Final Scorecard
How Angels Played The Year Out In Rugby, Lacrosse & More
Story and photos by Reid Neureiter
For the GPHN
Boys Rugby Fails To Threepeat
The East High boys rugby team has won eight state championships, including the past two years. But despite making the 2023 championship game, the Angels were unable to take a third straight title, succumbing 23-17 on May 13 to the fourth-seeded Regis Raiders.
East started the game slowly, committing an early violent penalty that merited a yellow card, ensuring the team would play down a man for 10 minutes of the first half. Regis took advantage of that opening, jumping to a 15-0 lead.
Although East reduced the deficit to 15-7 at halftime via a punchy try and conversion kick by senior captain Quentin Patnoe, the 15-point head start ultimately proved too much to overcome. In addition to the solid, mistake-free play by Regis, longtime Head Coach Bill Baer attributed the slow start in part to the East team’s youth. “This could have been due to nerves of the young team,” Baer said. “Six of the 15 starters are freshmen or sophomores.”
In the second half, East worked their way back into the game and had a chance to pull it out, but at the end, fell short.
“This has been a challenging year for the team and all East High students due to the two school shootings, but the boys have worked hard to keep their focus and had a good year,” Baer said. “They beat Regis in the regular season and beat two nationally ranked high school teams [Kansas City Jr. Blues and Bixby High School from Oklahoma].”
Boys Lacrosse Falls To Valor
Not even a torrential rain storm could stop the No. 15 seed East boys lacrosse squad from dominating No. 18-ranked Mountain Range in the first round of Colorado High School state lacrosse playoffs on May 10. East took a 20-5 home playoff victory on the strength on five goals by senior attackman Robert Grawemeyer, and four goals from fellow senior attack Will Tan.
The Angels’ playoff run was short-lived however, as No. 2 seed Valor Christian reversed the score-line in the second round, eliminating the Angels on May 13 — also by a score of 20-5. The Angels finished the season with a 7-10 overall record.
Girls Soccer finishes 10-4-1
In other end-of year Angel team sports news, East girls varsity soccer finished the season with a 10-4-1 overall record, falling in the first round of the state playoffs to Arapahoe High on May 9 by the score of 2-0. The Lady Angels entered the playoffs as the No. 21 seed, while Arapahoe was seeded 15th.
Leuthold Named 1st Team All League
The East girls lacrosse team made the playoffs as the No. 10 seed, but fell to No. 7 seed Kent Denver in the first round by the score of 17-8 on May 10. The Lady Angel laxers finished the season with a 5-10 record. East junior attack Vivian Leuthold was named 1st Team All League, finishing the season with a team high 42 points (36 goals and 6 assists). She also had 7 hat tricks and had two games where she scored seven goals.
Baseball, Volleyball Round Out Season Ultimate Frisbee Team Wins State
As of press time, the East boys baseball team’s record stands at 9-9, with a 7-3 record in the Denver Prep League. North and Thomas Jefferson top the Prep League baseball standings with similar 10-2 records.
And East found success in the newly sanctioned Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) sport of boys volleyball. According to Athletic Director Michael Tasker, East has had a boys volleyball team for two years — last year as a club, and this year as an officially sanctioned CHSAA team. East finished the volleyball season with a 17-5 overall record and took the Denver Public League title with a 10-1 record. The volleyball squad made the regional playoffs, but was eliminated on May 6 by eventual boys state champion Discovery Canyon, three sets to zero.
Capping off the year, last month the East High Ultimate Frisbee team won the state championship.