Spring Roundup 5-13
'Stangs boys cool in the pool; girls tennis keeps rolling; girls soccer headed to quarters; baseball loses in league tourney; track and field set for state championships.
Their participation numbers are nowhere near great, they don’t have a pool to call their own and they’re going up against some recognized powers.
However, none of it mattered to Mullen’s Mustangs, notably on Saturday, as they somehow managed to take fourth place in the Class 4A championships for boys swimming and diving held at the Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center in Thornton.
Laced with assorted, high-end efforts, the Mustangs had about as much enjoyment as possible.
“I knew we could do it,” head coach Beckie Mutz said. “They’re a good team.”
James Galligan, a senior headed to swim at Chapman College in California, explained it as “I just went out there and it was my last high-school meet, so I was super-excited to go out with my team and it was fun.
“We only have about eight guys and that was a really ridiculous performance. I’ll miss it. Nothing can describe high-school swimming. The energy in here is awesome.”
Galligan was tied for second place – unusually, the Mustangs were part of three ties – in the 50-yard freestyle and tied teammate Henry Montgomery for fourth in the 100 breaststroke in addition to helping two relay teams that placed.
Noah Mooney was second in the 200-yard individual medley and fifth in the 100 backstroke, and another key cog in two relays.
Thomas Bradac, Ben Hoody, Montgomery and Oliver Valdez also provided solid efforts for points and bought into the team’s concept.
Cheyenne Mountain was first with 349 points and Mullen totaled 257.50.
But this is one the Mustangs can look back on fondly.
“We have a nice atmosphere,” Mooney said. “Everyone gets along as well … we train really hard and we showed up today.”
CLASS 4A CHAMPIONSHIPS
AT VMAC THORNTON
Mullen team score – 257.50 points, 4th place.
200-yard medley relay – 3. (Noah Mooney, James Galligan, Henry Montgomery, Ben Hoody), 1:34.91.
200 freestyle – 20. Thomas Bradac, 1:55.35.
200 individual medley – 2. Noah Mooney, 1:56.01; 4. Oliver Valdez, 1:58.02.
50 freestyle – 2. (tie) James Galligan, 21.36.
100 butterfly – 3. Henry Montgomery, 51.30.
200 freestyle relay -- 5. (James Galligan, Thomas Bradac, Ben Hoody, Henry Montgomery), 1:30.40.
100 backstroke – 5. Noah Mooney, 53.58; 11. Oliver Valdez, 55.99.
100 breaststroke – 4. (tie) Henry Montgomery and James Galligan, 58.67.
400 freestyle relay -- 5. (tie) (Noah Mooney, Thomas Bradac, Ben Hoody, Oliver Valdez), 3:20.66.
Girls Tennis
Mullen is capping an outstanding 2023.
Despite the 4A Individual Tournament in Pueblo being downsized from three days to two because of the recent inclement weather and taking place over two sites, they placed in all seven lines on Saturday.
They turned in a championship, two runners-up, one third place and three fourths.
And they had lots of backing – No. 1 singles Lexi Yost and No. 3 doubles Anna Lawrence-Maisie McMorrow were runners-up; No. 2 singles Lilly Evans was third; and No. 3 singles Savanna Hanley; No. 1 doubles Grace Brouillette-Avery Walters; and No. 2 doubles Clara Dailey-Claire Lenich all were fourth.
And there’s more to come -- Mullen is in the 4A Team Tournament and will take on ever-present Cheyenne Mountain on Tuesday, May 16, in the finale. In addition to winning in the first-ever team tourney for girls, a victory would mean a second team championship for Mullen over three seasons.
CLASS 4A INDIVIDUAL TOURNAMENT
At Pueblo City Park and Pueblo South H.S.
Saturday
No. 1 singles – Lexi Yost was 3-1 and finished runner-up.
No. 2 singles – Lilly Evans was 4-1 and finished third.
No. 3 singles – Savanna Hanley was 3-2 and finished fourth.
No. 1 doubles – Grace Brouillette-Avery Walters were 3-2 and finished fourth.
No. 2 doubles – Clara Dailey-Claire Lenich were 3-2 and placed fourth.
No. 3 doubles – Anna Lawrence-Maisie McMorrow were 3-1 and were runners-up.
No. 4 doubles – Emma Lehman-Grace Jeffers were 4-0 and were champions.
Girls Soccer
At home, the Mustangs we were aware of what was in front of them.
Eighth-seeded Mullen got past No. 9 Durango 3-2 in the second round of the 4A playoffs and feels the better for it.
“I thought it was going to be a good fight, and I thought we played super-well,” head coach Matt Degitis said. “Our organization was spectacular and our goal-keeping spot on.”
They had to be – Durango scored in the 75th minute to make it an interesting final 5 minutes, but Kendall Smith’s game-winner stood up for a trip to the quarterfinals.
Ella Grace scored twice in the first half for a 2-1 Mullen lead as she said she was “in the right position.”
Next is a roadie at top-seeded Lutheran (16-1), which beat Mullen 3-1 earlier in the season and took down Cheyenne Mountain 4-0 on Saturday, in the quarterfinals.
No doubt the Mustangs want – and have earned – another shot.
“We just have to find a way,” Degitis said.
Grace, a senior forward, said “I think we want it a lot more. We’ve put in a lot of hard work in practice every day and after losing (to Lutheran), we’re back.”
Mullen is 11-5-1.
MULLEN 3, DURANGO 2
Durango 1 1 -- 2
Mullen 2 1 -- 3
Mullen goals – Ella Grace 2, Kendall Smith.
Mullen assists – Steffi Thomas, Kate Vezzani, Katie Luzietti.
Baseball
At home at Bill Swift Field, the Mustangs lost 5-2 to Cherokee Trail in the final round of the Centennial League tournament.
Mullen is 12-9.
The Mustangs also had their road game the past Friday at Far Northeast cancelled because of the rain and no available makeup date.
They will finish the regular season on Monday, May 15, at home against Arvada West in nonleague, 3 p.m., and settle for 22 games in the regular season.
Ryan Jackson and Ben Krza (a double) drove home runs for the Mustangs. Jackson also took the loss on the mound.
Jackson, Krza, Dom Gamueda, Colin Mackenzie and Thomas Stewart hit safely for Mullen.
The Mustangs also await release of 4A Regional assignments on Wednesday, May 17. They were 17th in the 4A RPI as of Saturday.
CHEROKEE TRAIL 5, MULLEN 2
Cherokee Trail 120 000 2 -- 5 9 0
Mullen 000 002 0 -- 2 5 2
Mullen – Gamueda rf 3-0-1-0, Mackenzie cf 3-1-1-0, T. Stewart 2b 3-0-1-0, Jackson p 3-1-1-1, Krza c 3-0-1-1, Hurley ss 3-0-0-0, Brady 3b 2-0-0-0, Bertaud lf 3-0-0-0, Peonio 1b 3-0-0-0. Totals 26-2-5-2.
E – 2. LOB – 4. SB – Jackson. BB – Brady. 2B – Krza.
Pitching – Jackson (L) 7 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K.
Track and Field
In Greenwood Village at the Stutler Bowl, Mullen boys were sixth in the team standings in the delayed Centennial League Championships and its girls were seventh.
The meet was scheduled for a Thursday and Saturday slot, but the rains turned it into Friday-Saturday.
Of note, the Mustangs fared well in distances with junior Jacob Sushinsky winning the 3,200 meters and taking second in the 1,600, and Amy O’Connell going for fourth in the 1,600 and second in the 3,200.
Also, Luke DeNezza was fourth in pole vault, and Julia Brown (400) and Carmela Carbone (long jump) each were fifth in their specialties.
Mullen next heads into the 4A championships this week, Thursday through Saturday, at Jefferson County Stadium in Lakewood.
Here’s a link to the schedule:
MULLEN RESULTS
BOYS
Team score – 36 points, 6th place
100 meters – 9. Samuel Puana, 11.07 seconds; 23. Santino Donati, 11.62; 24. Kameron Lewis, 11.63; 26. Gavin Martinez, 11.76.
200 – 14. Samuel Puana, 22.51; 23. Kameron Lewis, 23.34; 24. Santino Donati, 23.40; 25. Joshua Gross, 23.43.
400 – 7. Joshua Gross, 52.66.
800 – 17. Caleb Belcher, 2:11.15; 25. Lucas Carreira, 2:23.98.
1,600 – 2. Jacob Sushinsky, 4:2478; 27. Matthew Egan, 5:18.99; 28. Caden Garrison, 5:22.17.
3,200 – 1. Jacob Sushinsky, 9:30.33.
110 hurdles – 18. David Weaks, 17.93; 22. Stephen Welte, 18.42.
300 hurdles – 6. David Weaks, 42.46; 22. Stephen Welte, 47.94.
400 relay – 6. 43.62.
1,600 relay – 6. 3:31.63.
3,200 relay – 7. 9:39.14.
Long jump – 6. Jonathan Alexander, 20 feet, 6.75 inches; 17. Brannum Cyphers, 17-10.
Pole vault – 4. Luke DeNezza, 12-2.
Discus – 23. Hayden Wodruff, 93-10; 24. Cayden Wynn, 90-8.
Shot out – 9. Hayden Woodruff, 41-9.25; 19. Cayden Wynn, 33-9.5.
GIRLS
Team score – 32 points, 7th place.
100 -- 8. Paige Lousberg, 12.95; 12. Emily Anderson, 13.19; 17. Jzunie Jones, 13.28; 19. Shannon McCarthy, 13.31.
200 – 7. Paige Lousberg, 26.78; 10. Emily Anderson, 27.60; 21. Julia Brown, 30.02.
400 -- 5. Julia Brown, 1:00.78.
800 – 13. Jacqueline Magolske, 2:30.35; 18. Lizzy McGarry, 2:35.72; 27. Isabel Medina, 3:04.98.
1,600 – 4. Amy O’Connell, 5:12.82; 7. Kira Van Der Steen, 5:29.48; 15. Lizzy McGarry, 6:11.56.
3,200 – 2. Amy O’Connell, 11:15.03; 9. Kira Van Der Steen, 12:09.13.
100 hurdles – 15. Miabella Guadagnoli, 20.34.
300 hurdles – 12. Miabella Guadagnoli, 51.00.
400 relay – 6. 51.24.
Sprint medley relay – 4. 1:53.69.
1,600 relay – 6. 4:12.20.
3,200 relay – 5. 10:41.01.
Long jump – 5. Carmela Carbone, 16-8.75; 18. Tatum Hansen, 13-5; 24. Claire Sladovnik, 12-4.75; 25. Isabella Ziegler, 12-1.75.
Triple jump – 8. Carmela Carbone, 33-0.55; 19. Claire Sladovnik, 28-8.
Pole vault – 7. Ammory McDowell, 8-10.
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