Home Care In Cherry Creek, CO

Colorado’s top football recruits made their college choices official on National Signing Day, with Cherry Creek, Mullen and Valor athletes headlining a strong class.

DENVER — National Signing Day brought major commitments across Colorado on Wednesday, highlighted by Cherry Creek sending 10 players to Division I programs.

Cherry Creek quarterback Brady Vodicka signed with Louisiana Tech. Vodicka said he connected with the program immediately.

"The moment I got down there, I felt a real connection," Vodicka said. "I believe in what they're building, and the fact that they believe in me is truly a blessing."

His top receiver, Maxwell Lovett, is headed to Kansas State. Lovett said one of the Wildcats' recruiting staff called teammate Ollie Miller shortly after offering him, helping bring the two together in Manhattan, Kansas.

"I was extremely grateful for the offer," Lovett said. "Ollie was pumped, and I was pumped. It was definitely part of it."

Former Michigan State commit Braylon Hodge announced he is instead signing with Oregon. Hodge said the Ducks' coaching staff stood out during the recruiting process.

"They recruited me harder than any other school," Hodge said. "They showed a lot of love, and it felt like home."

At Mullen, Nico DePizzol, a 4.0 student-athlete, signed with Columbia. Fellow senior Mason Bonner committed to Michigan after what he described as a strong connection with the Wolverines' coaching staff.

"Michigan is a great place with great fans," Bonner said. "The coaches showed me their family piece. That's what drew me in."

Valor Christian offensive lineman Kannon Smith, a 6-foot-6, 295-pound senior, signed with USC, while his teammate, Dakota Rich, is staying closer to home at CSU.

"It was hard to sleep last night," Smith said. "When I signed those papers to be a Trojan, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

Colorado's 2026 class is considered one of the strongest in recent years, a point several players said they hope inspires the state's younger athletes.

"It's big for Colorado," Mason Bonner said. "It shows younger kids there's a chance to get recruited if you put the work in."

Where good news shines

Then there were four.

After a banner weekend of Class 5A football, the final four of the state playoffs is set.

No. 1 Cherry Creek (12-0) meets No. 5 Valor Christian (10-2) at the Stutler Bowl at 1 p.m. Saturday. No. 2 Ralston Valley (12-0) meets No. 3 Mountain Vista (12-0) at North Area Athletics Complex in Arvada at 3 p.m. Saturday.

The final four shows a combined record of 46-2.

Cherry Creek advanced to the semifinals with a 49-28 win over Fairview. Valor Christian beat Legend, 31-30. Mountain Vista beat Arvada West, 36-21. Ralston Valley routed Mullen, 41-14.

(“Colorado Sunshine” celebrates the good news in sports. Suggestions are encouraged through sports editor Paul Klee at [email protected].)

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A group of Cherry Creek students who are hardcore Denver Broncos fans partnered with the team to create a "Fight Like a Bronco" bell, helping local cancer patients celebrate the end of their treatment. Three students involved in the project joined CBS Colorado in the studio for Orange Zone, which highlights Broncos fans in the community.

The project gave students at the Cherry Creek Innovation Campus a chance to use their skills for a good cause. Eagle Crest High School student Sam Johnson said it was a group effort.

"The students at Eagle Crest, they designed it all, and they cut out in advanced manufacturing. They cut out all the pieces, and we ultimately put it together," said Sam. "So it was just really cool seeing how we all brought it together."

Parker Hocker, another Eagle Crest student, said working with the Broncos encouraged the students to do their best.

"When you hear Denver Broncos, and you take a deep breath, like, 'Oh, this is going to be something I have to do pretty good on.' I have to be relaxed while doing it, I don't feel like there's so much pressure. I've got to go with it, do my motion, and go with it, work with these guys, and get it all done," said Parker.

The students made quick work of the project. Eagle Crest student Danny Maddox said it only took two weeks to design.

"It's been around one or two weeks designing it, and then they [Sam and Parker] spent a very short amount of time having to weld it up and put it together for the Broncos," said Danny.

The bell was presented in a ceremony before the Broncos game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 29 and was unveiled during the game. Now, it's traveling to area hospitals to help celebrate patients who have finished their cancer treatments. The boys said they're proud to be part of those patients' fight.

"When they told us what the meaning for the bell was, it gave me a sense of pride. Like, help them reach their final step, you know, get to ring that bell and they have a victory," said Parker.

You can watch all of our Orange Zone interviews at cbscolorado.com. If you know of a huge Broncos fan who deserves to be featured, email us at [email protected].

Doug McKinnon has sold another of his Cherry Creek gateway corners.

The owner of real estate firm McKinnon & Associates last week sold 55-65 S. Colorado Blvd., two parcels that form the northwest corner of Colorado and Bayaud Avenue, for $3.2 million, according to public records.

The undeveloped site is 0.38 acres, so the deal works out to $191 a square foot.

McKinnon said the local buyer “will be utilizing the G-RO-5 zoning we put in place to develop an office building for his firm’s use on the site.”

The property was purchased by DEG Realestate LLC, an entity formed by Alla Feldman with an office address corresponding to a home within Cherry Creek Country Club. Reached by phone, Feldman declined to comment on the purchase.

No development plans have been submitted to Denver for the site.

The corner lot is one of four on the outskirts of Cherry Creek — all marketed as a redevelopment opportunity — that a McKinnon-led group bought in 2019 for $5.5 million. The other lots were the southwest corner of Colorado and Bayaud and the southwest and northwest corners of Colorado and First Avenue.

McKinnon got the sites rezoned in 2020 after striking an unusually detailed “good neighbor agreement” with surrounding residents. Then, he put “Cherry Creek Gateway” signage up at each of the properties indicating they were for sale.

In 2023, McKinnon sold the southwest corner of Colorado and Bayaud for $1.4 million.

He still owns the corners at Colorado and First. He bought a neighboring parcel there for $1.8 million in 2023, giving him a larger footprint at the intersection.

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DENVER – For the second straight season, Cherry Creek and Kent Denver faced off in the field hockey state championship game on Wednesday night at All-City Stadium.

In a rematch of last year’s title game, defending champion Cherry Creek once again emerged the victor as the top-seeded Bruins (17-2) won 3-2 in overtime over No. 3 Kent Denver (16-3). Cherry Creek is now fourth all-time with four field hockey titles.

“We knew it was going to be a battle,” Cherry Creek head coach Tori Karsten said. “We’ve beat each other, we’ve lost to each other. Emily Hazard’s an incredible coach and they have an incredible team. I couldn’t be more proud of the girls. Winning one championship is one thing, but repeating it is a whole other thing.”

Cherry Creek’s Finley Katz opened the scoring with a goal with 4 minutes, 3 seconds left in the first quarter. With 11:34 left in the second quarter, Katz scored again to put the Bruins up 2-0.

With 33 seconds remaining in the first half, Kent Denver’s Tessa Morgan scored to send the Bruins into halftime with a 2-1 lead.

Kent Denver’s Maya Johnson scored with 8:32 remaining in regulation to tie the game at 2-2 and send the contest into overtime.

Just 25 seconds into overtime, Hazel McDonnell scored to send the Bruins home with their second first-place trophy in as many years.

“Last year was my first year coaching the team, so being in this environment and this atmosphere was very different for all of us,” Karsten said. “Coming from a position where they had lost the prior year, things were weighing heavy on us. This year, knowing that 90 percent of our team had been in this position, we knew it was going to be loud, I knew they weren’t going to be able to hear me.

“They just had to trust themselves and finish it.”

During the regular season, Cherry Creek and Kent Denver split the series with each game ending in a 2-1 result.

In Monday's championship semifinals, top-seeded Cherry Creek snuck past No. 5 Regis Jesuit, 2-2 (2-0 in shootout). The Sun Devils advanced to this year's championship game by once again using overtime to knock off Colorado Academy in the semifinals, as freshman Maya Johnson's game-winner secured a 2-1 win for Kent Denver.

Cherry Creek has advanced to the final game on 10 occasions, winning the title in 2002, 2007 and 2024.

Kent Denver is the owner of the most field hockey state championships in Colorado history with 10. The Sun Devils advanced to the title game in eight of nine years from 1998-2006, winning seven of those games. Kent Denver won its eighth and ninth state titles in 2009 and 2011, respectively, with its most recent championship coming in 2016.