The Year in Pictures 2017: Victory

This story originally appeared in Mile High Sports Magazine. Read the full digital edition.

The Denver Pioneers delivered their eighth national championship. Rocktober returned. Mikaela Shiffrin set a new standards on the slopes. The Eagles were crowned champs once again. Martin Truex Jr. drove his team to a title.

Athletes and teams across Colorado gave fans plenty to cheer about in 2017. These photos capture many of the great triumphs this year brought us.

***

Vail’s Mikaela Shiffrin secured her first overall FIS World Cup title and the “Skieur d’Or” award, alpine skiing’s top honor.

History might forget that the Vance Joseph era of Denver Broncos football actually began with a bang. The Broncos jumped out to a 3-1 start including an unexpected blowout win against the Cowboys and this “Monday Night Football” victory over the Chargers (pictured) in the opener.

Junior forward Evan Janssen hoists the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey trophy, the Pioneers’ eighth national title in hockey.

Nuggets sensation Nikola Jokic twice crossed the 40-point mark in 2017 – in February against the Knicks (40, pictured) and then again against Nets (41) in November.

In his MLB debut, Thomas Jefferson High School grad Kyle Freeland defeated the Dodgers on Opening Day at Coors Field.

In May, Martin Truex Jr. celebrated his second victory of the season after a dominant performance at the Go Bowling 400 at Kansas Speedway. Truex and his Furniture Row Racing team collected a career-high eight wins on the season, two at Kansas and seven on 1.5-mile tracks.

As per usual, the Colorado State University volleyball team was dominant. When the season had concluded, the Rams held an overall record of 29-4 and a Mountain West Conference mark of 17-1.

On Mother’s Day, rookie hurler Antonio Senzatela dedicated his start to his mother, Nidya Yusbelis Rondon, who lost a battle with breast cancer in July of 2016. Wearing an appropriate “pink” uniform, Senzatela gave the Rockies five strong innings and ultimately earned the win – for his mother, who never got the chance to see her son pitch in the majors.

If winning a state championship in 5A Boys Basketball wasn’t good enough, going out a winner was certainly the cherry atop the sundae. That was the case for Eaglecrest head coach John Olander, who announced his impending retirement prior to season’s end, and senior guard Colby Ross, who headed off to play for Pepperdine.

The Colorado Eagles brought home their third championship trophy in club history, hoisting the ECHL’s Kelly Cup in June.

Broncos tight end A.J. Derby didn’t stick around for the entire season (he was released/injured prior to Week 11 against Cincinnati), but his amazing, one-handed touchdown grab against the Raiders in Week 4 started things off right. Derby’s first-quarter score proved to be the difference in Denver’s 16-10 win.

The 2017 CSU men’s cross country team turned in a historic season, finishing ninth at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. That finish was the third-best in program history and ranks as the team’s best since 1978. The Rams also won their first-ever Mountain West Conference title. Jerrell Mock won his second conference individual title.

Following a walk-off single against the Mets, Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado is greeted by centerfielder Charlie Blackmon, who scored the winning run. On the season, Blackmon and Arenado combined for 400 hits, 234 RBI and 80 home runs.

Behind Tanner Jaillet’s season-high 38 saves in the national championship game, Jim Montgomery’s DU Pioneers bested Minnesota-Duluth 3-2. Jaillet was the season’s Mike Richter Award winner, while defenseman Will Butcher took home the Hobey Baker Award.

The U.S. Women’s National Team defeated New Zealand 3-1 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Colorado’s own Lindsey Horan (pointing skyward) tallied an assist in the win.

While legions of local football fans bemoaned the shortcomings of their respective team, the ThunderWolves of CSU-Pueblo just never seem to disappoint. John Wristen’s team went 9-1 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference before eventually falling to Minnesota State-Mankato in the NCAA Division II playoffs.

It was Coors beer and goggles inside the locker room on the night Rocktober officially returned to Colorado. The Rockies earned the NL’s second Wild Card berth and a spot in the Major League Baseball postseason, their first since 2009. On the season, the Rockies finished 87-75 while playing in a daunting NL West.

By taking the checkered flag at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Martin Truex Jr. and Furniture Row Racing won the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship.