The Telluride High School girls lacrosse team is scooping up ground balls, scoring goals and breaking barriers in Colorado’s fastest-growing prep sport.

The Miners, a club-supported team that plays a CHSAA-sanctioned high school schedule, rolled past their win total from a year ago right after this year’s extended spring break. The Telluride girls defeated the Summit JV team 10-2 and posted a 14-2 victory over Montrose to improve their season record to 3-5.

They face a busy conclusion to the regular season, complicated by recent weather issues.

“We’re a really young team,” said first-year head coach Mary Mandell. “Maybe half of the girls are returning (from last year). With … less than two years under their belts, they’ve all really improved a lot.”

Mandell said the improvement has been pronounced since the start of the season. 

The sport, she said, is a complicated game that involves a multitude of different skills and talents.

“We definitely have a long way to go. But it’s nice to start … with a program like this and watch the progress,” said Mandell, an assistant coach last season for the Miners.

She said the Telluride girls were scheduled to play Roaring Fork in Telluride on Saturday, April 29 (following Friday’s press time for today’s edition of the Daily Planet).

This week, the Miners are set to host Durango on Wednesday, May 3, in a makeup of a weather-postponed game. The Telluride girls also host Battle Mountain (Vail) on Thursday, May 4.

“We played six away games in March,” Mandell said of the travel-intensive Mountain League. “That can really wear the girls down. To be home, with family and friends and the boys team out there … it really lifts the girls’ spirits up.”

She said the Telluride girls feature junior Lauren Purdy as the defensive captain.

“She’s got the most years of lacrosse; she runs our defense,” Mandell said.

“As for our offensive game, we have so many young players all coming into their own,” the Telluride coach said.

She said a trio of players work up front in attack and help in midfield.

Freshman Kennadie Minerich “is super on the attack,” the Telluride coach said.

Sierra Shambaug handles the faceoff duties for the Miners — a key element to girls lacrosse.

“She’s a fierce gal,” her coach said. She also plays defense, when needed.

Anna Krownapple plays in a variety of positions, according to her coach.

“She is the type of player I can put anywhere,” Mandell said, citing her ability to play defense as well as attack the goal. “It’s a nice element to have.”

The team’s goalie is senior Gaela Kanawaliwali. “She is awesome,” Mandell said.

The coach said Kanawaliwali committed to playing in goal after last season. She attended summer lacrosse camps and worked hard on her game, Mandell said.

“It’s fun to see how excited she is to be in there.”

Mandell said it’s encouraging for her to see the girls start to understand the complex game of lacrosse, including the strategies and transitions and restarts in play.

“It’s a big-number sport … you have 11 field players, plus a goalie,” Mandell said. “You really have no choice but to work as a team.”

The Telluride High girls lacrosse team includes senior Gaela Kanawaliwali; juniors Heidi Krieg, Joey Hung, Lauren Purdy, Elizabeth Fulton, Kitty Holbrooke, Uzanda Malena; sophomores Sierra Shambaug, Erika Martinez, Anna Krownapple, Madalyn Regrut, Karla Elinoff and Naomia Ramirez; and freshmen Kennadie Minerich, Jessie Homan, Ashlyn Spitzer and Grace Ringstad.

Aspen and Battle Mountain lead the Mountain League in girls lacrosse. Aspen sits at 7-0 in league play entering the weekend (11-6 overall).

The Battle Mountain Huskies are 13-2 overall and 9-1 in league play.

Grand Junction sits in third place with a 6-2 league mark. The Tigers were 12-2 overall prior to weekend contests. 

The Telluride girls team, looking to close the season with momentum, also has developed a wide-ranging fan base — one that reaches to California.

“I’m really proud that they are doing so well. It’s a great bunch of girls,” said Anne Morgan Yeatman, the former Telluride girls lacrosse coach, now working in California. “I’m their No. 1 fan from afar. I’m their biggest fan.”

BOYS LACROSSE

The Telluride High School boys lacrosse team also charges into the final two weeks of the regular season with a bevy of games — home and away.

“We want to finish strong,” boys head coach Mark Silbergeld said. “The boys played really well (against the Durango Demons on Thursday evening). They played inspired ball.”

Silbergeld said the Miners played hard in spite of tough conditions in Thursday’s game in Telluride.

“I was shoveling the field an hour before game time,” the coach said of the turf field at the Telluride school campus.

Playing conditions, however, were fine, but chilly, he said.

The teams traded early goals in a 1-1 tie.

Then Durango, one of the top teams in the Mountain League, edged ahead 3-2 at the end of the first quarter.

“They had a big second quarter, and we had a big fourth quarter to make it close,” Silbergeld said. 

Jacob Nelson scored three goals for the Miners in the 12-9 loss to Durango.

Rye Livermore, the leading goal-scorer on the season, added a pair of goals against the Demons (10-3, 5-3 in the Mountain League).

“Rye’s been outstanding this year,” Silbergeld said. “He’s had multiple goals (in numerous games).”

He said the Telluride defense was led by Everett Morton and Warren Fulton, senior captains.

The Miners, he said, were tested by the high-scoring Robinette brothers from Durango, sons of the head coach.

The team worked hard and showed improvement in the loss to Durango, he said, and the Miners are looking forward to a slate of games over the next week.

After a scheduled trip to Aspen on Saturday, the Miners return to Telluride to host Aspen on Friday, May 5.

The Telluride boys then host Montrose on Saturday, May 6, to close the regular season.

The Miners, Silbergeld said, also are excited about the upcoming games against the Aspen The Telluride boys are 3-7 overall, 1-6 in the Mountain League.

“I feel like I’ve been blessed with a great group of kids,” Silbergeld said of the Telluride boys lacrosse squad. “They’re sponges; they want to learn; they want to compete.”

He said the program is benefitting from big numbers with 50 players out for the high school boys team this season.

“And our youth program is exploding all the time,” he said, offering special praise for his graduating seniors. “This group of seniors this year deserves a lot of credit for building (this program).”