The 16th annual Dave Sanders Memorial softball tournament is set to begin on Thursday at Columbine, then head to the Aurora Sports Park on Friday and Saturday.
The 16-team field honors Sanders, the teacher-coach who was termed a hero by eye witnesses during the massacre at the school on April 20, 1999. Sanders is credited with getting multiple students to safety.
Columbine will host Fruita Monument on Thursday, 4 p.m. to open play. It is the second year in which the opening game will be played on the Dave Sanders Field. In addition, there will be a ceremony to honor the Sanders family, starting at 3:45 p.m., according to Scott Christy, Rebels athletic director.
Beginning at 9 a.m. on both Friday and Saturday, the field will begin marches toward a championship. There will be first-place finishers over four pools.
Pool A: 1. Loveland; 2. Castle View; 3. Bear Creek; 4. Pueblo Central.
Pool B: 1. Highlands Ranch; 2. Smoky Hill; 3. Brighton; 4. D’Evelyn.
Pool C: 1. Central (G.J.); 2. Fountain-Fort Carson; 3. Lakewood; 4. Cherry Creek.
Pool D: 1. Columbine; 2. Mountain Vista; 3. Pueblo Eats; 4. Fruita Monument.
Sanders’ longtime friend, Rick Bath, also a former Columbine coach, will be in attendance.
