The spring prep sports season got the go-ahead from the Colorado High School Activities Association to open the regular season Thursday, but almost everybody in Aurora and across the Metro area is stuck inside.
The only sport not affected by the constant barrage of snowstorms and frigid temperatures in the past two weeks is boys swimming, which will be able to begin its season as usual. A pair of dual meets are scheduled for Thursday, with defending Class 5A state champion Regis Jesuit playing host to Heritage at 4 p.m. and Cherokee Trail visiting Grandview at 4:30 p.m.
Meanwhile, athletes in baseball, girls soccer, track & field, boys and girls lacrosse, girls tennis and girls golf have been forced to brave cold and unfavorable conditions to try to practice or battle for practice times in school gyms.
The fear among many Aurora coaches and athletic directors is that they will have to postpone much of the action scheduled for the early weeks of the season and create a backlog in April, when spring snowstorms tend to play a little bit of havoc as well.
Baseball is the sport that feels the ramifications of the weather the most, as grass fields and dirt infields tend to take the longest to dry out, while soccer, lacrosse, tennis and track & field use surfaces that can be cleared and used. Many local baseball teams either need to hit or pitch in gyms or make regular visits to dedicated indoor facilities such as HitStreak in Centennial.
Regis Jesuit baseball coach Matt Darr said he feared his team wouldn’t be able to get out on the school’s field until March 15 at the earliest, which would mean the Raiders would have to reschedule two games slated for the first week of the season.
Aurora’s defending Class 5A state champions from last spring are all from Regis Jesuit in boys lacrosse, boys swimming and girls golf.
NOTES: Longtime Aurora Central coach Larry Taylor is the latest member of the school’s Legends Club, which includes a variety of Aurora Central’s top athletes and coaches from the past…Former Aurora Central boys basketball coach Bob Caton announced his retirement with 506 career victories. Caton, who won 90 games in four seasons at Aurora Central, was coaching at Highlands Ranch.
