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The Colorado High School Activities Association has welcomed everyone to my favorite time of the year: the Madness before March Madness. That’s right, the state brackets have been released for high school boys and girls basketball (in Class 5A and 6A).

When Northglenn Athletic Director JP Sampson called me last May to invite me to the hiring of the school’s new girls basketball coach, I figured it was just another run-of-the-mill hiring story. I didn’t think much of it. But something he said about new coach Jeff Neal made me pay attention.

“I want to make sure that girls basketball wasn’t an afterthought,” Sampson said. “I can guarantee you that we hired the best coach in the Denver metro area, and I truly believe that.” And I’ll admit, Neal’s resume was impressive.

From 2006 to 2008, he manned the ship at Golden High School. Then he went east to coach at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, from 2010 to 2016. Neal returned to high school and wasted no time turning around the girls program at Roosevelt High School in Johnstown, leading the Rough Riders to a 54-36 record from 2018 to 2022. Before Neal’s arrival, Roosevelt went 30-63 in four seasons.

If anyone needed that quick turnaround, it was Northglenn. The Norse had only won a combined 27 games in the last five seasons.

Fast-forward to February 2026, and Neal has worked his magic again. Northglenn went from 9-13 and 4-8 in the 6A/5A/4A Rocky Mountain League to 15-8 and 9-3 in league play. The Norse are right back in the Class 5A state tournament also, earning a No. 26 seed in 5A. Northglenn host No. 39 Thomas Jefferson in the first round tomorrow at 6:30 p.m.

“(Sampson) actually told me in a nice way that he thought I was full of crap,” Neal said with a smile on telling Sampson he’d have this team in the playoffs in his first year. “But this is what I was hoping for.”

Full story on northglenn-thorntonsentinel.com this week!

🥇 Pomona’s boys wrestling team has been so dominant over the last two decades the Panthers are now chasing down their own records.

FLASHBACK: In 2023, Pomona set the all-time team point total with 278.5 in winning the Class 5A team title.

DYNASTY DOUBLE-DOWN: When all was said and done Feb 21 night at Ball Arena, Pomona won its eighth straight team title, setting a new bar with 303.5 team points.

“That’s insane. We showed up today,” Pomona senior Derek Barrows said of breaking the 300-point barrier. “And then 9-for-9 in the finals. I don’t think that’s ever been done before. We made history in three different ways tonight.”

FACT CHECK: Barrows is correct; Pomona going 9-for-9 in championship bouts also shattered the previous record of seven individual state titles set by Holly High School in 1972. 

State champion Panthers:

But is it the best boys’ wrestling group ever?

“I think so. I think they kind of proved it tonight,” Pomona coach Sam Federico said. “We brought 14 guys down here and lost six total matches in three days. One fifth, two thirds and nine first-placers is pretty unbelievable.”

“This is the best line-up we’ve had, ever,” Claeys added. “We’ve done a lot of stuff in one night.”

HISTORY: Since 2000, Pomona has captured 13 Class 5A state team titles. The Panthers only trail the Wray Eagles with the most boys’ wrestling state team championships. Wray has 16 boys’ wrestling state titles.

WHAT’S NEXT? Pomona will graduate a ton of talent, but the Panthers definitely have an eye on more history, winning a ninth straight team title next season.

“It doesn’t matter who graduates or who stays,” Valdez said of Pomona going for a record ninth consecutive team title next year. “This team is always going to be great.”

WHY SPORTSLAND? Sportsland is the go-to high school sports newsletter in Colorado, covering athletics across Jefferson and Adams Counties. We give you all the game updates, yes, but we also go deep behind the scenes to give you context to some of the best sports stories in our coverage areas. The best part? It’s FREE!

While other news outlets prioritize Denver’s professional and college sports teams, we keep our eyes on the high school athletics landscape, providing key updates and legislative news from CHSAA, hard-hitting feature stories and we connect generations of families through sports.

GLADIATORS — For as long as I’ve been with the Colorado Trust for Locals News (nearly three years), Adams County schools have had a firm grip on the high school wrestling scene, with schools like Adams City, Fort Lupton, Brighton, Prairie View and others fielding dominant wrestlers in the state tournament every year.

Here’s a quick breakdown of how the state tournament shook out at Ball Arena for north area teams this past weekend:

HARDWARE 🏆

Though many other north-area athletes fell short, the sheer representation from schools in Adams County shows an unstoppable culture that permeates the sport.

One of my many partners in crime, Steve Smith, put together a complete area recap from the state tournament.

Catch team finishes, near-champs that fell short and everything at between at the complete recap below!

⛹‍♀️ Riverdale Ridge girls basketball rides perfect league record to playoffs: Opponents are surely well aware of Brihanna Crittendon and her dominance at this point. But until she joins the Texas Longhorns, they’ll have to deal with her one more time in the Class 6A state tournament (The Ravens are the No. 13 seed and host No. 20 Chaparral on Feb. 28 at 6 p.m.) Read the full story ➡

⛏ Clear Creek hoops celebrates Senior Night, bounce-back year: The Golddiggers are holding their breath hoping for a spot in the Class 3A state tournament. But in the meantime, the program celebrated the five seniors that helped carry them to a solid .500 season this year, including Zephyr Schuessler, who eclipsed the 1,000-point mark this season. Read the full story ➡

🐊 Standley Lake boys hoops makes history with 1st league title: The long wait is over. Standley Lake High School has its first boys basketball league title in the school’s history. The Gators defeated Green Mountain 50-44 in the winner-take-all game last week at Green Mountain High School. The Gators earned the No. 22 seed in the Class 5A state tournament. Read the full story ➡

🏂 Golden snowboarder Stacy Gaskill talks Olympic journey: From recovering from devastating injury to a devastating fall in the snowboard cross mixed team quarterfinal, Golden’s Stacy Gaskill opens up about Olympic heartbreak, her journey and more from Milan. Read the full story ➡

🌄 Colorado Apex disc team gearing up for 2026 season: The Golden-based professional ultimate disc team, previously known as the Colorado Summit, is hosting its first game May 9 with sister team Colorado Alpenglow at Thornton’s Pinnacle Athletic Complex. Read the full story ➡

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All records current as of Feb. 23

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