Setting the pace - Colorado Community Media

Benn Farrell and Scott Kaniewski

Speed, accuracy and hard work is a developing theme for the next
set of Nifty 50 kids.

The second set of 10 teens included in CCN Sports’ 50 Student
Athletes to Watch series looks at quickness on the track, the
gridiron or the courts, while most of them have met some mode of
success with their hard work and determination.

While some will focus their energies on the work involved to
execute, others are showing a knack for quality vision and high
development for the coming seasons. Each of them, however, shows
enough promise to help make their respective 2010-11 high school
sports seasons memorable.

Brad Goldsberry, Elizabeth

Coming into his senior season at Elizabeth High School, Brad
Goldsberry has done well for himself in both football and baseball
for the Cardinals. He began playing baseball as a toddler and
football as an elementary student.

A first-team All-Conference selection as a receiver last year,
and second-team as a return specialist, he was the Cards’ No. 1
pair of hands downfield. He also has accumulated yards as a running
back and plays strong safety and some outside linebacker on
defense. Goldsberry said he enjoys the work involved playing on the
gridiron.

“Sports is all I do, so I care about it a lot,” he said. “I try
to be one of the big players in big games.”

Come the Cardinals’ post-season, Goldsberry said the team has a
chance to go deep in the state championship playoffs with a lot of
returning starters and a new offense.

On the diamond, he led Cardinals baseball at bat with a .536
average and started at shortstop, although he feels more natural at
second base. He earned a first-team All-League honorable mention as
a junior. Goldsberry said he expects the Cardinals to go deeper in
the playoffs next spring than they have in the last 5-6 years.

Between football and baseball, he said football is a better fit
to his game-time competitive edge.

“In baseball, if you let things get to you and get angry, you
fail,” Goldsberry said. “In football, getting angry actually helps
me get pumped up.”

With a 4.13 grade-point average and having completed AP Calculus
as a sophomore, Goldsberry is hoping to let his academics take him
into the Ivy League; however, he might decide to stay closer to
home for college come 2011. Either way, he’s hoping to make his
athletic career extend to the post-secondary level.

Connor Orgill, Legend

Among Legend’s many developing student athletes, Connor Orgill
is definitely a standout. With contributions to the school’s
football, basketball and baseball programs, Orgill enters his
sophomore year with the Titans’ sports programs.

Orgill served as the Titans’ gridiron starting quarterback last
year until a concussion had him sit out the last few games. He
could be moved into a receiver position for the 2010 season when
the Titans move into Class 4A and the South Metro League with
Castle View, Littleton, Ponderosa, Rock Canyon and defending 3A
state champion Valor Christian.

In hoops, Orgill accounted for 158 points, averaging 7.9 points
per game and shooting better than 50 percent from the floor. He
also helped out on the other end of the court with 32 steals and 70
defensive rebounds as the starting center.

On the Titans’ diamond, the will-be sophomore played four games
and produced a batting average of .533, including three home runs
and 19 RBIs. His on-base percentage was near the same. Titans coach
Scott Fellers said Orgill is one of the team’s best hitters and
overall players. With an unusual program lineup of teams, Orgill
finished last spring with a 3A all-state honorable mention
alongside teammate Bobby Dalbeck.

“It’s a pretty big accomplishment,” Fellers said. “The guy can
run. He ran a 6.860 for [baseball]. That’s unheard of, especially
as a freshman.

“He plays all three sports and excels in them. He’s a great
all-around athlete. Every team is fortunate to have a kid that
well-rounded. … He’s going to benefit from another year of lifting
weights and growing. He’s going to fill out his body and mature
more. We’re excited to see him grow as an athlete over the next few
years.”

Chelsea Speck, Cherry Creek

A year ago, Chelsea Speck had a pretty good season of
gymnastics.

She was state runner-up in balance beam, 13th in the floor
exercise, 12th in vault and 11th in all-around. In 2008 she took
sixth in the floor exercise.

That silver medal in balance beam could turn to gold after last
season’s gold-medal winner graduated.

“She’s up for anything; no fear,” Cherry Creek coach Melissa
Holmberg said. “She’s very open to working on new skills and
pushing herself to the next level.”

Speck branched out last season. For the first time, she dived
for Creek, while competing at the same time with her club
gymnastics team.

Speck will be a four-year letterman this fall. And her first
three years on varsity have been stellar. The lowest score of each
team gets thrown out during a competition. The Bruins have never
thrown Speck’s score out in her first three seasons.

“I’ve never known a gymnast I could say that about,” Holmberg
said.

Paula Stoddard, Mountain Vista

Paula Stoddard is coming into her junior season of girls
swimming at Mountain Vista High School. With experience in the
200-yard freestyle and the 400 free relay at the Class 5A state
championship meet, Stoddard worked her way into 12th place in the
500 free her sophomore year at state. She finished 21st in the 200
and helped the Golden Eagles’ 400 relay team to a 14th-place
finish, where coach Heather Hebert has her swimming the anchor.

“Between her and Yanna Garvey, she had our fastest split,”
Hebert said.

Also last season, Stoddard was fifth in 500 at the Continental
A-League championships and sixth in the 200. Representing Vista at
the Smoky Hill Invitational, she won the 500 and was third in the
200. Hebert said Stoddard is more natural in the water than she is
on land, and distance swimming is her true forte.

“She can swim forever,” the coach said. “Truly, the longer the
distance, the better she does. She’s an exceptional swimmer and a
great girl. She just never stops.”

Stoddard hopes to become a junior captain next spring. Herbert
feels she’ll do well in the position. A natural talent for others
to look up to, Stoddard was Vista’s only freshman to qualify for
the state meet in 2009.

“She really thinks about the team and what she can do for it
overall,” Hebert said. “I think this could be her best year.”

With her year-round swim team, Highlands Ranch Aquatics,
Stoddard did well at sectionals last March where she actually broke
her team’s records in the 1,000 and the 1,650. She finished 20th in
the mile and 27th in the 1,000.

Eric Antilla, Highlands Ranch

Eric Antilla has been a workhorse for Highlands Ranch High
School’s basketball and baseball programs and heads into his senior
season this year. On the diamond, Antilla will be coming into his
third year of varsity action.

This summer, he played on an all-Colorado team with the top
junior baseball players for the Sunbelt Classic Tournament in
Oklahoma. His team played 10 games against other states’ top
juniors.

“Eric was a key contributor to our varsity team that made it to
the final 16 in state this past season,” Falcons coach John
Cackowski said. “Eric was our five-hole hitter and one of our top
pitchers. He beat Green Mountain in the district playoffs, pitched
a complete game and beat Ponderosa in league play and also pitched
six innings of two-run ball against Rock Canyon.”

For a high school pitcher, Antilla has an amazing change-up, the
coach said. He throws three pitches for a strike and can locate his
fastball anywhere. At bat, Antilla is expected to remain one of the
Falcons’ core hitters. Cackowski expects him to be in the lineup
anyways from the three-hole to the five-hole.

“What I enjoy watching about Eric is his poise in tough
situations,” Cackowski said. “He competes and wants the
baseball.”

For the Falcons basketball program, Antilla started every game
for the varsity team as a junior and was a big reason for Highlands
Ranch boys going 21-5, the team’s best record in school history,
last season, coach Bob Caton said. He helped the team go 10-1 in
the Continental League for second place and reach the Class 5A
Round of Eight.

“Eric was our defensive stopper,” Caton said. “We put him on the
opponent’s best player, guard or forward. He comes up with the
loose ball and the plays that can make the difference in the game.
He also found time to be one of our best shooters from the outside
with high games of 17 points against Cherry Creek and 22 against
Denver East.”

With an additional 4.5 rebounds per game, one can see why his
all-around ability was a help to the team and led him to an
all-league honorable mention.

“He will be counted on to continue his success and then some
from his wing position,” Caton said.

Brock Berglund, Valor Christian

One of the biggest reasons to have watched Brock Berglund in his
senior season at Valor Christian High School was where he’d be
going next. University of Colorado Buffaloes football will get the
benefit of the Eagles’ starting quarterback who helped Valor nab
its first state title in the sport in Class 3A.

In his junior season on the gridiron, he threw for more than
2,200 yards, his longest completion being 90 yards, and rushed for
almost 900. He threw 30 touchdowns, with six TD passes in one game
against Glenwood Springs, and threw a mere four interceptions the
entire season. Berglund walked in 14 touchdowns, including four
trips against Canon City where he accumulated his highest amount of
rushing yards in one game (223).

Recently, Berglund made a verbal commitment to play for the
Buffs at CU. Rivals.com and
Scout.com both have Berglund listed
as the No. 1 quarterback in the state in the Class of 2011, while
Rivals also spotlights him as the No. 13 dual-threat quarterback in
the nation.

Also a hoops athlete, Berglund helped the Eagles with roughly
12.5 points per game his junior season, as well as 2.3 rebounds per
game. Another area for him to shine last school year was in track
and field, Berglund made the finals in the Class 4A boys 200-meter
dash and helped the program to its first state championship, being
one leg of the gold medal winning 400 and 800 relay teams.

Brett Lisle, ThunderRidge

Brett Lisle is a two-sport athlete at ThunderRidge High School
but finds himself excelling in baseball. Standing 6 feet, 8 inches,
and throwing left-handed, Lisle has become a unique presence on the
bump.

The incoming senior has an 85-87 mph curveball and change-up.
This summer, he played on an all-Colorado team of top junior
baseball players in the state in Oklahoma tournament action, as
well. In addition, he has been selected for the second year to
attend the Stanford Ivy League baseball camp at Stanford University
this month.

For the Grizzlies, Lisle started to see some varsity games his
sophomore season and threw in three games as his mechanics began to
develop. Last spring, he was T-Ridge’s No. 2 pitcher and played
first base. With more tournament action, and a boost in his size
and strength, Lisle’s talents started to change for the better.

“I’m more downtown and focused on getting my arm up top,” Lisle
said. “Being a 6-8, left-handed pitcher, there’s not too many of
those a team can offer.”

With college recruiters knocking on the door, Lisle’s two-time
CHSAA Academic All-State, first-team honors help his potential for
throwing at the next level. That, his National Honor Society
membership and 4.1 GPA should all help spell success for him.

Given his size, and a 23-inch verticle leap, he should be seen
running the post for Grizzlies boys hoops as well. He started in a
handful of varsity games last year with sporadic playing time.
Having not played basketball until the eighth grade, Lisle’s
development is obvious on the court as well as the diamond.

“I owe that to coach [Joe] Ortiz,” Lisle said. “Being 6-8, I’m
pretty hard to guard in the post. Next year should be really big
for us.”

Alli Will, Rock Canyon

Alli Will has made her presence known as a Class 4A runner at
Rock Canyon, and her senior year should be one to remember. A cross
country and track athlete for the Jaguars, Will received
All-Continental League first team honors as a junior and a
sophomore in cross country. Last fall, she was the individual
champion at Rock Canyon’s Class 4A regional meet, but she missed
the state championship run because of an injury.

Her sophomore year, she was a first-team all-regional nod and
earned second team as a freshman. Will was also a member of the 4A
state cross country academic championship team her freshman
year.

“She’s an outstanding young lady who is very coachable and
committed to her teammates,” Jaguars coach Dan Davies said. “In
fact, both male and female athletes on our cross country team are
inspired by the way she competes and the way she treats others. As
we move up to Class 5A this year, we’re fortunate to have Ali’s
leadership to help us in this transition. By far, Ali has been Rock
Canyon’s most successful female distance runner in the short
history of our school.”

On the track, Will is a three-time 4A state qualifier. Last
spring, she placed fifth in the girls 3,200-meter run, 11th in the
1,600 and helped the Jags’ 3,200 relay team to a 12th-place finish.
Her sophomore season, she was sixth in the 3,200 and also helped
the 3,200 relay to sixth.

“She’s a very focused athlete who has the ability to push
herself physically,” Davies said. “Her dedication to training, and
her excellent preparation for competition, result in her remarkably
consistent performances. … She’s a very humble young lady who
genuinely puts the team first. Ali is the perfect example of
character and sportsmanship.”

Parker Semin, Arapahoe

Parker Semin is heading into his fourth varsity basketball
season. And the Warriors are expecting big things from him.

Semin, a 6-5 center, led the team in rebounding last year, shot
56.1 percent from the floor and averaged 39 percent from behind the
arc. He averaged 12.1 points per game and 6.3 rebounds.

His numbers and work ethic garnered him all-state honorable
mention for the second consecutive season. And the big man will be
the only returning two-time, first-team all-Centennial Conference
player when the season opens.

“Parker’s got a great motor,” Arapahoe coach Dan Snyder said.
“He’s one of those kids that’s always playing very hard.”

Semin also has a 3.8 grade-point average. Between his grades and
his athletic talent, Snyder said Semin has drawn interest from a
couple Ivy League schools and Air Force and Army.

Semin should lead the team in scoring this season and again in
rebounding.

“If you say that, you’re asking an awful lot of a kid,” Snyder
said. “I think that’s very reasonable. I think he’ll put up big
numbers for us this year.”

Joe Howard, Englewood

Joe Howard enters his senior year this fall, and with it, he
will enter his fourth season with the Pirates boys basketball
team.

Standing 6-8, Howard plays at the post position. Last year, he
averaged 16.9 points per game. He also hauled down 188 rebounds in
22 games and blocked an average of 3.1 shots per game. For his
efforts, Howard earned himself a Class 4A first-team,
all-conference nod.

In his first couple seasons, Howard gathered most of his points
in the paint, but as a junior, he began to develop a little jump
hook and a short jump shot. In addition, he drilled almost 90
percent of shots from the free throw line.

Howard also contributes to the Englewood track and field team as
a long jump and triple jump athlete.

However, his focus is on the basketball court. During the summer
off-season, he attends camps and plays in the summer Gold Crown
League.

50 student athletes to watch – Part 2 of 5