Hard to believe the decade of the 2000s is in the rearview mirror.
A little tougher to comprehend is the fact I covered prep sports in Arvada, Golden, Lakewood and Wheat Ridge for the past 12 years. Seems like only yesterday I was trying to find a spot in the press box at Mullen’s de La Salle Stadium while covering my first prep football game — Arvada West versus Mullen — for the newspaper group that is now Mile High Newspapers.
Taking a look back is always fun to do. Here is a list of the top athletes from the past decade in our coverage area.
• Arvada: Kyle Sand, Arvada West H.S., football and wrestler
Kyle Sand was the first prep athlete I ever saw receive a request for his autograph.
I was chatting with Sand, a sophomore at the time, during a wrestling tournament at Alameda High School when a young aspiring wrestler politely asked for Sand’s autograph.
Sand had a solid career at middle linebacker for A-West on the football field and the best wrestling career in Colorado history. He finished up his prep career in 2004 with a 125-0 mark on the wrestling mat, becoming the first four-time undefeated state champion.
Now a senior at Adams State College, Sand is the defending NCAA Division II national champion at 184 pounds. He also won a NJCAA national championship in 2007 at North Idaho College.
• Golden: Mark Melancon, Golden H.S., football, basketball and baseball
Mark Melancon is the best three-sport athlete I’ve seen since starting my sports writing career in 1997. He also might have had the most impressive senior year of any prep athlete in recent history.
Melancon was a star quarterback for the Demons, guiding Golden to the Class 4A state title game in 2002. He then helped the Demons to a run deep into the playoffs on the basketball court. Melancon saved the best for last, steering Golden to its first state championship on the baseball diamond.
He went on to a successful college career pitching for the University of Arizona. The hard-throwing righty signed with the New York Yankees and made his major league debut in 2009.
• Lakewood: Marian Dalmy, Green Mountain H.S., girls soccer
Marian Dalmy was one of the top prep soccer players in the state during her time at Green Mountain High School.
She was named a 2003 Parade Magazine High School All-American and was a two-time NSCAA/adidas All-American. Dalmy went on to a solid college career at Santa Clara University where she was named the West Coast Conference MVP her senior year.
Dalmy played for the United States women’s national team, including playing in two games at the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup in China. She started 16 games for the Chicago Red Stars in the Women’s Professional Soccer league last year.
• Wheat Ridge: Parker Orms, Wheat Ridge H.S., football, basketball and baseball
Dylan Orms was right when he said his younger brother would be a better athlete.
Parker starred for the Farmers’ football state championship teams in 2006 and 2008. His last-minute touchdown run in the title game at Invesco Field at Mile High against Greeley West might have been the play of the decade.
Even after taking a scholarship offer to play football at the University of Colorado, Parker finished out his senior season playing basketball and baseball for the Farmers. He red-shirted as a freshman this past football season for the Buffaloes.
• Colorado School of Mines: Chad Friehauf, football and basketball, and Kayla Mitchell, women’s soccer
Chad Friehauf re-wrote the Mines record books on the football field during his time with the Orediggers.
The quarterback led Mines to its only D-II postseason appearance in 2004, where the team won its first-round game. He finished his career with a school records in yardage and touchdowns and signed with the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent that summer.
Kayla Mitchell became the first Mines women’s soccer player to earn All-American status after helping to lead the Orediggers to the D-II quarterfinals in 2009. She owns virtually every scoring record at the school, finishing her career with 76 goals.