DENVER – The Glenwood Springs cheerleaders turned in top-notch performance at the Class 4A state competition on Saturday, finishing third overall.Glenwood, who was the No. 1 seed coming out of the preliminary round, finished behind overall winner Mullen and runnerup Broomfield in the 34-team competition.Rifle finished 28th in the 4A division with its routine in the preliminary round.In 2A, Grand Valley took 10th place, while Coal Ridge, competing in the 3A category, placed 15th at its first time at state.See Monday’s Post Independent for more about the area spirit squads.

FALCON – A No. 10 seed knocking off the No. 1 undefeated seed sounds like a near-impossible task, but Berthoud High School did it on Saturday. The underdog Spartans defeated Falcon 21-13 to clinch the Class 3A football state title. Berthoud (12-2) scored two touchdowns off Falcon turnovers to take a 14-10 lead into the fourth quarter.Moments into the final frame Falcon (13-1) kicked a field goal to cut Berthoud’s lead to 14-13. The Spartans, lead by running back Bryce Munoz, responded with a long touchdown drive on the following possession to take a 21-13 lead with 9:20 left in the game. Berthoud, who only has six seniors on its squad, held off the Falcons’ charge in the final minutes to close out the win.

DENVER – In Saturday’s Class 4A football state final, Pueblo West won its first state football championship with a 21-14 victory over Monarch at Invesco Field at Mile High.Grandview won the Class 5A state final, beating Douglas County by a near-identical 20-14 count at Invesco, also on Saturday. Glenwood Springs coach Rocky Whitworth was the head coach at the Aurora school prior to heading west in to coach the Demons in 2004.

ASPEN – Tyler Jensen scored 17 points on Friday night, helping the Grand Valley boys basketball team to a 62-45 win over Classical Academy in the Aspen Tournament at Aspen High School.The Cardinals were down 29-28 at halftime, but 10 third-quarter points from Jensen, which included two 3-pointers, helped Grand Valley take a 48-41 lead going into the fourth quarter. The Cards defense took care of the rest, holding Classical Academy to four points in the final quarter to preserve the season-opening win.