The spring sports season is reaching its finale, and Broomfield baseball is providing the last gasp of the May calendar for the local contingent of teams.

Later this week, the Eagles will begin their Class 5A state tournament ride and will do so as the No. 5 seed in a competition that will be stacked with talent. They were the only team out of 12 regional qualifiers from the BoCoPreps coverage area to make it out of last weekend.

They’re just one drop in a sea of impressive performances from the athletes from our area. The latter portion of the 2024-25 slate brought plenty of thrills for local teams, specifically on the state track scene. Niwot alone won 14 individual titles and both Class 4A team titles (girls and boys).

A look at some of the best moments from the entire school year, in no particular order:

High praise

• Niwot boys cross country wins Nike Cross Nationals

In a surprise celebration months after the Cougars’ win at NXN, Nike Global Running head coach Chris Bennett gave them perhaps the highest honor.“This is one of the greatest programs in the United States,” he said at the event held in the Niwot High School gym in January. “There are just over 27,000 high schools in the United States. There are over 500,000 athletes that do cross country. The boys’ field here at the national championships in Portland, Oregon, in early December had 32 state championship teams, 70 individual state championship runners. It was the deepest field ever assembled.

“You had the defending national championship team there. You had the greatest team ever — from the East Coast of the United States — there. There’s a section of the course in the back. Fans don’t make it out there. I consider it the hardest part of the course, because no one’s watching. Niwot was not in the lead when they headed into the back portion of the course, but when they came out, they were in the lead. They never gave it up. It was a complete, total win by the Niwot boys. They are, emphatically, the best team in the United States.”

• Peak to Peak’s Eschmeyer ends stellar career as a McDonald’s All-American

There hasn’t been a girls basketball player from Boulder County, perhaps ever, like Peak to Peak’s Alexandra Eschmeyer. Standing at 6-foot-5, the now-graduated Puma and daughter of former Northwestern hoops stars put together the type of stat line that would make any player swoon.

Per BoCoPreps reporter Brent New: “On the court, Eschmeyer leaves behind one of the great statistical careers in Colorado hoops history. She’s sixth all-time in girls points (2,066) and rebounds (1,225). She’s seventh in blocks (393) and second in double-doubles (79).

“Over her career, she led the Pumas to the 4A round of 16 twice, including in 2025, and to the school’s second-ever quarterfinal in 2024.”

What a comeback

• Broomfield football erases 21-point deficit to claim 4A state title

Montrose entered the Class 4A state championship game at Canvas Stadium firing on all cylinders and had built up as much as a 28-7 lead with 40 seconds remaining in the first half. The Eagles, it would quickly be revealed, were just storing up their potential energy, waiting for the spark they needed to turn kinetic.

Mikhail Benner lit the match. He dragged his toe into the end zone in the final minute to cut the Red Hawks’ lead to 14, and the Eagle offense took care of the rest in the second half to win, 35-28.

Senior quarterback Darien Jackson finished the game with 175 passing yards and two scores, then added another touchdown on the run.

Benner pitched in 112 receiving yards and a touchdown on offense, then caused two fumbles on the defensive end.

Sheer Dominance

• Holy Family girls golf blows away the competition at the Class 3A state championship

Holy Family head coach Heikke Nielsen knew all season long that his Tigers would be the team to beat when the 3A state tournament rolled around, and earlier this week the prophecy rang true. His ladies not only secured the team crown, but they did so in dominant fashion — by 31 strokes.

Their internal battle for the top four players came all the way down to their last regular-season tournament, and junior Peyton Mraz (third individually, 11-over par 155), junior Steffi Heitz (fifth, 157), sophomore Acadia Curtis (seventh, 164) and senior Finley Holmes (23rd, 179) certainly didn’t waste the opportunity.

• Niwot girls track and field wows again with nine individual titles as girls, boys win the 4A team races

The ladies won their sixth straight state championship under the direction of coaches Maurice Henriques and Kelly Christensen. Senior Jade West won her third straight crown in the shot put, while chipping in her second straight title in the discus.

Senior Reese Kasper wrapped up her career with six championships, including three last week in the 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles and 4×200 meter relay, the latter of which set the new 4A state meet record at 1:38.86.

Junior Addison Ritzenhein raked in her fifth, sixth and seventh golds in the 3,200, 1,600 and 4×800 as she continues her sparkling career with the Cougars.

• Mead’s Bowling caps illustrious high school career with second state championship

It’s no wonder why Leister Bowling IV is heading to one of the most prestigious college wrestling programs this fall. The Mead graduate and Iowa commit won Class 4A, 175-pound gold at the state championship with a 2-1, overtime thriller against Pueblo Central’s Genaro Pino.

He didn’t lose a single match against Colorado competition during his final campaign.

He led a small contingent of Mavericks to make the finals, including seniors Will Eilers (215) and Grant Gordon (285), as well as freshman Renee Hudson (110). Those three all finished runner-up in their respective weight classes.

• Broomfield’s Martinez the first girl to win Daily Camera wrestler of the year honors

Not only did Martinez break barriers with the first-ever Daily Camera wrestler of the year honors, but she was the first girl from the Boulder Valley School District to rein in a gold medal at this year’s Class 5A state championship.

The 190-pounder won in dominant fashion, pinning Loveland’s Abigail Stearns in the finals after pinning her first two opponents of the weekend. The Monarch student ended her sophomore campaign with a 25-1 record.

Reeling in the trophy

• Monarch’s Keogh, DiFronzo lead Coyotes to first-ever boys swimming title

Senior Gavin Keogh, who’s repeated as the Daily Camera swimmer of the year the past two seasons, was named the 4A swimmer of the year after he broke the state record in the 100-yard backstroke and won the 200 freestyle.

His fellow senior teammate, Ethan DiFronzo, picked up golds in the 50 free and 100 free. They, along with Tobin Howe and Isaac Skillern, likewise claimed the crown and the 4A record in the 200 medley relay in a state meet that showcased just how much of an impact head coach Amber Austin has made on the boys program in her short tenure.

The Coyotes entered the meet with 108 qualifying times, then barely edged Mullen for the team crown with 409.50 points. The Mustangs ended their campaign with 402.

• Peak to Peak girls tennis ends incredible season with 3A team title

The Pumas returned to their dominant ways of old on the courts — dating back to 2018 and 2019 — with a 4-3 victory over No. 2 Prospect Ridge Academy during the Class 3A team state tournament finals.

Seniors Lena Crotty (No. 1 singles), Sydney Lewis (No. 2 singles), juniors Molly Kolachov/Sydney Parkinson (No. 1 doubles) and seniors El Allen-Bonney/Lhadze Olsen (No. 2 doubles) all won in the final event to push the top-seeded Pumas over the edge.

Parkinson and Kolachov won the individual state tournament just a few days earlier, as did Allen-Bonney and Olsen. Lewis and No. 3 doubles team Abby Fitzgerald/Jolie Sasseville finished state runner-up in their respective lines.

PRA’s Maya Anderson (No. 3 singles) likewise secured her crown in the individual competition alongside her No. 3 doubles teammates, Amelia Waggoner and Natalie Rooks.

• Holy Family’s Molina nets the only goal in the Tigers’ 3A state championship overtime win

Stellar defense defined regulation of the 3A championship war between No. 1 Holy Family and No. 2 Jefferson Academy, and neither squad could hit paydirt through the first 80 minutes of play.

They entered sudden death to determine the winner, and Colorado Academy transfer Jesus Molina needed only 2 minutes, 18 seconds to deliver the final blow to Jefferson Academy.

Holy Family had controlled the pace of play up to that point, but the Jaguars hardly let them get a clean shot on goal off.

“I think it was our counterattack and breaking the line,” Molina explained at the time. “I was 100% sure our back line wasn’t going to let any (goals) go. They’ve been phenomenal this season. Matt (Napierkowski), Achi (Tetenta), Max (Davisson), and Dube (Tetenta) have just been clamps this whole season. They’ve kept us alive.”

Notable

• Fairview football turns the lights off on Mountain Vista’s season

Mountain Vista, undoubtedly Class 5A’s most dominant football team throughout the regular season, began its 2024 campaign with an 83-6 blowout over Hawaii’s Pearl City, then later thumped perennial powerhouse Valor Christian in a 62-21 bonanza.

It looked as if no one could stop the Golden Eagles on their march toward a state championship, until Fairview got in the way.

A halftime power outage, a venue change and an 11-point deficit in the final two minutes didn’t seem to faze the Knights, who went on to win 49-45 in the quarterfinals matchup. Fairview then ended its own unbeaten streak in the next round, when Legend outmaneuvered it with a 35-21 finale.

Prior to their run, the Knights had not won a playoff game since 2019.

• Broomfield girls soccer reaches 5A semis as a 10 seed — then loses in a shootout

Jim Davidson’s final ride lasted a bit longer than he expected. One of the best high school soccer coaches in Colorado history, Davidson ended his run with the 10th-seeded Eagle ladies in the Class 5A final four, and did so in the most exciting way possible.

Sudden death simply wouldn’t do.

The Eagles needed seven rounds of penalty kicks to determine the winner of their 3-3 thriller against No. 6 Castle View, which enjoyed stellar gameplay from its keeper, Elly Bowers. Broomfield upset No. 7 Rock Canyon and No. 2 Cherry Creek en route to its finale, but the Sabercats crashed the party on Davidson’s potential 11th state championship.

• Prospect Ridge boys basketball throws down best-ever season

Prior to the 2024-25 season, Prospect Ridge Academy’s boys basketball had never so much as made it out of regionals. This year, they paved their way into the Class 4A state semifinals — after bumping up to a higher classification, no less.

“This team that we had was something spectacular,” sophomore Jackson Brandt said following their final four appearance. “We made history so much this year, and I wouldn’t want to do it without anyone but my teammates. We were all so connected and we just continued it throughout the whole year. It was just something special that we created. It sets the expectation for next year.”

He was just one cog in a machine well-oiled by the Miners’ senior class. Travis Agbosse (13.9 points per game, 7.7 rebounds per game), Liam Schilling (13.7 PPG) and Zeke Bote (11.4 PPG) put together a dominant season with some help from Brandt (13.7 PPG).