CHSAA Begins 92nd Year of High School Activities

***Press Release***

Prep Fall Sports Practices Start August 13; Boys’ Golf Starts August 6

Aurora, Colo. ‑‑ The Colorado High School Activities Association’s 92^nd year of sanctioning high school athletics in the state begins when boys’ golf athletes take to the practice greens on Monday, August 6. All other fall sports begin formal practice on Monday, August 13.

Practices in all fall sports for boys and girls, with the exception of boys’ golf, can formally begin on August 13, with the first day of competition in cross country, boys’ soccer, girls’ field hockey, girls’ gymnastics, girls’ volleyball, football and spirit slated to start on August 30. Competition in boys’ golf commences August 9, boys’ tennis on August 16 and girls’ softball August 17.

“The beginning of fall practice remains one of the most exciting days in a student’s life. But even beyond that, that first day of practice offers all of us the opportunity to get back to the community-based roots that high school sports provide. Look around the state and you will see that each school is the hub of the activities in its neighborhood,” CHSAA Commissioner Paul Angelico said. “When the two major fires and the horrific shooting in Aurora occurred, where did people turn to as the center of the community? The local high schools. We forget sometimes that our 340 schools are the heart of our communities. As we go in to the new school year, we have a chance to reflect on that point and to help make them a stronger cornerstone in the 193 communities that are the CHSAA.”

In May, 1921, a group of superintendents and principals met in Boulder and organized the Colorado High School Athletic Conference. The purpose of this organization was to better regulate and develop the interscholastic school athletic program.

There were nine leagues by the time the first constitution was published, including the Northern, North Central, Western Slope, Suburban, Southeastern, Arkansas Valley, South Central and San Juan Basin leagues.

The first champions crowned that school year were Colorado Springs in football, Greeley in basketball, and Fort Collins in track and field.

In 1924, the Colorado High School Athletic Conference joined the National Federation of State High School Associations and has remained an active member of that organization ever since.

Loveland’s R.W. Truscott was the Association’s first president and Eaton’s J.C. Casey its first secretary (commissioner). Truscott replaced Casey as secretary in December, 1926 and held that post until July, 1948 when Glenn T. Wilson became commissioner. Ray C. Ball took over the commissioner’s post in 1966 and remained in the office until August, 1986 when Ray Plutko assumed the duties. Bob Ottewill became the Association’s sixth commissioner in July, 1990, followed by Bill Reader who served as Commissioner from 2002 until 2010. Angelico assumed the reins on July 1, 2010

The CHSAA has had 57 presidents dating back to 1921. Its current president, Cherry Creek Schools Assistant Superintendent Dr. Harry Bull, is in the second year of a two-year term as president.

The Association enters the year with few changes on staff. Paul Angelico, a 24-year member of the staff, is Commissioner. Assistant Commissioners Bert Borgmann and Tom Robinson are in their 25^th and 12^th years on the staff, respectively. Meanwhile, Bethany Brookens and Harry Waterman each enter their fifth year with the Association. Bud Ozzello enters his third year on the staff. Jenn Roberts-Uhlig, former Sheridan athletic director, joins the administrative team for the first time this year.

Malinda Arensdorf serves as administrative assistant to Waterman, while Kim Rose (Angelico), Lisa Cunningham (Borgmann), Michele Sobczyk (Brookens), Jane Boudreau (Roberts-Uhlig), Audra Cathy (Ozzello) and Monica Tillman (Robinson) work in concert with the other administrators. Bookkeeper Donna Welch and mail room coordinator Sharon Garcia round out the Association staff. (Additional information follows)

Defending State Champions and First State Champions

Sport	1A	2A	3A	4A	5A	First Champ*
Baseball	Stratton	Res. Christian	Eaton	Broomfield	Cherry Creek	P. Central (’51)
B. Basketball	Caliche	Den. Christian	Faith Christian	Lewis-Palmer	Chaparral	Greeley (’22)
G. Basketball	Pawnee	Akron	Faith Christian	Air Academy	Legacy	Golden (’76)
B. Cr. Country	XX	C. Butte Comm.	Classical Acad.	Centaurus	Fort Collins	Boulder (’51)
G. Cr. Country	XX	Nederland	Classical Acad.	Th. Valley	Monarch	P. East (’78)
Field Hockey	XX	XX	XX	XX	Kent Denver	Colo. Acad. (’97)
Football	Burlington	Florence	Windsor	Valor Christian	Columbine	Colo. Spgs. (’21)
	Fleming (A6)	D. Christian (A8)
B. Golf	XX	XX	Kent Denver	Silver Creek	Regis Jesuit	D. East (’47)
G. Golf	XX	XX	XX	Regis Jesuit	Cherry Creek	Cherry Cr. (’90)
Gymnastics	XX	XX	XX	Evergreen	Overland	B. Creek (’74)
Ice Hockey	XX	XX	XX	XX	Regis Jesuit	Littleton (’76)
B. Lacrosse	XX	XX	XX	XX	Arapahoe	Kent Den. (’99)
G. Lacrosse	XX	XX	XX	XX	AIR ACADEMY	Kent Den. (’98)
B. Skiing	XX	XX	XX	XX	Aspen	Middle Pk. (’65)
G. Skiing	XX	XX	XX	XX	Aspen	Middle Pk. (’75)
B. Soccer	XX	XX	Faith Christian	Mullen	Denver East	Cherry Cr. (’75)
G. Soccer	XX	XX	Peak to Peak	Air Academy	Cherry Creek	Arapahoe (’78)
G. Softball	XX	XX	Valley	Wheat Ridge	Legacy	Boulder (’87)
Spirit/Cheer	XX	Telluride	Manitou Spgs	Cheyenne Mtn.	Chaparral	Arapahoe (’91)
Spirit/Poms	XX	Vail Christian	Bennett	Evergreen	Grandview	Gr. West (’92)
Spirit/Co-ed Ch.	XX	XX	XX	Valley (2A/3A)	Douglas Co. (4A/5A)	Widefield (’93)
Spirit/Jazz	XX	XX	XX	XX	Highlands Ranch	Heritage (’96)
Spirit/Hip Hop	XX	XX	XX	XX	Overland	Rampart (’10)
B. Swimming	XX	XX	XX	Air Academy	Regis Jesuit	D. So/D. Ea. (’59)
G. Swimming	XX	XX	XX	Thompson Vy.	Fossil Ridge	Cherry Cr. (’74)
B. Tennis	XX	XX	XX	Chey. Mountain	Cherry Creek	P. Central (’27)
G. Tennis	XX	XX	XX	Chey. Mountain	Cherry Creek	T Jefferson (’75)
B. Track	Walsh	Lyons	Classical Ac.	Longmont	Ft. Collins	Ft. Collins (’22)
G. Track	Merino	Lyons	Classical Ac.	Thompson Vy.	Loveland	F-Ft. Carson (’75)
G Volleyball	Otis	Lutheran	Eaton	Chey. Mountain.	Chaparral	Mitchell (’75)
Wrestling	XX	Paonia	Alamosa	Windsor	Pine Creek	Greeley (’36)

* = Large school champion listed.

CHSAA Administrative Staff and Major Assignments

Paul Angelico, Commissioner (Classification and League Organization Committee, Board of Directors, Legislative Council, Budget, Hardship Waivers, Handbook, Personnel)

Bert Borgmann, Assistant Commissioner (Baseball, Basketball, Gymnastics, Hall of Fame, Media Relations, State Legislative Relations, New Schools, Programs, State Records, Championship Results, Trophies & Awards)

Tom Robinson, Assistant Commissioner (Golf, Officials, Officials’ Fees Committee, Sportsmanship, Sportsmanship Seminars, Officials’ Organizations)

Bethany Brookens, Assistant Commissioner (Field Hockey, Tennis, Music, Skiing, Swimming, Volleyball, Cooperative Programs, Title IX, Equity)

Harry Waterman, Assistant Commissioner (Football, Wrestling, Lacrosse, Student Council, Foreign Waivers, NFHS Section 6, Playoff Sites, Tournament Playoff & Finance)

Bud Ozzello, Assistant Commissioner (Softball, Soccer, Speech, Ice Hockey, Coaching Registration, Sanctioned Events, Participation Survey, Office Manager)

Jenn Roberts-Uhlig, Assistant Commissioner (Cross Country, Spirit, Track & Field, Corporate Relations, Recognition Programs, Academic Team/All-State, Sports Medicine, Junior High/Middle Schools, New Athletic Directors Meeting)