AURORA | A look at some of the key games, tournaments and happenings in Aurora prep sports between March 3-9, 2016:
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
・Grandview faces Cherry Creek at 8:30 p.m. March 4 at the Denver Coliseum in one of the four Great 8 matchups of the Class 5A girls state basketball tournament. The top-seeded Wolves (25-0) have cruised through the first two rounds of the postseason and face a Bruins team they’ve beaten by 22 and 30 points in Centennial League play during the season. Grandview and Cherry Creek wrap up a quarterfinal slate that includes Highlands Ranch vs. Horizon (4 p.m.), Lakewood vs. ThunderRidge (5:30 p.m.) and Broomfield vs. Ralston Valley (7 p.m.).
・The Class 5A boys basketball Great 8 is set for March 5 at the Denver Coliseum, with a yet-to-be determined number of Aurora teams included in the four-game slate based on results from the March 2 Sweet 16. It could be zero city teams in the field, but most likely there will be plenty of Aurora teams as five highly-seeded squads played on their home floors. Potential exists for two all-Aurora matchups, as top-seeded Eaglecrest and second-seeded Regis Jesuit could meet for the Jim Baggot Region crown and top-seeded Rangeview and second-seeded Cherokee Trail may qualify to decide the Bill Weimar Region. A Sweet 16 win would pit defending 5A state champion Overland against either No. 2 Doherty or No. 3 Rock Canyon.
・Regis Jesuit skates against Mountain Vista in a state ice hockey semifinal at 7 p.m. March 6 at the Budweiser Events Center, as the Raiders seek passage into the state championship game for the first time since 2012. Regis Jesuit topped the Golden Eagles by a goal in a late-season meeting and would earn the right to face the winner of the 5 p.m. semifinal between undefeated Monarch and Ralston Valley for the state championship.
