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City Meet Brings Spartans Bold and Bronze

TJ finishes 3rd behind East, GW

By Michael Mankoff

As the school year comes to a close, so is the Thomas Jefferson Spartans' Swimming and Diving Team; however not before they managed to have great success at the 2008 City Meet this last weekend.
    Spectators, as well as athletes packed the pool at Manual High School to witness North, Kennedy, East, George Washington, and TJ battle it out for the city title. During the regular season, the Spartans defeated all but George Washington, and had high hopes of de-throning the Patriots and gaining supremecy as city champions. Although the swimming team performed very well, GW and East finished the day with a one, two, finish leaving the Spartans in a very respectable 3rd place with the bronze. The Angels from East barely edged out the Spartans for second place finishing only 4 points ahead of the TJ boys. "We had a good chance to finish second as everyone swam well, that didn't happen… but we did have two more guys qualify for state," noted an optimistic Marc Houghton, who has already qualified for the state meet next weekend. "Almost everyone swam their best times Read more

Girls Falter in First Round of Playoffs

Late Season Rush Propels Girls into The Playoffs But Lack of Defense In First Round
by Keenan Moore
photo by Ryanne Mollo

    The Lady Spartans had an eventful weekend playing three games and coming out with two wins, which propelled them into the playoffs, but their hopes were quickly dashed in a first-round loss to the Silver Creek Raptors to end their season.
    Their weekend started with the Spartans taking on the Lincoln Lancers.  This was one of the last league matches that the squad, had and it was critical that they win if they wanted to have any chance to make it into the playoffs.  The Spartans seemed to sense the urgency of he situation and they came out firing.  The ladies were able to get three goals in the first twenty minutes of the game.  This was followed up by a goal late in the first half, and at the halfway mark the Spartans were up with a 4-0 lead.  The second half started out just like the first half and the Spartans were able to put up two more goals in quick succession.  The defense was solid and the team was able to control the ball in the Lancer territory for the majority of the game.  Close to the end of the game the Spartans put up one more goal just to insure their lead.  With one win under their belt, the Spartans were one step closer to getting into the playoffs. Read more

Spartan Nine Slide Through Districts

TJ Baseball moves on to the Elite Eight in the state playoffs.  
by Marc Houghton
Photo by Ryanne Mollo

    The Spartan baseball boys showed some perseverance and had a number of clutch performances in getting past the district round of the playoffs on Saturday, May 3rd. After blowing by Skyview in the first game by a score of 10-2, TJ battled a talented team from Cheyenne Mountain into extra innings, and came out with a 4-3 victory.
     TJ was a little slow to start with the bats in their first game against Skyview, but they stayed patient behind great pitching from Sophomore Brennan "Bubba" Henry and saw their hitting come alive. Henry had consistent control all game, and allowed only two runs in five innings. Freshman Chris Van Dyke pitched the last two innings and shut down the Skyview offense, leading to a final score of 10-2. The Spartan offense showed the same talent they have all season against Skyview, and they were confident going into the second game behind their ace pitcher Dylan Smith.
     After beating Mountain Range in their first game, Cheyenne Mountain carried some momentum into the deciding match-up against TJ. Both teams were fighting for a spot among the final eight, as the winner would go on and the loser would go home. Both teams came out strong in the first inning, Cheyenne Mountain scoring two runs in the top half, after two solid hits from the top of their lineup. TJ manufactured one run of their own in the bottom of the first, bringing the score to 2-1, where it would stay until the sixth.
Read more

Baseball Finishes Regular Season With a Bang

TJ Baseball defeats East 17-4, and prepares for the upcoming playoffs.
by Marc Houghton
Photo by Ryanne Mollo

 The Spartan baseball team is on a roll, coming off their sixth consecutive city championship after romping the East Angels in their last regular season game on Monday.  TJ came out of the gates swinging and never cooled down, as they finished off their DPL rivals by a score of 17-4 in the sixth inning.  After a tough loss against 5A Doherty on Saturday, April 26th, the boys bounced back, and are now carrying some strong momentum into the state playoffs. 

    TJ's offense has been working well for them all season, and they showed their talent at the plate against East on Monday.  They got out to an early lead, and were up by a score of 13-4 after five innings, with help from a home run by Brett Nathan, his seventh of the year.  The final blow came when Michael Mankoff hit a grand slam in the bottom of the sixth inning to end the game by the 10-run rule, and to give TJ the outright city championship along with their Read more

Tennis Shuts Out Montbello

Spartans continue success against league opponents.
by Keenan Moore

    The Lady Spartans continued there successful season as the routed the Montbello warriors 7-0.
    This is just the latest win for the Spartans as they had one of their more successful seasons in a long time.  This match had been highly anticipated as this was yet another tough league opponent for the Spartans.  These two teams had gone back and forth among themselves over the past few years and the Spartans took the match last year and were wanting another victory to show who the dominant team is.  
    It was obvious from the get go that the Spartans had come to play as the number one singles match started.  The match went quickly and the next three single matches seemed to follow in quick succession.  Now it was time for the doubles to keep up the pace that the Spartan singles had set for the team.  The number one doubles pair came up and just like the number one single, made quick work of the Warriors.  The next two matches were exactly the same and it was obvious to see who the dominant team was this year.  This is the second year that the Spartans have beaten the Warriors and also the second time that it was by means of a shutout.
    This weekend will commence the annual playoffs for the girls’ tennis season.  Even though it might just be districts, it is still critical to the success of the Spartans as they will hope to progress in the playoffs.  They must win their matches if they would hope to make it to the regional competition.  This means that the pressure will be constantly on if any of the Spartans wish to go deep into the playoffs this year.  Last year, junior number one single Mindy Gidan, fell just short of making it to the state competition.
 

Soccer Falls to Rebels

Offensive struggles for Spartans continue.
by Keenan Moore

    The Lady Spartans played yet another tough league opponent in the South Rebels yesterday and they were not able to pull out a win, losing 2-0.
    The girls seemed to be ready to play, as the Spartans were able to control the ball inside the Rebel zone for the majority of the first half.  However, it seemed like no matter what the Spartans would do, the Rebels always had some kind of counter for it.  There were many shots on goal that the South keeper would find a way to save.  The Spartans also had a bad break when a shot hit the post on an empty net and reflected out of bounds killing a perfectly good scoring chance that the Spartans had towards the end of the first half.  The first half ended with the Rebels stealing a pass and going all the way across the field to score the first goal of the game.  
    The second half had the Spartans in a familiar spot, needing to mount a comback.  Yet again the Spartans started out strong and controlled the ball inside the Rebel zone.  However, there were fewer shots in the second half as the Rebels were able to clear the ball out of their zone quite effectively.  As the final minutes of the game were ticking away, the Rebels put one more goal up against the Spartans and put the game away.  
   The Lady Spartans have been shutout in their last two games and they have been outscored by a 5-0 margin.  The Spartans still have two games in which they can turn their season on a positive note. Their next game is against Lincoln this Thursday at Lincoln at 4:15.
 

Soccer Takes Down West

Lady Spartans rebound strongly against West.

By Keenan Moore

The Lady Spartans played their second game at All City Field last Tuesday night, and they were able to pull out a win beating the West Cowboys 4-0.
    The girls were looking to rebound strongly from their loss to the powerful league opponent Kennedy.  The Lady Spartans did just this as they came right out of the gate firing, getting their first goal quickly after the start of the game.  Freshman midfielder Casey Elderman seemed to open up the floodgates for the Spartans as they struck two more times before halftime.  Goals from junior midfielder Robin Emerson and sophomore Stephanie Warren put the Spartans up 3-0 at the end of the first half.
    For the girls to be able to put the Cowboys away in the second half, the defense would have to stay strong and keep the Cowboys out of their zone.  They had done a good job of this in the first half, but there was another half for the Spartans to show their worth.  They did just this and then some as the vast majority of the second half was spent in the Cowboy side of the field.  Read more

Primed and Ready: Swimming Continues Success

Well Oiled Machine Ready for Homestretch.

By Michael Mankoff

Photo By Ryanne Mollo

Chalk up another successful meet for the Thomas Jefferson High School Boys' Swimming and Diving Team; they are now an undefeated 3-0 in league and coming off a 15th place finish at the Jefferson County Invitational last weekend.
    With victories earlier in the season against league foes East, Kennedy, and North, the undefeated Spartans are swimming towards their first city title since 2005. This coveted feat seems feasible thanks to many different parts of the team coming together just like Head Coach Cindy Allen had hoped, "We are finally realizing our potential, and it's exciting to watch." The most exciting part for the Spartans that has come together is their relay teams. With the 200 yards free-style team (Marc Houghton, Taylor Hartmon, Seth Perry, and Tate Sheiman) qualifying at the Jeffco Invitational on April 19th, all the Spartans relays have qualified for the state meet at the end of the season. "It feels good to know some of my teammates are going to be able to join me at state this season," said Houghton. Last season, he was the only Spartan swimmer to participate in the State Meet, finishing 4th in the 200 yard Read more

Girls Golf Picks up the Pace

The girls’ golfers are swinging into stride.

By Scott Bruskin

    The Lady Spartans had a good showing, placing fourth in their match on Tuesday, April 15. The team was led by senior Emily McBride, who shot a 60 through 9 holes.  Also shooting a 60 was junior Hall Hupperts. Sophomore Talya Farnsworth shot a 63. The fourth and final golfer, freshman Nicole Blake, shot a 67. Each one of these golfers shot their career best and are starting to get a hold of things. “We all shot very well and we thought the day was a success. Everyone walked off the course feeling like they did something good,” Farnsworth said. “I personally feel that the whole team has improved by leaps and bounds.”

    Coach Mark Smith is enjoying the season and is looking forward to Regional tournament as well as the City Cup. “We are building up to Regionals, and we would like to make a good showing at the City Cup.” The City Cup will all but determine the winner of the Denver Prep League.

    However, there is one more match before the City Cup (which will be next Thursday.) The girls will play on Tuesday, April 22 at City Park Golf Course. The tee time is scheduled for 2:00. Look for the golfers to keep shooting well and post good scores from here on out.

Spartans Fall to East

Minor setback for Spartans.
by Keenan Moore

    The Lady Spartans took on a tough team from East and they were not able to pull out a win, as they were shutout 0-7.
    The girls were looking to continue their early season success that they have had against league opponents.  Their latest win came against the tough league opponent Lincoln and this match against East had been highly anticipated.  The girls were looking to pull out their first win against East in many years;  however,  the Angels would once again get the best of the Spartans.  The match started off with two quick victories for the Angels as the number one singles and doubles matches went to East.  It seemed like the Spartans had lost the momentum that had carried them past the other league opponents.  This tough loss hopefully doesn’t stick with the Spartans, for there is a lot more of the season left to play.  They will have to keep renew their winning ways to take them into this year’s playoffs.  
    The lady Spartans will have a tough challenge ahead of them when they will go to George Washington on the 22nd at 4:15.
 

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