Coincidence or not, Steve Cavnar is good at retiring . . . and winning state championships.
In 2001, he capped a 23-year run at Smoky Hill with a Class 5A title. The 1971 Thomas Jefferson graduate then assisted the Buffaloes for four years before taking over at Regis Jesuit. After six seasons and another step down, yes, the Raiders won it all in 5A in May.
“It was neat,” the 57-year-old said. “I don’t know how to word it. . . . I always say winning state championships is nice, it’s the ultimate goal. Competing to win them is the prize, but that’s the not the end-all for me.”
No, it’s about learning on the baseball field as well as developing young men, particularly so in an up-and-down ride in 2011, personally and professionally. Cavnar’s team finished 20-7 after a 4-5 start, including multiple come-from-behind victories, and his mother passed away early in the season.
He’s walking away again from the schoolboy game, but will continue to teach at Regis Jesuit.
Historically, he has kept track of his career mark, but it’s packed away on a sheet of paper among items in a storage locker — the Cavnars are having a house built north of Denver.
“No one else was more deserving this season,” Cherry Creek coach Marc Johnson said.
