“Bottom line, she’s just a winner,” Broomfield coach Mike Croell, who has retired after 20 seasons in command, said of Callie Kaiser. “At the end of the day, hey, she’s a state champ.”
Croell admitted to bias toward Kaiser, but why call him on it? The Colorado State-bound, four-year starter won’t soon be forgotten.
This year, the 5-foot-10 Kaiser led the Eagles to a state championship in their first season in Class 5A. She led Broomfield in scoring (averaging 15.9 points), rebounding (8.0), defense and smart plays, perhaps none more slick than in the championship game when she coerced ThunderRidge into fouling her in the closing seconds of the first half, making the three free throws to tie the score.
Ultimately, Kaiser took over down the stretch and finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds in a 47-42 victory. She also led the Eagles this season in field goals made (135), free throws made (122), assists (97) and steals (100).
“A jack-of-all-trades,” Croell said. “She’s a fantastic teammate, a good, humble kid who’s very well-grounded.”
Kaiser helped the Eagles beat ThunderRidge in the state championship game after losing to the Grizzlies twice in tournaments over seven days in December.
Even before her stellar senior season, Kaiser helped Broomfield get to the 4A Great 8 as a freshman, the 4A final four as a sophomore and the 4A final a year ago.
“There wasn’t much else she could have done,” Croell said.
Class 4A
Kylee Shook, Jr., Mesa Ridge
Shook shook up the classification the past two seasons, helping the Grizzlies to a 28-0 record and the state championship in 2013-14, then going on a blistering statistical run this past season. In 2014-15, the 6-4 Shook rolled to averages of 18.2 points, 14.9 rebounds and eight blocked shots per game. The Grizzlies, who had only one senior playing regularly, finished 16-8. Shook, who committed to Louisville after the season, had a monster game against Woodland Park — a quadruple-double of 24 points, 22 rebounds, 12 blocked shots and 11 assists.
Class 3A
Jenna Knudson, Jr., Sterling
Four more points from somewhere, anywhere and Knudson could have done it. Her Tigers lost 39-36 to Pagosa Springs in the state title game, snapping their 26-game winning streak. Knudson had 14 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals in the title game. For the season, the 5-7 guard averaged 16.7 points and 4.8 rebounds. She also contri- buted a team-leading 122 steals.
Class 2A
Jordan Baer, Sr., Akron
While propelling the Rams to their third state championship in four seasons, Baer was a model of consistency. The 5-10 senior was a double-figure scorer in all but two of Akron’s 27 games. Akron finished 25-2. Baer averaged 22 points and seven rebounds in three state tournament games. And despite making only nine 3-pointers all season, she made up for it at the free-throw line, where she converted 126 attempts.
Class 1A
Aurelia Isenbart, Sr., Kit Carson
Literally the center of attention for the Wildcats, Isenbart averaged a double-double for a team that entered the state semifinals undefeated. Kit Carson, which finished 24-1, was powered by Isenbart’s averages of 14.7 points and 10.8 rebounds per game.
