CHSAA Celebrates 2023-24 Coaches of the Year

AURORA – The Colorado High School Activities Association would like to congratulate all of its 88 coaches that were honored as a Coach of the Year for their respective sport and classification this past year. There were 59 different schools with at least one coach earning Coach of the Year honors, while 23 schools had multiple recipients.

Cherry Creek, Merino and The Classical Academy had the most Coach of the Year accolades – four each – while Niwot, Resurrection Christian, Rock Canyon and Valor Christian each had three coaches earn the honor.

In addition, four coaches earned the designation in more than one sport; Niwot’s Kelly Christensen (4A boys cross country and 4A girls cross country), Rock Canyon’s Dan Davies (5A boys cross country and 5A girls track and field) and The Classical Academy’s Matt Norton (3A boys cross country and 3A girls cross country) and Timothy Daggett (3A boys track and field and 3A girls track and field).

Notably, Columbine football head coach Andy Lowry experienced a remarkable season, as he completed his 30th season as the team’s head coach, during which he celebrated his 300th career victory, his sixth state championship, and was named the AFC Recipient of the NFL’s 2023 Don Shula High School Coach of the Year award.

Additional highlights include:

• Denver Christian cheer head coach Gina Harris won her fifth-straight cheer state championship, spanning her entire run with the Thunder and dating back to her time at Front Range Christian.
• In the first year of the program’s existence, Arrupe Jesuit game day cheer head coach Mandi Lopez coached her cheer team all the way to a state championship victory. It was the first state championship win of any kind in school history.
• J.C. Watt, the legendary wrestling coach for Meeker, got to ride off into the sunset this season, as his team secured the 2A Boys Wrestling State Championship in Watt’s final season before retirement.
• Three different Coach of the Year winners had relatives earn Player of the Year honors. In softball, Lutheran’s Glen Maestretti and Hailey Maestretti won the awards for the 4A classification. The other two pairs hailed from Merino, with coach Christin Sutter and player Makenna Sutter taking home the hardware for 1A girls volleyball, and Daniel Piel being named the 2A Girls Basketball Coach of the Year, while Kya Piel was the 2A Girls Track and Field Player of the Year.
• Two different Coach of the Year winners won state championships while coaching the same program they attended in high school. Merino’s head coach for girls volleyball, Christin Sutter, who also won a volleyball state championship as a player, added her fourth-straight title as a coach this season, while Kendall Pelton, who once played basketball for the Tigers, helped Cheyenne Wells capture its first boys basketball title in 59 years.

2023-24 Coaches of the Year