AURORA | A look back at significant individual and team performances at Eaglecrest High School for the 2024 spring prep athletic season:
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
EAGLECREST (SPRING 2024)
TRACK & FIELD: The Class 5A state track meet turned out to be epic for the coach Chris Carhart’s boys and girls programs, who combined to each finish fourth in the team standings with two state championship-winning relays apiece. The Eaglecrest girls secured gold medals in the 4×100 and 4×200 meter relays from a group with one representative from each class in senior Anaya Ewing, junior Jaylynn Wilson, sophomore Tatum Gratrix and freshman Zenobia Witt, while Witt’s memorable first state track meet also included a state championship in the long jump in addition to anchor status on both relays. Seniors Eric Hill and Peace Warah, and juniors Noah Brown and Eric Hill gave the school a 5A sweep of the 4×100 relays, while Warah followed senior Cam Chapa and juniors Thierry Asare and Evan Keppy with a thrilling come-from-behind win in the meet-ending 4×400 relay that came down to a photo finish. That helped As an added bonus, the Eaglecrest boys also won the Centennial League team championship and had league event winners in Warah (long jump) and senior Jayden Diggins (high jump).
BOYS VOLLEYBALL: Coach Chad Bond’s boys volleyball team — coming off a state runner-up finish in 2023 — again qualified for the state tournament and went 1-2 (with the win coming in five sets over Centennial League rival Cherokee Trail) to finish a 21-7 season. Juniors Jackson Shaw and Matthew Dye, and sophomore Dillan Ancheta made the All-Centennial League first team, while senior Yupeng Lee made the second team.
BASEBALL: The Eaglecrest baseball team surged in the final week (which included a key walk-off win against Rocky Mountain) to earn the No. 32 seed in the 32-team Class 5A regional postseason and promptly turned the tournament on end with a 5-1 win over No. 1 Fossil Ridge. Coach Tory Humphrey’s Raptors were unable to get past rival Grandview to make their first 5A Championship Series, but finished 13-12 (with two more wins than in 2023). Senior John Rossi and juniors Cosme Vera and Noah Brown were All-Centennial League first teamers, while senior Brayden Stufft and junior Connor Brennan were on the second team and the honorable mention list included senior Jose Hernandez as well as juniors Tavish Dey and Jaxin Mallory.
BOYS LACROSSE: Coach Neil McCarthy’s boys lacrosse team won The Hammer traveling trophy from rival Smoky Hill (with a 12-11 victory) for the sixth straight time as part of a season that produced a second consecutive 7-8 record. Senior Everett Breniser and junior Clayton Turner were voted onto the All-League 1 first team, while second team accolades went to senior AJ Katagi, junior Ronald Taylor II and freshman Brayden Turner.
GIRLS SOCCER: The girls soccer team finished 5-1 in non-league play, but finished 7-7 overall after a difficult run in the Centennial League. Coach Ashley McKillips’ Raptors — who picked up all seven of their wins consecutively in a month span — had an All-Centennial League first teamer in uniform in junior Annika Boex, who had 10 goals and nine assists. Seniors Praise Akpokiere and Nicole Heber, junior Meagan Jimenez and sophomore Emma Roberts earned all-league second team honors.
GIRLS TENNIS: Coach Dave Palmer’s girls tennis team — which finished 1-8 in dual matches — saw sophomore No. 1 singles player Natali Marshall earn the program’s first spot in the 5A individual state tournament since 2016. Marshall, who won her Region 1 semifinal in three lengthy sets to essentially clinch her spot, lost her lone state match. The Raptors had regional fourth-place finishes at No. 2 doubles (seniors Cyneathia Brooker and Brianna Rea) and No. 4 doubles (junior Fabian Acosta-Rojas and sophomore Saba Dewo).
NOTES: Junior Noah Brown had two outstanding seasons in two different sports for Eaglecrest, as he was an All-Centennial League first team performer for the baseball team, while he ran a leg on the 5A state championship-winning 4×100 meter relay at the state track meet and also finished second in the 100 meter dash. …Coach John Olander’s girls golf team graduated its Class 5A state qualifier from last season in Savanna Becker and had no qualifiers this season. Junior Marianne Hwang came closest to getting to state with a 109 at the Central Regional that left her five strokes behind the last qualifier. …The girls lacrosse team finished 0-14.
