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If you lived in China, you would know 2005 is the Year of the Rooster. In Denver, though, friends of 7News anchor Bertha Lynn and her husband, Denver District Court Judge Larry Naves, will hear it referred to as the Year of Maria.

In May and June alone, their teenage daughter:

graduated from East High School, where she managed the wrestling team, sang in the Seraphim Choir, performed with the East Theater Company, served as freshman class president and earned a spot on the honor roll; and

curtsied at both the Owl Club and Le Bal de Ballet debutante balls; and

was a Central City Flower Girl.

Photo 1: A family affair: Debutante Maria Jo Naves with her brothers Andrew, left, and Elliott; mother Bertha Lynn and father, Judge Larry Naves. Photo 2: Elizabeth Murdy, left, is the daughter of Newmont Mining chief Wayne Murdy and, like her friend and fellow Cherry Creek graduate Devon O’Donnell, right, will attend DU. Photo 3: Mom Lisa Swenson is proud of her daughter, Schuyler, who captained Kent Denver’s 2005 state champion lacrosse team and won the Francie Thayer Award given to a Kent senior show shows excellence in leadership, sportsmanship and determination. Photo 4: Molly Callender, left, is the state champion in 4A pole vault; Drew Tooley, grandson of the late Denver District Attorney Dale Tooley, volunteers as an instructor in the Winter Park Disabled Ski Program and will attend Gonzaga University; and Whitney Medved will study English, journalism and science at St. Mary’s College in Moraga, Calif. Photo 5: Like her mom, Janice, debutante Audrey Fisher volunteers for Girls, Inc. of Metro Denver. She’ll attend Arizona State University. Photo 6: Fort Lewis College is the choice for Young Man of Distinction Leland Kelce, right, who was joined by his father and stepmother, Rusty and Christine Kelce, left, and mother and stepfather, Loretta and Jim Collier. Photo 7: Rebecca Murray, left, won the Museum of Outdoor Arts’ statewide public art competition; Colleen Ferguson travels to Vietnam this summer to visit the orphanage from which her sister, Kristin, was adopted; Nikki Lehman, a future child psychologist, took pride in her work to inspire inner-city girls to set high goals for themselves; while Jennifer Pike’s Internet screen name, gonabefamuse, hints at her future. Photo 8: Jim and Denise Sanderson will soon be seeing their daughter, Jessie, who was captain of East High’s varsity lacrosse team, off to Colgate University. Photo 9: Bill Elder Jr., left, will attend Stanford and plans to exceed the life expectancy of 33 that is given to cystic fibrosis patients such as himself; Calley Breslau will enter Leeds School of Business at CU-Boulder, and Drew Mahoney won a lacrosse scholarship to Hampden Sydney College. Photo 10: Norma and Warren Clark with their granddaughter, Denison Clark, winner of the highest honor that St. Mary’s Academy gives to its seniors, the Marian Award. She’ll attend the University of Denver and says her most meaningful experience to date is developing a relationship with a 90-year-old Holocaust survivor. Photo 11: Whitney Medved and her mother, Debi. Whitney graduated from Mullen High with honors in English and religious studies and will attend St. Mary’s College in Moraga, Calif. Photo 12: Lauren Finesilver pauses to take a cellphone call before the presentation began. At Arapahoe High she was a member of the National Honor Society and a three-year member of the lacrosse and cross-country teams; come fall, she enrolls at Johnson & Wales University in Denver. Photo 13: Bandleader Jerry Barnett had two children in Le Bal de Ballet: son Daniel and daughter Lindsey. Family members surround them. Photo 14: Erin Kelley, who is off to Benedictine College in Kansas, was a four-year member of Mullen High’s volleyball team; good friend Garrett Hothan accompanied her to the presentation and dinner. Photo 15: Nikki Lehman, a graduate of Kent Denver School, will attend Southern Methodist University. Her goal is to become a child psychologist. Photo 16: Priscilla “LaLa” Lichty was vice president of the Thespian Honor Society at St. Mary’s Academy and plans to continue with her acting studies at Saint Louis University. Photo 17: Debutante Stephanie Arnold — surrounded by her dad, Chris; mother, Diane, and sister Elizabeth — has traveled to Scotland, Italy, Costa Rica and Russia. She’ll attend Santa Clara University in California. Photo 18: Calley Breslau, who has volunteered as a tutor to Spanish-speaking children, snaps a picture as her father, Brad, looks on. Photo 19: Allison Newell, who’ll be premed at Chapman University, was on Littleton High’s Highest Honor Roll; she’s pictured with Brook Mahoney and his son, Drew, who won state honors in tennis and lacrosse. Photo 20: Kathy Friedland and her debutante daughter, Lauren Hope Friedland, who was literary editor of Colorado Academy’s Kokopelli magazine and spent four years as a volunteer tutor for the Salvation Army. She’ll attend New York University. Photo 21: Rachael Greenberg’s travels have taken her to Jordan, England, Israel, Australia, the Dominican Republic and Turkey. She’s a graduate of Colorado Academy and will attend CU. Photo 22: Megan Talbot, who received the Faculty Honor Award for Exceptional Quality at Cherry Creek High, plans to take part in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer this summer. She’s pictured here with her father, John; brother, Matt, and mother, Peggy Talbot. Photo 23: Chris, Suzanne, Alyssa, Laine and Collin Pacetti. Alyssa was captain of the Arapahoe High tennis team and as a result of placing fourth in the state in DECA competition, qualified for the DECA nationals in Nashville. Photo 24: Elizabeth Murdy, left, was a state tennis finalist in 2003 and the lightweight 2,000 meter rowing champ in 2004. Her friend Devon O’Donnell was a media committee volunteer for the U.S. Women’s Open at Cherry Hills Country Club and says that mountain biking down a volcano in Hawaii was the most fun she’s ever had.

“It’s been hectic but fun,” Larry Naves said as he prepared to walk under an arch of crossed swords on the Boettcher Concert Hall stage with Maria, one of the 82 high school graduates presented at the Denver Ballet Guild’s signature fundraiser, Le Bal de Ballet.

Following their presentation, Le Bal’s 43 debutantes and 39 Young Men rode in horse-drawn carriages to the Adam’s Mark Hotel to join approximately 1,000 family members and friends for dinner and dancing.

In keeping with tradition, the music was furnished by the Jerry Barnett Orchestra – minus Jerry Barnett. Lindsey, Barnett’s daughter with former wife Marlene Hanson, and Daniel, his son with current wife Becky Kelly, were among the young honorees. Lindsey, a graduate of Littleton High School, will attend Colorado State University while Daniel, a Cherry Creek High alum, will continue his studies at Berklee College of Music in Boston.

“We rehearsed early so that I could be here in time for pictures and socializing,” Jerry Barnett said, adding that this would be the first time that the JBO has played without him and “It’ll probably sound better!”

Proud mom Carmen Owens of Arvada, whose son, Derek, was a Young Man of Distinction, carried on a family tradition by having matching outfits for herself and her two daughters. Stephanie Owens, a 2002 debutante; Alyssa Owens, an eighth-grader, and their mother wore matching purple gowns accessorized by wraps and sachet bags designed and made by Carmen. Derek Owens graduated from Regis Jesuit High School with highest honors and awards in leadership and chemistry and will attend Georgetown University. In high school he was named Most Valuable Player in hockey for the Kansas City Rockhurst Jesuit Invitational Tournament after scoring five goals – including a hat trick – and one assist.

Ben Sprague was valedictorian of his graduating class at Thomas Jefferson High and was captain of the school’s Class 4A state champion basketball team. A Presidents Leadership Class Scholar,

Sprague will study engineering at CU-Boulder. Brett Perlmutter’s work as president of the Kent Denver Credit Union led to a collaboration with personal finance expert Suze Orman on her New York Times best seller, “The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous and Broke.”

Alyssa Pacetti, who was captain of Arapahoe High’s tennis team, will enter CU as a Presidential Scholar, while Neely Meeks matriculated from Cherry Creek as Outstanding Advanced Placement English Student of the Year and recipient of the highest possible grades on AP tests in language and U.S. history. She will attend Davidson College on a soccer scholarship and was picked to take part in an Olympic development soccer camp.

A career in the major league may be in Hans Schaler’s future. The YMOD pitched for Arapahoe High School’s baseball team and the Continental League champion Colorado Slammers, while Braun Salazar, whose sister, Stephanie, had been a deb three years ago, is heading to Limestone College in South Carolina on a full lacrosse scholarship.

Salazar had played on Creek’s state-champion lacrosse team, whose captain was fellow YMOD Ben Tilton, who is off to the University of San Diego.

Kent Denver alum Tara Brennan, who hopes to become an anesthesiologist, will swim for Bucknell University after achieving three national qualifying times in the Western Sectionals held in Washington state.

Lyle Holmes was captain of Creek’s girls swimming team and won 5A state championships in swimming and diving.

Daniel Zaterman graduated from Kent with academic honors in advanced calculus, Spanish literature and chemistry; Andrew Mahoney played in the state tennis championships and will attend Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia on a lacrosse scholarship. Alex Gart will pursue his interest in medicine at Middlebury (Vt.) College while Alexander Griffin, a national DECA finalist from Creek and a direct descendant of Presidents William Henry and Benjamin Harrison, will head to Colorado State University.

Caitlin Broe took Kent Denver to the state playoffs as captain of the basketball team; she also was a member of the state Academic Volleyball Team and will attend Pomona College. Stephanie Arnold was No. 3 in singles tennis at Colorado Academy; in January, Ashley Rose attended President George W. Bush’s inauguration as a delegate of the Congressional Youth Leadership Council.

Mark Traina, who represented Creek at the Wake Forest University Debate Summer Institute, will attend Syracuse University; his father, Steve, is a well-known orthopedic surgeon. Andrew Mahoney has climbed 23 of Colorado’s 14ers; Elena Harman, president of the Winter Park Junior Ski Patrol in 2003-04, will attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology while Jordan Demmel was on Fairview High’s varsity poms squad and National Honor Society.

Tricia Campbell chaired Le Bal de Ballet; co-chair Sandy Betker will have the leadership role in 2006. Connie Young was the honorary chairwoman and Pam Kelsall is president of the sponsoring Denver Ballet Guild.

Society editor Joanne Davidson can be reached at 303-809-1314 or jmdpost@aol.com