The Haxtun-Fleming Herald - What can we reason but from what we know? -Alexander Pope

As Season C rapidly winds to a close, Season D is already underway. Girls’ volleyball is a week from wrapping up, as state champions will be crowned May 13 at the Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs, while spring football plays its championship contests later that weekend.

For the 15th straight season, Fleming has punched its ticket to the Class 1A state volleyball tournament. The defending champs only had to go through La Veta in the regional round, as Cotopaxi was removed because of COVID issues. The Wildcats picked up a sweep victory to claim their spot in the state field.

Joining them will be Wiley, Merino, Simla, Stratton/Liberty, Otis, Briggsdale and Sangre de Cristo. Wiley won its regional with sweep victories over Evangelical Christian and McClave, while Merino took care of Flagler and Elbert in matching 3-0 wins. Stratton/Liberty had to go four sets before beating South Baca and then swept Dove Creek to earn the first appearance in the history of the co-op program. Otis clinched its trip to State with a 3-0 over Weldon Valley in a regional that originally included Springfield, but the Longhorns were eliminated because of COVID protocols. Briggsdale needed five sets to beat both Haxtun and Kit Carson.

The Class 2A field has a also has a heavy northern influence. Top-seed Wiggins and #4 Sedgwick County each won their own regional, while Yuma and Holyoke both won on the road. Dayspring Christian makes it five teams from north of I-70 in the bracket. Those teams will be joined by defending champion, Denver Christian, along with Fowler and Vail Christian.

Fowler earned its trip to the State tournament by rolling through its own region. The Grizzlies defeated Colorado Springs School and Limon, both in 3-0 fashion. Emily Flanscha had a total of 27 kills on the day, 18 against Limon.

The top five seeds in Class 3A all won at home, but there were upsets aplenty below that. Eaton, Montezuma-Cortez, Sterling, Lamar and University all cruised in their regions, with Lamar moving to 48-0 in sets played this season.

Resurrection Christian upset #6 Bayfield in five sets to win that region. Prospect Ridge Academy and Lutheran got past hosts DSST: Montview and Alamosa, respectively.

In spring football, Hoehne found out who it will be facing in this weekend's eight-man semifinals. The unbeaten Farmers will host #4 Plateau Valley on Friday. Plateau Valley struggled with #5 Justice last week, eventually pulling out a 22-8 victory.

Hoehne won the regular season match-up with the Cowboys 50-18, back in the season-opener. Weston Hill completed 12 of 15 passes for 128 yards and three scores, while adding 108 yards and one touchdown on the ground. Grant Arellanes went for 171 yards and two rushing touchdowns in the win. The Farmers outgained Plateau Valley 459-360 in that contest.

While a few large schools got their baseball seasons underway last weekend, most of the state waited until this week to take the diamond. The initial coaches poll was due out on Monday. With last season being wiped out by COVID, you have to go back to 2019 to find the defending champions.

Flatirons Academy owns that distinction in 1A, as the Bison beat Nucla 4-3 for the title. Haxtun and Otis were semifinalists that year. Granada, Springfield, Caliche, Prairie, Eads, Stratton/Liberty and Cheyenne Wells were also part of the bracket.

Peyton shutout Fowler, 3-0, to win the 2A crown last season. The Grizzlies entered the postseason as the #15 seed, but sprung upsets on Hotchkiss, Dawson School and Rye to reach the championship contest. Yuma, Holly, Burlington, Holyoke, Wiggins and Limon also made the postseason in 2019. Wiggins joined Rye as semifinalists.

University avenged an earlier loss to Resurrection Christian to claim the 3A title. The Bulldogs won the championship contest 10-3. No area teams advanced through regionals. La Junta, Trinidad and Lamar all lost in the opening round of regionals, with Lamar's 13-3 loss coming against Brush. The Beetdiggers then fell 7-2 to St. Mary's in the regional final.

Fort Morgan made the final eight in 4A last season, but the Mustangs were eliminated in the consolation bracket by eventual runner-up, Silver Creek. Silver Creek dropped the title game to Pueblo West 8-6.

Girls golf is beginning the third week of competition and will crown state champions June 22. Girls tennis had its first competitions last Thursday and will really crank up this week. Their State championships are June 11-12. All other Season D sports had to wait until Monday to hold their first official contests. That includes track and field, girls soccer, boys and girls lacrosse, boys swimming and diving and boys volleyball. Championships in all of those sports will be held the week of June 21-26.