AURORA | A look back at some of the key games, tournaments and happenings in Aurora prep sports from Jan. 2-8, 2024:
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
THE WEEK PAST IN AURORA PREP SPORTS, 1.2-1.8.24
MONDAY, JAN. 8: Kevin Sylla’s layup just before time expired gave the Smoky Hill boys basketball team a thrilling 70-68 home win over Valor Christian in a game in which the Buffaloes trailed by as many as 14 points in the final quarter. Kaylan Graham scored 10 straight points in the fourth quarter — and had a game-high 24 — for Smoky Hill, which got a steal and tying layup from Lorenzo Contreras, who then assisted on Sylla’s winning basket. …The Cherokee Trail girls basketball team played host to an 11-0 Legend team and came away with a 52-42 victory. In a tie game midway through the second quarter, the Cougars built a seven-point lead by halftime on a putback by Damara Allen, a 3-pointer by Karson Chaney and a Delainey Miller jumper and never looked back. …The Rangeview girls basketball team dropped a 44-31 contest against visiting Cherry Creek. …Nolan Williams lifted the Regis Jesuit ice hockey team into a third-period tie with Castle View and Dhilan Paranjape scored late as the Raiders earned a 5-4 win in a matinee. Reece Peterson scored twice and Avery Osgood also had goal for Regis Jesuit, which got assists from four different players. …Daniil Korobeynikov’s hat trick helped propel the Cherry Creek co-op ice hockey team to a 7-0 road win at Chatfield. Eric Burggraf, Evan Eisen, Sam Switzer and Connor Wagner also scored goals, while Dylan Eldridge made 13 saves to record a shutout.
SATURDAY, JAN. 6: The Eaglecrest boys basketball team gained separation from Windsor in the second quarter and went on to a 59-47 home victory. Garrett Barger and Sir Devin Roberts were the Raptors in double figures with 14 and 13 points, respectively. …The Cherokee Trail boys basketball team fell to host Legend 86-85 on a buzzer-beater in double overtime. Michael Steinbrinck’s 3-pointer put the Cougars up by a point in the final seconds before the final shot and he finished with 18 points, while Braylen Thomas finished with 26. … Breven Anderson scored 13 points and Cole Holtman added 12, but the Grandview boys basketball team dropped a 60-47 road contest at Douglas County. …Sienna Betts tallied 11 points, while Deija Roberson and Ava Chang added 10 apiece as the Grandview girls basketball team cruised to a 56-32 home win over Highlands Ranch. …The Cherokee Trail boys wrestling team finished 5-0 to claim the championship of the Legend Duals, as it defeated the host Titans 41-21 in the championship match. Cooper Mathews (106 pounds), Jaqoah Younger (120), Jay Everhart (126) & Scott Stevens (157) won by fall among nine match wins for the Cougars in the final match. …In the individual portion of the Colfax Smackdown, the Grandview boys wrestling team took third place. Braxton Widrikis (126 pounds), Nehemiah Quintana (132), Charlie Herting (165) and Oz Nowick (215) won their respective brackets for the Wolves. …The Regis Jesuit boys wrestling team finished a city-best third at the Smoky Hill Invitational tournament, which also included Vista PEAK Prep (fourth), Cherokee Trail (seventh), Grandview (eighth) and Smoky Hill (15th). Regis Jesuit’s Richard Avila (113 pounds) and Daniel Lantz (144) won championships, as did Vista PEAK Prep’s Joseph Maes (285) and Cherokee Trail’s Kaden Pray (132). …Michael McGinnis (175 pounds) and Christian King (285) won championships for the Rangeview boys wrestling team, which placed fourth at the Leo Rex Inviatational. Sixth-place Gateway had no champions, but six placers. … Garrett Reece of the Regis Jesuit boys wrestling team finished 8-1 and placed third at 147 pounds at the loaded Doc Buchanan Invitational in California. Reece — whose only loss was a two-point decision in the Round of 16 — earned a 7-5 overtime decision over Noah Bull (Layton, Utah) in the third place match. …The Eaglecrest girls wrestling team won the championship of the 45-team Conflict In Cleveland tournament in New Mexico with 13.5-point margin with a handful of top-four placers. Gianna Falise claimed the 165-pound championship, while Chasey Karabell finished as the 100-pound runner-up, Lilyana Valdez (145) took 3rd, while Milar Little (100) & Natalie Replogle (132) were 4th. …The Overland girls wrestling team had 14 total placers and champions in Violet Garcia (115 pounds) and Ruth Worknhe (235) on its way to a second-place finish at the Denver South Raven Rumble. Taryn Holloway (190) won a title for Vista PEAK Prep, which tied for seventh. …Eaglecrest’s Precious Asoluka (115 pounds) and Maddie Patterson (140) of Smoky Hill won championships at the Smoky Hill Invitational girls wrestling tournament. The Raptors and Buffs were third and sixth, respectively, in the 10-team tournament. …The Regis Jesuit girls wrestling team finished third at the Bennett Invitational with a handful of finalists and won champion in 105-pounder Remington Zimmerer. …The Cherokee Trail girls swim team won the title of the 10-team Blizzard Invitational hosted by Legend in the Cougars’ home pool. Cherokee Trail swept the three relay events and got a 100 yard backstroke title from Bella Lane to finish clear of Legend in the championship chase. …The Regis Jesuit girls swim team earned a 608-510 win over Grandview at the Grandview Invitational. The Raiders 200 yard medley relay team of Charlotte Burnham, Ava Terella, Natalie Daum and Tierney Kohl earned a win in the opening event and Burnham and Terella went on to win individual events. Keira Vail and Kaitlyn Hafer won two events apiece, while Amelia Brown and Baylie Renner also took events for Grandview, which claimed the 200 and 400 freestyle relays. …Nolan Williams had both goals for the Regis Jesuit ice hockey team in a 2-1 victory over Ralston Valley. Easton Sparks stopped 17 of the 18 shots he faced. …Cooper Huang, Austin Katz and Dominic Suchkov scored goals for the Cherry Creek co-op ice hockey team, which ceded a tie-breaking power play goal in the third period of a 4-3 loss to Valor Christian.
FRIDAY, JAN. 5: Behind the duo of Alante Monroe-Elazier (24 points) and James Brown III (21), the Vista PEAK Prep boys basketball team earned a 66-63 home win over Holy Family. …The Smoky Hill boys basketball team shook off some early rust and rolled to a high-flying 79-32 home win over DSST Green Valley Ranch. …Kenny Black-Knox scored 19 points and Zachary Butler added 15 for the Rangeview boys basketball team, which snapped a losing streak with a 73-41 win over Columbine. At halftime, the Raiders honored several of its top 40 players of all time and original coach Terry Taylor Sr. joined current coach Shawn Palmer as part of the celebration. …A showdown of Aurora girls basketball powers saw Cherokee Trail emerge from a visit to Regis Jesuit with a 61-43 victory. Aaliyah Broadus and Talia Strode scored 14 points apiece to lead the Cougars, while Coryn Watts’ 13 points made her the lone Raiders in double figures.. …The Vista PEAK Prep girls basketball team topped visiting Skyview 48-39 with a pair of double-digit scores in Knakai Starks with 12 points and Eianna Jackson with 11. …Ian Beck had two goals and two assists to lead the way for the Regis Jesuit ice hockey team in a 6-3 win over Denver East. Parker Brinner, Vincent Cieslak and Reece Peterson all had a goal and an assist for the Raiders. …Dominic Suchkov had two goals and Daniil Korobeynikov and Owen Kulczewski had a goal and an assist to back goalie Jack Ryan (who made 21 saves) as the Cherry Creek co-op ice hockey team topped Ralston Valley 5-1.
THURSDAY, JAN. 4: The Hinkley boys basketball team earned its first win of the season with a 60-41 road victory at Abraham Lincoln. Erick Perez poured in 20 points, Ethan Simmons had 13 and Lawrence Morris 12 for the Thunder. …Jordan Mitchell and Braylen Thomas scored 10 points apiece for the Cherokee Trail boys basketball team, which fell 57-55 to George Washington. …The Gateway boys basketball team dropped a 52-51 road contest at Northglenn. …The Eaglecrest girls basketball team kept rolling with a 53-20 victory over Lakewood. Jada Bobb’s 13 points paced the Raptors …In a return to play in Colorado, the Grandview girls basketball team secured a 77-24 home victory over Fossil Ridge as Sienna Betts scored 23 points, pulled down 10 rebounds and made six steals and Deija Roberson (18) and Paetyn Lewis (10) reached double figures in points. …The Cherokee Trail girls basketball team racked up 25 points in the second quarter en route to a 64-31 road win at Rangeview in a local matchup. … The Overland girls basketball team rolled to an 86-11 home win over Sand Creek. …The Vista PEAK Prep boys wrestling team earned a 60-24 home dual meet win over Smoky Hill. Adrian Pacheco (106 pounds), Ian Bacon (120), Denzel Womely (126), Bryton Bender (144), Caleb Summey (175), Jason Leadens (190) and Joseph Maes (285) won by fall for the Bison, while Dashawn Jenkins (113), Jonas Taylor (132), Devin Smith (138) and Elvin Fiallos (165) recorded pins for the Buffs. …The Regis Jesuit girls wrestling team lost 42-24 to Douglas County in a dual that saw just eight of 14 matches contested. The Raiders got wins by fall from Alexis Segura (120 pounds) and Zoe Kohrs (155).
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 3: Led by Eric Fiedler, the Regis Jesuit boys basketball team rallied for a 58-48 road win at Rangeview in a local matchup. Regis Jesuit outscored Rangeview 13-0 in the final three minutes of regulation. Fiedler scored nine straight points (of his game-high 30) to put Regis Jesuit in command and Lucas Dickinson added 14, while Zachary Butler had 18 points and Kenny Black-Knox 12 for Rangeview. …Down early to visiting Legend, the Eaglecrest boys basketball team roared back for a 68-41 win. Sir Devin Roberts had 13 points to lead a balanced effort for the Raptors, who also got 11 apiece from Jason Noone and LaDavian King and 10 from Gavin Gallegos. …The Vista PEAK Prep boys basketball team earned a big road victory at Dakota Ridge, as the Bison prevailed 88-7 with help from 16 points apiece from James Brown III and Alante Monroe-Elazier, plus 15 from Kyree Polk, 14 from Julian Carrizales and 12 from Javon Lowman. …Siraaj Ali and TJ Manuel scored 15 points apiece for the Overland boys basketball team, which lost 73-61 at Chaparral. …Michael Steinbrinck had eight points to pace the Cherokee Trail boys basketball team in a 70-49 loss to Windsor in a matinee played at Eaglecrest. …Hana Belibi poured in 19 points, Jane Rumpf had 13, Coryn Watts 11 and Mallory Neff 10 for the Regis Jesuit girls basketball team in an 83-23 win over Westminster.
TUESDAY, JAN. 2: The Rangeview girls basketball team went on to the road for its first game after winter break and fell to Chatfield 51-43. …The Cherokee Trail girls swim team topped Smoky Hill 123-60 in a Centennial League dual meet between teams that had been undefeated in duals coming into the new year. The Cougars won the opening 200 yard medley relay and the closing 400 freestyle relay and won nine events in all. Sarah Woren and Ella Drakulich won two events apiece for the Cougars, while Felicity Meijer, Aria Clouse and Ava Zadigan also had firsts. Cameryn Walkup, diver Christianna Duthie and the 200 freestyle relay team posted wins for the Buffs.
