6A Boys and Girls Basketball: Winter season is back underway
CCSD girls and boys basketball teams performed well last week as play resumed after winter break.
For the boys, Smoky Hill went 3-0 at the Huntington Park (CA) Winter Invitational on Jan. 2-4. The Buffs improved to 9-2 overall and will take on Manual on Jan. 12, before a big conference showdown with Eaglecrest on Jan. 18.
The Raptors went 1-2 last week, but the lone victory was over No. 1 Mountain Vista. Eaglecrest started well, but fell behind by halftime after being outscored 19-8 in the 2nd quarter. However, the Raptors roared back to force overtime, and won a thriller 84-76. EHS improves to 7-5. Next, they travel to Rock Canyon on Jan. 10.
Cherry Creek (5-6) went 2-0 last week with wins over Ralston Valley and ThunderRidge, and will take on Regis Jesuit on Wednesday.
On the girl’s side, Cherokee Trail went 2-0 for the week with wins over Rangeview and Heritage, improving to a league-leading 11-1. Next, the Cougars host Legend on Monday.
The Overland Trailblazers (8-3) have had a great start to the season. They went 2-0 last week with wins over Sand Creek and Northglenn. Next, Kennedy comes to Aurora to play the Blazers on Jan. 10.
Eaglecrest improved to 8-3 overall with a home win over Lakewood last Monday. Up next, Chaparral comes to The Nest on Jan. 10.
The 8-3 Cherry Creek Bruins split games last week, losing to Ralston Valley on the road, and winning a close contest against Regis Jesuit last Friday. On Monday, the Bruins host Rangeview.
Grandview went 1-1 last week, winning over Fossil Ridge and losing to Highlands Ranch, both on the road. Next, the Wolves travel to No. 1 Valor Christian on Wednesday, Jan. 11.
5A Ice Hockey: Cherry Creek has No. 1 ranking
The Cherry Creek Bruins ice hockey team went 1-1 last week, losing to Valor Christian 7-2 last Friday. But CCHS came back in a big way on Saturday afternoon, shutting out then-No. 1 Monarch 1-0 at Family Sports Ice Arena. Creek’s Ayden Schmidt scored the lone goal of the contest in the 3rd period, and goaltender Ethan Barnard stopped all 20 shots that came his way to propel the Bruins to their sixth win of the season.
The effort vaulted CCHS to the No. 1 spot in the CHSAA 5A rankings, released on Jan. 9. Creek travels to Apex Arena in Arvada to play Ralston Valley on Jan. 20.
Girls and Boys Wrestling: District teams have busy weekend
CCSD wrestling clubs participated in a number of meets last weekend.
The Eaglecrest girls won the team title at the Bennett Tiger Invitational. The Raptor’s Gianna Falise led the way with a championship in the 155 pound bracket.
For the boys, Grandview and Cherry Creek sent split-squads to the Colfax Smackdown, hosted by Denver East, and the Buffalo Invite at Smoky Hill.
The Wolves finished 3rd overall at the Smackdown, with Cherry Creek coming in 11th. The Bruins’ Jake Howell took top honors at 215 pounds. At the Buff Invite, the Wolves finished 6th, with the host Buffaloes taking 7th, Cherry Creek 9th, and Cherokee Trail 11th. Smoky Hill’s Dashawn Jenkins took top honors at 106 pounds.
In the Legend Duals meet, Cherokee Trail went 3-0 defeating Rocky Mountain, host Legend and Douglas County in Orange division events.
You can get more details about the wrestling events from Courtney Oakes of the Aurora Sentinel here.
Coming up, the State Wrestling Championships will take place on Feb. 16-18 at Ball Arena. You can see ticket information through Ticketmaster here.
Posted 1/9/2023.
