From left, Smoky Hill sophomore Natalie Rotondo, senior Gaby Antunez, junior Jordyn Richey and sophomore Brieyana Walton pose with the second-place trophy the Buffs won at the 25th annual Smoky Hill Invitational girls swim meet on Jan. 16, 2016, at Smoky Hill High School. Antunez and Rotondo won events for Smoky Hill, which came in behind Heritage for the second year in a row, while Cherokee Trail finished an all-time best fifth and Eaglecrest came in 10th. (Photo by Courtney Oakes/Aurora Sentinel)
From left, Smoky Hill sophomore Natalie Rotondo, senior Gaby Antunez, junior Jordyn Richey and sophomore Brieyana Walton pose with the second-place trophy the Buffs won at the 25th annual Smoky Hill Invitational girls swim meet on Jan. 16, 2016, at Smoky Hill High School. Antunez and Rotondo won events for Smoky Hill, which came in behind Heritage for the second year in a row, while Cherokee Trail finished an all-time best fifth and Eaglecrest came in 10th. (Photo by Courtney Oakes/Aurora Sentinel)

With a tight team race that came down to the final few races, the Smoky Hill Invitational girls swim meet couldn’t have been much better Jan. 16.

Third for much of the day, Heritage surged into first place late in the finals session of the 25th annual meet and tallied 480 points to win the meet for the second straight season. Smoky Hill and Chaparral finished second and third, respectively, in a repeat of the top three places from the 2014 meet.

Yet all three teams took turns in the lead at this season’s meet and though coach Scott Cohen’s Smoky Hill team eventually finished second, it turned out to be a very positive day for the Buffs. Senior Gaby Antunez and sophomore Natalie Rotondo each won event championships, seven different swimmers made at least one championship final, two divers scored points and sophomore Vickie Liu qualified for the Class 5A state meet in the 500 yard freestyle.

• The undefeated Rangeview boys basketball team rallied from a double-digit deficit to post a 68-56 non-league victory over Aurora Public Schools rival Aurora Central on Jan. 19 at Rangeview High School. Overcoming the ejection of leading scorer Tyrei Randall, the Raiders got 22 points from senior EJ Reed plus 10 from senior Kris Hollins — including a monster on-handed dunk that spurred Rangeview’s momentum — and nine each from Elijah Blake and Calvin Collins. Elijah Coleman and Ladarius Thomas each hit double-figures for Aurora Central and their scorching shooting from beyond the 3-point line helped lead the Trojans to a lead as large as 14 points in the first half.

• Aurora prep sports scoreboard for Jan. 19, here.

• Aurora prep sports scoreboard for Jan. 18, here.

• The Grandview wrestling team finished third — and just half of a point out of second — at the grueling Arvada West Invitational Jan. 16. Five Wolves earned their way onto the medal podium of the multi-classification tournament, which included a combined handful of top-five teams in 5A and 4A. Joshua Vigil-Harrison won the heavyweight championship, while 145-pounder Tanner Patterson and 220-pounder Gabriel Baumgartner lost in the finals at their respective weights. Giovanni Federico took third at 106 pounds and Fabian Santillan placed fourth at 113.

• Boosted by individual champions Alec Rivera (126 pounds) and Anthony Malone (285), the Eaglecrest wrestling team finished a city-best third at the 22-team Alameda Invitational Jan. 16. Hinkley finished nine points behind the Raptors in fifth and also had a pair of champions in Ben Rhoton (106) and Serj Chavez (145), while Rafael Garibay lost in the 120-pound title match. A primarily junior varsity Grandview team finished eight.

• The Vista PEAK wrestling team racked up 165 points an won the championship of the 12-team Lyons Invitational Jan. 16. Twelve Bison placed in all, with championships coming from Tristan Curtis (120 pounds), Marcus Guerra (138), Jayden Smith (160) and Alex Moton (182).

• The Rangeview boys basketball team outscored Boulder 19-5 in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 60-42 home win Jan. 16, extending the Raiders’ unbeaten start to 12-0. Tyrei Randall paced Rangeview with 26 points, followed by Elijah Blake and EJ Reed with 10 points apiece.

• The Hinkley girls swim team finished 14th among 21 teams that competed in annual the Hornet Invite in Pueblo Jan. 15-16. The Thunderbirds’ top performance came from senior diver Brooke Connelly, who scored 415.05 points to finish in third place.

• Aurora prep sports scoreboard for Jan. 16, here.

• The Vista PEAK boys and girls basketball teams posted a Colorado 7 sweep of visiting Elizabeth on Jan. 15 as both picked up their eighth wins of the season. DeMe Moore scored 12 points and Kierra Cox overcame foul trouble to score 10 as the Bison girls team rallied for a 44-40 win to post the program’s first-ever victory over Elizabeth, while the Bison boys blew past Elizabeth 82-43 as transfer Marquise Johnson scored 16 points in his Vista PEAK debut and Te’Rae Johnson added 23.

• Spencer Ederhoff’s last-second shot rolled home to lift the Grandview boys basketball team to a 63-62 Centennial League home victory over Smoky Hill on Jan. 15. Gage Prim scored 22 points and LeChaun Duhart added 20 as the Wolves had just enough to overcome a 29-point effort from talented Smoky Hill freshman Kenny Foster.

• Both undefeated, the Regis Jesuit and Cherry Creek co-op ice hockey teams combined to score 27 goals in a doubleheader Jan. 15 at Family Sports Center, with the Raiders posting a 19-0 win over Chatfield and the Bruins blowing past Standley Lake 8-1. Six players scored multiple goals for Regis Jesuit with three — Ian Aylmer, Spencer Chuck and Shane Ott — registering hat tricks, while Jack Jordan had two goals and five assists and Cale Woodley had six assists. Joe LoSasso (Rangeview) had three assists and a goal to help Cherry Creek top the Gators, while goalie Scout Stalcup (Eaglecrest) saved 11 of the 12 shots he faced in net.

• Aurora prep sports scoreboard for Jan. 15, here.

• The Grandview wrestling team took control of the Centennial League championship chase with a 37-32 home victory over rival and 5A No. 6 Cherokee Trail on Jan. 14. With the help of an opening forfeit to heavyweight Josh Vigil-Harrison, the Wolves won seven of the first eight matches — including a key 7-6 win for Shem Brown over the Cougars’ Chance Korte at 145 pounds — and held on to improve to 16-0 on the season in duals and 3-0 in league duals. Cherokee Trail won five wins in the last six matches, including a quick pin by 182-pounder Ezequiel Silva, but couldn’t quite close the gap.

• Aurora prep sports scoreboard for Jan. 14, here.

• The Eaglecrest boys basketball team managed to keep its undefeated record intact with a gritty 56-54 win at Arapahoe Jan. 13. The Raptors’ depth prevailed as junior leading scorer Colbey Ross tallied a season-low nine points, but sophomore Victor Garnes chipped in 12 and junior Ikenna Ozor added nine, while nine Eaglecrest players scored as least two points in the tight win.

• Jaizec Lottie scored 22 points and David Thornton added 18 as the Cherokee Trail boys basketball team rallied to overcome a balanced Grandview team in a 57-53 win at Grandview Jan. 13. The Cougars finished strong and held off a Wolves team that put four in double figures, led by Justin Jones and Gage Prim with 12 points apiece.

• Aurora prep sports scoreboard for Jan. 13, here.

Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor and photographer with Sentinel Colorado. A Denver East High School and University of Colorado alum. He came to the Sentinel in 2001 and since then has received a number...