was so much fun, and it was amazing to celebrate with the whole school and the best team.

BY MASON HARRIS ‘24

DEFYING THE

This year, robotics was faced with unprecedented challenges. Heading into this school year, they weren’t sure if the program would even be able to function properly. They were faced with restrictions that made it nearly impossible to work as a team. The amount of people that could be in the STEM center was slashed to six total, making it impossible to communicate with every member. However, they persevered through every challenge and came out more unified than ever.

“The team did an amazing job of taking his unorthodox year and putting their best into it,” Aidan Sim ’22 said.

This year, Sim and other leaders had to take on an increased workload and role. Many leaders had to be more versatile than ever, taking on leadership roles in areas they weren’t previously strong in.

Combined with the challenges of Covid, this year’s robotics competition consisted of the skills challenge, the innovation challenge, and the game design challenge. For the skills challenge, they reused a robot from last year for an autonomous driving session. The most creative challenge this year was the innovation challenge. The club was tasked with designing a product with a full business model that could keep people mentally and physically fit. They had to do this through encouraging play and active movement. Despite all of the challenges, Sim was optimistic about this past year and future years.

“I think that I’ve gotten a good amount of good friendships, especially with upperclassmen coming in a freshman and as a sophomore. For skills, really learning how to work with people I don’t really have a ton of similarities with, and learning how to teach people as well,” Sim said.

Even with the complications of online learning, the club persevered through every challenge and they’re now awaiting results. They submitted their last product in early April. Each team worked together better than ever, and the club developed a sense of unity. They hope to come back stronger than ever next year.

KEEP BY ELLIE FOX AND SOPHIE WALZ‘21 PEDALING

MOUNTAIN BIKING team gathers for a photo before school. THE TEAM rides trails at Phillip Miller park in Castle Rock. Photos provided by team

“First of all, it’s a team. Stop with the club stuff,” RJ Mountain Biking Team founder Chris Walsweer says.

The Regis Jesuit Mountain Biking Team has seen an uptick in participation this year due to COVID-19, unlike the majority of sports. This past season, with most sports postponed, mountain biking stole the show. Regis’ Mountain Biking Team is ranked 10th by private school review in the state of Colorado.

According to Chris Walsweer, the RJ Biking Team founder, the team consists of two categories of riders: casual riders and “kids who are kinda crazy.” This ‘casual rider’ category saw the most growth during this past season, with an increase in kids from other sports that had been benched by COVID, just trying to stay in shape. These riders attended the two formal practices a week at Philip Miller Park in Castle Rock and one long ride on Saturdays at whichever trail was deemed safe enough for the group.

It is these Saturday rides that seem to set the Mountain Biking team apart from other sports at Regis Jesuit. This long ride may include ‘Hell Hill’, a part of the trail lovingly named by Mr. Walsweer, due to its 13 percent incline. Hell Hill leaves Walsweer thinking “what kind of kid says yes to this?” These multi-hour rides force the team to travel all over.

“These kids are leaving skin on every dirt trail in the state,” says Walsweer. This rigorous training schedule attracts some amazing athletes to the second category of hard-core riders; some of whom even plan to ride in college.

One of these athletes is Freshman Elise Holt. Holt is one of two female riders on the team, and has already proved herself as a leader on the team. She began mountain biking at just five-years old and began racing at six.

Holt’s training also includes club practices with Avout Racing that can add up to more than five hours a week. At Ken Caryl (her favorite trail), she really enjoys “hard up-hills, only supporting Walsweer’s claim that these kids are crazy.

Holt also faces up-hill battles of the trail as one of the few females in a male-dominated sport. However, Holt says she never felt like an outsider on the Regis team.

“[The boys] were all so welcoming and made me feel so great to be a part of their biking community,” Holt says. Holt also said that because the female biking community is so small it is also extremely tight knit.

“I get to see their faces and get to know how they bike. And this helps me know what to work on to beat them in races and to find their weak spots.” While Walsweer’s account of practices and Holt’s intense love of the sport may be intimidating for novice riders, the Mountain Biking team welcomes new riders with open arms.