McClave girls and boys basketball teams reign supreme in 1-A again as state champions

 

Article by Brock Laue/CHSSA

1-A Boys Basketball Champs McClave Cardinals

GREELEY — Class 1A is the smallest classification in Colorado, but it certainly boasts some of the most impressive towering talents in the whole state.

The 6-foot-8 Corey Hill of Cheyenne Wells finished his career with a state record 71 double-doubles. The Colorado State-Pueblo signee recorded 13 points, 16 rebounds, and four blocks in the state championship game in the Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley.

And yet, 6-foot-7 Tuff Kelley notched 16 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks, lifting McClave to back-to-back state championships. The Cardinals pulled away 53-37.  “Corey Hill’s one of the best big men in the state at any level, not just 1A, but I think Tuff Kelley is too,” McClave coach Jeremy Mallard said of Kelley, who has over 40 career double-doubles before his senior year even begins. “No offense to Corey Hill, because he’s done some amazing things, but I love my guy.”

It was a joy to watch two of the giants of 1A, in Hill and Kelley, battle in the paint in the state final. They also faced off in the 2024 championship game, a title bout that Cheyenne Wells won. In 2025 though, McClave beat Flatirons Academy 59-43 for the title as the Tigers lost in the Final Four.

It seemed fitting that in Hill’s last high school season (22.1 points, 16.5 rebounds per game), after compiling some of the most robust career stats in Colorado history, that he and his Cheyenne Wells teammates would face McClave one more time in a championship game.

The Tigers led 10-9 after the first quarter as Kelley went scoreless. He was off to a slow start. Then McClave started finding its mojo as a two-handed dunk by last year’s 1A Player of the Year (Kelley) pushed the Cardinal lead to 23-13. It was 25-20 at halftime.

Kelley also began knocking down some shots. He knew facing Hill would be a big test though. And yet, he was ready after they won 47-39 in the regular season.  “I try to work on my fundamentals, hit shots, keep my feet set,” the junior said. “I didn’t score the first quarter, but you see one go in and it just kind of clicks.”

McClave also got contributions from seniors in Mason Barr (Second Team All-State last year) and Jr. Mungarary as it took a 40-29 lead entering the fourth quarter. Mungarary entered Saturday averaging 4.3 points, but scored 10 in the final. Barr just kept making critical baskets and finished with 16 points.

“Mason Barr, he’s been doing that his whole career,” Mallard said. “Drew Howe, Jr. Mungarary, the list goes on. Those top seven guys, they all step up and it’s someone every single night. We’re hard to scout, because you never know who is going to do it.”

 

1-A Girls Basketball Champs McClave Cardinals

GREELEY – The proud community of McClave will always remember these girls.

A town with a rich basketball culture saw its girls team win its second-consecutive Class 1A state championship on Saturday at Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley with a 43-40 victory over Flagler.

“Last school year our girls won state championships in volleyball, basketball, and track,” coach Brianne Howe said. “We had a goal of going back-to-back in basketball state championships. I’m just so proud of them for achieving that goal.”

The Cardinals cruised 47-33 over Idalia in last year’s title game. But the Panthers were quite pesky on Saturday as they never let McClave build a huge lead. Star sophomore Rylie Berry kept hitting shots for Flagler and the 2025 1A Player of the Year, Abrielle Gomez of McClave, picked up her second foul with 3:32 left in the first quarter. The game was tied at eight after one quarter.  “We really put an emphasis on defense,” Howe said. “That way if we struggle offensively, we always have a strong defense to rely on.” A two-pointer for Gomez to start the second quarter helped the Cardinals come alive. After all, the senior is too good to stay quiet for long.  McClave took a 28-18 lead into halftime after racking up 20 points in the second quarter.

Gomez, Addison Vallejos, Zoe Martinez, and Ashlynn Steinbrunn, who all nabbed All-State honors (First Team, Second Team or Honorable Mention) last season, contributed on offense and defense. Their other starter, Avery Hemphill, is quite an athlete herself after being named First Team All-State in volleyball.
“Basically our starting unit for basketball was also our starting unit for volleyball,” Howe said.

Nonetheless, Flagler was gritty in the state final. A Cinderella team as the No. 14 seed, it beat Springfield by six in the Final Four and Briggsdale by five in the Great 8 just to make the championship game. They weren’t going to quit.  A Berry basket capped an 8-0 run and pulled Flagler within 32-28 late in the third quarter. The Cardinals kept them at bay, though, with the lead hovering around five to six points down the stretch.

With only 1:37 left in the game, another Berry rebound and basket brought Flagler within 42-39. On top of that, McClave was missing some critical free throws. But Martinez went 1 for 2 with 40 seconds left to push the lead to 43-39.

McClave held on.  The Cardinals, who finished 26-2 after defeating Fleming 49-33 in the Final Four and Cheraw 50-34 in the Great 8, didn’t play a perfect game. Nonetheless, the state championship is just as sweet as last year.  “We didn’t play the best, but who cares? We just won,” Gomez said.  Gomez led McClave with 15 points and eight rebounds. Vallejos scored 10 points and was a defensive dynamo with six steals. Steinbrunn chipped in eight points and seven rebounds. For the state runner-up team, Rylie Berry finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds and Sydnie Berry tallied seven points.

On Saturday, McClave reached the mountaintop again in earning their sixth girls basketball state championship. That ties the program for the sixth-most in Colorado history.

“My dad was actually the coach several years ago and he won four state championships,” Howe said. “His girls won three in a row (2004-06) and they actually hold the state record of 78 wins in a row. It’s hard to beat that, but I would put these girls up against anybody.”

It’s hard not to, especially when you consider they also won state in volleyball in 2024 before finishing as the runner-up in 2025. They tied for the 1A girls track and field championship with Idalia last spring as three of their starting basketball players (Steinbrunn, Gomez, Vallejos) ran on the winning 4×100-meter and 4×200-meter relays. On top of all that, the seniors (Gomez, Steinbrunn, Martinez) finished as the state runner-up in basketball as freshmen.

“We’re a fast team,” said Gomez, who signed with Lamar Community College for volleyball and basketball. “We’re a short team, so we have to work our tails off. Being able to have quick feet on defense and being able to score on offense, it’s great.” Steinbrunn will also be taking her talents to college as she signed to play volleyball at Morningside (Iowa).

For a school with about 100 students in Southeastern Colorado, seven team state championships (boys basketball also won Saturday) since 2022 has been quite a run of excellence.

“We start young,” Gomez said of basketball players in McClave. “Our little rec league, they’re starting in kindergarten.”

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