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Kadet sports are state bound! Here is an overview of the fall sports working towards a state performance.

The volleyball team has surpassed the preseason expectations as they head into the play-offs. After placing higher in the pre-season tournament, and having a higher passing percentage than previous years, the Kadet girls are prepared to go into the tough competition. Leading this young, defensive team are captains Gabby Jones and Jordan Pingel. “By playing strong opponents, such as Lewis Palmer and Cheyenne Mountain, we are prepping for a successful play-off season,” said Jones.  Watch out for your Lady Kadets as they compete for a state title.

Cross country team members enter the end of the high school season with their hopes high. Leading the boys’ team are Danyon Anderson and Andy Boyle, who look to help contribute to the success of the team. With only a thirty-five second gap separating the first and fifth boys’ runners, the team works together towards a successful state and post season finish. Strong runners such as Kayla Wiitala and Matt Najarian are pushing intense workouts to prepare for the top competition like TCA and Coronado. Wish your Kadet runners luck at State on October 26th!

Air Academy High School club hockey players are preparing for their long season ahead. Under 16 and Under 18 AAA Colorado Rampage teams play at the highest division in order to attract college scouts. Different from high school hockey, these boys compete with out-of-state teams in their league to get high-level exposure. The difference between high school hockey and club hockey is, “club prepares you for a collegiate career, where-as high school doesn’t attract college scouts,” according to U18 player Sean Giles. Students at the school playing U16 and U18 Rampage hockey are Sean Giles, Mike Watson, Casey Shannahan, Garrett Metcalf, Jonathan Valtin, Bo Hanson, and Sam Thrutchley.

After a victorious Kadet Kickoff soccer tournament and solid performances in season, the boys team is coming along. The captain, Johnny Sims, agrees that being a student athlete can be hard, “but it’s worth it all; it’s a great group of guys.” Standout performances from forward, Alex Granodos, and center back, James Sims, inspire the team to work towards a successful state tournament. By demanding more from themselves and each other, these boys aren’t taking anything for granted.

AAHS softball has been tearing up the fields. The softball team is looking extremely well for playoffs. Discovery Canyon is their number one competitor, who they lost to earlier in the season; they are competing at the top of the 4A classification. Jenny Beth Maynard says, “We are much better than last season,” and they even have great playing freshmen, including Julia Elbert and Payton Romines. The softball playoffs are this October, so come out and watch.

There is loads of individual talent on this year’s football team. Tobin Morse says, “We are just breaking the surface of what we can do.” The football team is aiming to make it to the playoffs this year, with their new coach Mike Roof. They need a 5-5 or 4-6 (wins-losses) record to advance to the playoffs. Athletes who are playing well and making big strides are Steven Heard, Ben Self, and Eddie Berta. The football team has faced difficult competition, but is going week by week and focusing on big games ahead.

After a successful weekend of performing down in Pueblo at the state tournament, the AAHS tennis boys placed sixth as a team. Our third singles player, Naish Gaubatz, had a fantastic senior season, finishing second at the state tournament. Number one singles player, Keenan Kaltenbacher, played well all season, but lost to Valor. Stefan Ortinurbina also had a successful year, but lost to Durango. Air Academy’s second doubles team, Blaine Weurtz and Jake Thornally lost to Mullen in their last game and placed fourth in the state, an outstanding result. Number one doubles, Neil Orton and Sam Chiacchia, finished a strong season after being defeated by Niwot. Our last team to make state, number three doubles, included Daniel St. John and Zach Reeder who lost to Niwot as well.  Our Kadet boys finished out a very strong season with a great show at State.

AAHS golf athletes finish strong in the state golf tournament. Blake Becco placed 42^nd with a score of 81 and 89 and Cody Steigerwald placed 57^th, scoring an 87 and 89 over the course of two days in Evergreen.  Blake and Cody have played and won against the athletes placing high in the past.  At league level, Blake was tied for 6th place, whose best score was 74, and Cody was 10th, his best score being 76. Zach Pape and Luke Barrick, who are seniors, also played well this year.