A winning tradition in high school can be tough to maintain, although the McClave Cardinals have found a way, winning 75 games in a row, a Colorado girls record.
Though they have no returning starters from last season and are playing in arguably one of the most competitive levels, Class 1A, by no means are the Cardinals to be overlooked.
“They can lose those kids, but when you have tradition going and you’re back to state for three consecutive championships, I don’t think they know how to play any other way than great basketball,” said Laurence Soloamo, coach of 10th-ranked Christian Fellowship.
“The winning streak is a pretty neat thing,” McClave coach Dick Peecher said, “but many teams down in our area want to be the one to beat us.”
Of the teams that have that goal in mind, Eads is a major contender.
“I think Eads is the team to beat,” Peecher said. “They lost a couple of really good players, but they have also returned the most.”
The Eads Eagles, winners of the last state title before McClave started its current run, begin the season ranked No. 1 in The Denver Post/9News 1A poll with junior Talli Hansen leading the way.
No. 2 Haxtun and No. 3 North Park also rank as teams to beat this season.
Expectations are big in Haxtun, according to coach Monte Green.
“Our confidence is sky high,” he said. “We really feel that if you talk about the teams that can challenge this year, we are one of them. At this point we feel like we can play with anybody.”
The biggest surprise this season could come from Peetz. The Bulldogs will have senior leadership behind Kristin Gardiner.
“When we game-plan for Peetz, we game-plan for her (Gardiner),” said Dave Huss, coach of the reigning District 4 champion Caliche Buffaloes.
Along with young scoring talent in sophomore Nicole Burns, the Bulldogs are a team that can challenge the district.
“I definitely think we could contend for a league and district title,” coach Kristen Hamil said. “I think we play in one of the stronger districts in the state. If we can get out of our district, I think that we have a shot at the state title.”
