DENVER | The Denver Broncos played host to their annual media day for fall prep sports Aug. 14 and a small contingent of teams and individuals from the Aurora area were onhand for the fifth annual event.
Those invited to appear at Empower Field were able to tour the facilities, go through a Media Relations 101 course presented by the Broncos and answer questions from media members in a press conference format as well as have photos taken by Broncos’ photo staff.
Among those present locally was Smoky Hill field hockey player Darian Smith, who helped the Buffaloes to a resurgence a year ago. Smoky Hill not only snapped a 75-game winless streak that stretched back nearly six calendar years and earned three wins, which earned the Buffs a play-in chance to get into the postseason.
“We want to start to work harder,” said Smith, a junior whose goal against Poudre on Sept. 6 produced a 1-0 victory that was the first for Smoky Hill since Oct. 8, 2016.
“Our goal is to get into the playoffs this year,” she added.
Also in the mix was the girls flag football team from Eaglecrest, which is set to compete in the fall season that will see a large increase in teams from across the state.
The Raptors — who sent seniors Jaida Calhoun and Emma Whitney and juniors Travis Jackson, Rose Lemus, Leila Medeiros and Triniti Strattion— joined teams from Chatfield, Arvada West and Denver East in representing the sport, which is still in the pilot stage with the Colorado High School Activities Association as it works towards official sanctioning.
Sydney Crouthers from Eaglecrest also appeared to as one of six students invited to represent Student Leadership.
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
