Mr. Barrios Message
STEM SPOTLIGHT MESSAGE 10/18/26
Dear STEM Families,
STEM Fall Athletics are starting to come to an end and winter sports are picking up.
Well it has been a well needed break!!
We are back at it with Soccer & Volleyball games everyday this upcoming week. XC is racing to the finishline. Speech & Debate has started out strong. While eSports continue it’s domination. Middle School girls basketball is up and running.
UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
We have a list of games slated this week.
WINTER SPORTS (BASKETBALL) REGISTRATION IS OPEN!
HS Boys & Girls Basketball
MS Boys Basketball
Registration is Open Oct 1 through mid November or until teams are full, so sign up NOW!
FALL SPORTS REGISTRATION CLOSING SOON
High School Registration
Registration remains open for:
Cheer - Open
Speech & Debate - Open
Middle School Registration
Registration remains open for:
Girls Basketball - Closing Oct 1st.
Cheer
Speech & Debate
THIS WEEK'S BOY'S SOCCER RECAP
Last week, the boys soccer team played their hearts out! Although they came up short in both home games, that hasn’t stopped the effort, determination, and heart they continue to put on the field.
After fall break, the Spartans will hit the road to take on Englewood, and they’ll be looking to come home with a WIN!
While this week’s results weren’t what we had hoped for, we definitely had some bright spots!
Let’s keep supporting our boys as they get ready to hit the road after fall break. Keep fighting, Spartans!
Game 11’s player of the match Logan Sandhoff! In our last game, Logan played one of his best games of the season! He gave it everything he had and only came out of the game after taking a knock. What an outstanding performance, Logan!
Game 10’s player of the match Tysei Powell! Tysei played lights-out on the defensive line and helped keep the Spartans battling from start to finish. Outstanding effort, Tysei!
Game 9’s player of the match Lucian Rohrbach! He played his best offensive game of the season, never giving up and making some great runs.
Game 8’s player of the match Tysei Powell! He was named Player of the Game for his outstanding play on the defensive line! He was relentless and was aggressive the whole game!
Game 7’s player of the match was Camren Irish! Camren's ability to make the transition from center back to wing and immediately contribute offensively. A fantastic performance and a great example of stepping up for the team!
Game 6’s player of the match was Philip Colclasure! Philip had an outstanding performance between the posts, racking up an impressive 20 saves and keeping the Spartans within striking distance all game long!
Game 5’s player of the match was Camden Mauger! Played a tough game and never gave up!
"No one out-mogs the Mauger"
Game 4’s player of the match was Lucas Colclasure. Lucas scored an incredible SEVEN goals!! He played with intensity, confidence and determination every time he stepped on the field.
Game 3’s player of the match was Philip Colclasure. Shot after shot, Philip, says not today.
Game 2’s player of the match was Alex Stone. He is a beast on the defense, He never gives up!!
Game 1’s player of the match was Kellan Madden. “Mad Dog” Madden played his heart out on the wing! This kid has more energy than the Energizer Bunny. What a motor!
Upcoming soccer match
Tuesday Oct 20th Vs Englewood
Varsity match @ 6:30 pm
Englewood High School - Randy Penn Stadium
Thursday Oct 22nd Vs Mile High Academy
Varsity match @ 4:00 pm
Mile High Academy Soccer Field
One team. One goal. One Spartan family.
LET’S GO SPARTANS!
TEAM HIGHLIGHT: BOYS GOLF
ALAMOSA -- Senior Aarav Singh capped a milestone season for the STEM boys' golf team as the program's first-ever qualifier for the 3A Boys State Golf Championships, competing over 36 holes of competition at Cattails Golf Course in Alamosa from Oct. 5-6.
Singh was paired with with pre-tournament favorite Hayden Dorsey (Senior, Manitou Springs) in the practice round on Sunday, Oct. 4, where he was able to get a sense of the competition he was to face from the best players in the state -- and get a first glimpse at a golf course that was set up to penalize any ball played slightly off track.
On Monday, Singh found some trouble on his first nine holes -- including on Hole 16, the consensus hardest hole on the course -- but manufactured a dose of positive momentum on his final nine holes of the day, including a birdie on Hole 8, to open with a round of 88.
Determined to card a lower score on Tuesday, Singh once again found trouble on his opening holes of the day -- with even a near-perfect shot on Hole 16 ending up in the ample hazard area surrounding the hole. He rebounded with five pars on the first six holes on his final nine to beat his Monday score by three shots, with his scores of 88 and 85 placing him in a tie for 64th place in the tournament with a total score of 173.
Dorsey ended up placing 7th (144), with Forge Christian's Joey Banks (137) winning a three-way playoff against Colorado Academy's Trevor Youssi (137) and Resurrection Christian's Levi McDowell (137) to take the individual title. Forge also took home the team title for the tournament.
Congratulations Aarav!! Way to complete a marvelous season and represent STEM with a strong finish!!
Daniel Kerwin, you have been an amazing coach supporting our kids this season. Thank you for your hard work, sacrifice, dedication to STEM and our Students! You are such a great asset to STEM!
HIGH SCHOOL GIRL'S VOLLEYBALL RECAP
Although Monday’s games against Ascent did not result in a win on the scoreboard, the night was a huge success for breast cancer awareness. Thank you to all the parents, students, athletes, visitors, and staff who supported the event. Girls volleyball raised more than $1,500, and with a generous organization providing a three-times match, STEM School will donate more than $4,500.
At Wednesday’s game against Two Roads, varsity volleyball came away with a win! Every athlete, to include 2 JV swing players, took the court during the five-set match and contributed to the victory. Way to go, girls—we are so proud of you all!
Upcoming Volleyball games
Monday Oct 19th Vs Poudre Community Academy
Varsity starts @ 5:00 pm
Eyestone South Main Gym
Wednesday 21st Vs Golden View Classical Academy
JV starts @ 4:30 pm
Varsity starts @ 5:30 pm
STEM Athletic Entrance - Main Gym
CROSS COUNTRY
Middle School
Recaps to come. Unfortunately our last was rained out.
High School
So we finally had a meet after 3 weeks of cancellations from afternoon storms.
Denver East invite October 2nd
Boys race
The boys had a great race despite not competing in over three weeks. We had 3 boys run personal best times on a grassy and curvy course, Carter Campbell, Quinn Dickerson and Steven Wing. Steven ran 3;00+ faster than his previous best!!!! The boys team ran very well and we were competitive among the 3A schools.
Sarah Hathaway looking determined and focused placed 23rd out of 100+ girls to have a fantastic race against many 4/5A girls and one of the first 3A girls to finish. Hopefully in 3 weeks we can turn that into a state birth on this course.
Stay strong runners!
Middle School
Saturday Oct. 24th CO State XC Championships
Race starts @ 9 am
FehringerRanch Park Cross Country
High School
Friday Oct 23rd @ CHSAA 3A Regional 5 Meet - Boys & Girls XC
Race starts @ 2:00 pm
City Park Pavilion
eSports RECAP
Week 3 in eSports spotlighted teamwork and player support. The Varsity Teams all struggled with illness and College trips. All our JV players showed how phenemial STEM students are by either stepping up and playing where they were needed or sacrificing their games for the good of the entire team. A special shout out to Ty Moutaskas and Kaedan O'Reilly for their support of Valorant and Smash and Sean Clements, Jamey Espinosa, and Max Bozarth for playing in matches with no warning or practice. This entire team is a testament to why our team is so incredible.
Season Rankings to date:
Mario Kart Gold (3-0): Beat Arvada West HS 2-0 and are in 5th place in the Mountain Region
Marvel Rivals Gold (2-1): Best Highlands Ranch HS 3-0 and are in 6th place in CHSAA
Rocket League Gold (2-0):was rescheduled for after break and are in 5nd place in CHSAA
Smash Gold (3-0): Beat Elbert HS 3-1 and are in 7th place in the Mountain Region
Smash Blue (1-2): Won their first match against Pueblo West 3-1.
Valorant Gold (1-2): Beat Peco HS 1-0 and are 15th in the Mountain Region
Valorant Blue (0-3): Lost to Jesuit Preparatory (Dallas) HS 0-1
Middle School eSports continues to show incredible growth. The team saw some losses this week. However, their skills are growing exponentially and their matches are closer each week. We are sure a breakthrough week is coming soon!
Upcoming eSports games
High School
Wednesday Oct 21st - Smash Bros & Valorant
Games start @ 4:00 pm
STEM School P-Tech Building
Thursday Oct 22nd - Mario Kart & Rocket League
Games start @ 4:00 pm
Middle School
Thursday Oct 22nd - Smash Bros
Games start @ 4:00 pm
STEM School P-Tech Building
SPEECH & DEBATE RECAP
It seems as if I missed Speech & Debate last newsletter. My apologies S&D, here are the recaps for the last 2 tournaments…
On Saturday, October 3, the STEM Speech & Debate team kicked off its 2026-27 tournament season by competing at the JeffCo Novice tournament at Chatfield Senior High School.
Five STEM 9th graders went up against approximately 40 novice students from 10 high schools over four rounds of competition. The results: 100% "Superior" rankings for STEM.
Ryan and Ethan Liu and Shrey Pant and Rylee Noi each went undefeated in public forum debate, debating whether the federal government should enact a moratorium on hyperscale data center construction.
Aadya Inamdar ranked first place in all four rounds of original oratory, giving an 8-minute original memorized speech about struggle and failure titled "Bringing Back Being Bad."
In addition, Alan Akhmatov, Amanda Lin, Emmett Cumbler, and Alex Gerali volunteered their time and expertise to serve as varsity student judges, and five middle and high school parents participated in a 2-hour judge training. With this initial performance, STEM demonstrated its commitment to service and excellence, the title of Aadya's speech notwithstanding.
On Saturday, October 10, the STEM Speech & Debate team attended its second tournament of the 2026-27 season at the Bruin Novice tournament at Cherry Creek High School.
Eight STEM 9th and 10th graders competed against over 300 students from 20 high schools in three rounds of competition. The results: six "Superior" rankings for STEM.
Ryan and Ethan Liu and Shrey Pant and Rylee Noi each went undefeated in public forum debate, for the second week in a row.
Aadya Inamdar and Krishanika Paramasivam Vijayalakshmi earned numerous first place ballots in original oratory.
In addition, Lincoln Treece and Parth Pingale competed for the first time in public forum debate, and Alan Akhmatov, Amanda Lin, Dawson Rieple, and Hayden Gotto served as varsity student judges. With this performance, STEM extended its outstanding results from last week ... this time against Colorado's top schools.
Upcoming Tournaments
STEM high school students will compete in NSDA's Springboard series of national online tournaments, and our middle school students will travel to Greely on Friday, Oct. 16, to compete in their first tournament of the season at Brentwood Middle School. STEM's next novice tournament will be on Oct. 24 at Rocky Mountain Prep SMART high school in Denver.
THANK YOU, STEM FAMILIES
Thank you for your continued support of STEM athletics. Family involvement plays an important role in creating a positive and memorable experience for every student-athlete.
I look forward to connecting with our families and partnering with you throughout the 2026–27 season. Together, we can build an athletic program centered on growth, character, teamwork, achievement, and STEM pride.
Go STEM!
Samson Barrios
Athletic Director
STEM School Highlands Ranch