AURORA | A look back at some of the key games, tournaments and happenings in Aurora prep sports from Jan. 27-Feb. 1, 2020:
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
SATURDAY, FEB. 1: The Rangeview girls swim team finished atop the standings at the Aurora Public Schools Championship meet for the 17th consecutive season, as the Raiders piled up 529 points in the final at Hinkley High School. Jasmine Johnson and Julie Maldonado won two events apiece for Rangeview, which swept the relays and had other winners in Haley Zant, Tristyn DiPentino and diver Mercedes Capozzolo. Hinkley’s Alyssa Lutz won APS titles in the 100 yard butterfly and 100 backstroke, setting program records in both events as the Thunderbirds finished second, followed by Gateway in third and Aurora Central in fourth. …Tanner Holtman and Lian Ramiro struck for 18 points apiece as the Grandview boys basketball team gained a Centennial League split with Smoky Hill with a 68-57 home victory. The Wolves avenged an overtime loss to the Buffaloes, who got 22 points from Quinten Rock. …Vinni Veikalas had a season-high 18 points to help the Overland boys basketball team move to 1-1 against Eaglecrest with a 65-56 home win. Zion Ruckard matched Veikalas with 18 for the Raptors. …Nine players scored four points or more for the Grandview girls basketball team in an 84-24 Centennial League win over Smoky Hill. …Dalys McGuinnis (16 points), Jadyn Ross (14) and Tatiana Coleman (11) each reached double-digits in the scoring column as Eaglecrest swept Overland with a 67-32 Centennial League victory. …The Grandview wrestling team finished as the runner-up at the loaded Mile High Classic at Thomas Jefferson H.S. with 157.5 points, fueled by individual winners in Alex Santillan (138 pounds) and Joe Renner (182) and another finalist in Frankie Sanchez Jr. (106), while Regis Jesuit had the other individual champion for Aurora programs in 145-pounder Antonio Segura. …The Cherokee Trail wrestling team captured the Westminster Invitational championship with a whopping 270 points behind individual champions in Derek Glenn Jr. (106 pounds), Andrew Chilton (120), Jorge Felix (138), Connor Davis (160), Gavin Young (182) and Sam Hart (220).
— The Aurora prep sports scoreboard for Saturday, Feb. 1, here
FRIDAY, JAN. 31: On a relatively light night of action for Aurora teams, the Regis Jesuit ice hockey team continued to gain steam with a 5-1 victory over visiting Aspen at Family Sports Center. Dylan Thompson scored twice and Caleb Balatbat, William Laws and Nolan Sargent also had goals for the Raiders, who got assists from a handful of players and 17 saves from goaltender Logan Zlot. …Hunter Fieweger (Cherokee Trail) and Riley Hunt-Bahn had goals, but the Cherry Creek co-op ice hockey team fell to Valor Christian 7-2. …Aryannah McClain piled up 22 points to lead three players in double figures as the Aurora Central girls basketball team downed visiting Alameda International 55-34.
— The Aurora prep sports scoreboard for Friday, Jan. 31, here
THURSDAY, JAN. 30: Visiting Rangeview swept a girls-boys basketball doubleheader at Vista PEAK with victories of 68-54 on the girls side and 57-47 on the boys side. Both games counted in the EMAC standings, while the programs will meet again in non-league play later in the season. Brianna Linnear (15 points), Grace Solarin (12) and Ny’Era West (12) each scored in double figures for the Rangeview girls to counter the outputs of Seiarra Hughes (15) and Mikayla Jones (11) for Vista PEAK, which was plagued by 22 missed free throws. In the boys contest, twins Christopher and Christian Speller combined for a variety of spectacular plays and 30 points as Rangeview held off a challenge from Vista PEAK, which got 14 from Sayo Owolabi and 12 from AJ LaCabe. Christian Speller made a 3-pointer from past half court to end the first half and had a big dunk following a blocked shot by his brother in a pivotal sequence in the the fourth quarter as the Raiders remained unbeaten. …Four Gateway boys basketball players scored in double figures — led by Maliq Alford’s 17 and Antwuan Smith’s 16 — in a 75-36 win over Adams City. …Tjai Jackson poured in 16 points and Jeremiah Warren 14 as the Hinkley boys basketball team cruised past Prairie View 70-37.
— The Aurora prep sports scoreboard for Thursday, Jan. 30, here
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 29: The Grandview boys basketball team finished the first round of Centennial League play at 6-1 after a 50-33 road win at Mullen that included double-digit performances from Caleb McGill (18 points), Lian Ramiro (12) and CJ Thomas (11). …Smoky Hill dropped out of a tie for first place in the Centennial League boys basketball standings after the first round with a 76-65 road loss at Cherry Creek despite 15 points for Jordan Whitaker and 14 from DeAngelo Horn. …The Eaglecrest boys basketball team rallied from a deficit as large as 19 points against visiting Cherokee Trail for a 61-55 victory. Zion Ruckard’s 22 points paced the Raptors against the Cougars, who got 15 apiece from Tre Titus and Jermaine Vincent II. …The Aurora Central boys basketball team got double-digit performances from Messiah Ford (18 points), LaQuan Bowie (12) and Kavon Williams (12) to rally past visiting Gateway 57-50 in a non-league meeting of EMAC teams. Maliq Alford had 16 and Antwuan Smith 13 for the Olys, who will host the league matchup. …Despite 21 points from Jadyn Ross, the Eaglecrest girls basketball team couldn’t dig out of an early hole in Centennial League play against visiting Cherokee Trail. Makayla Hemingway’s off-balance 3-pointer at the end of the first half took the Cougars into the break with an eight-point lead. …The Grandview girls basketball team finished 7-0 in the first round of Centennial league play with a 58-36 road win at Mullen in a battle of the No. 1 teams in 5A and 4A. Lauren Betts (18 points) and Tomia Johnson (14) paced the Wolves. …Madden McHugh and Jada Moore tallied 20 points apiece as the Regis Jesuit girls basketball team downed visiting Douglas County 81-21 in Continental League play. …The Regis Jesuit wrestling team edged Mountain Vista 43-36 despite winning just four of the nine contested matches and receiving four forfeits.
— The Aurora prep sports scoreboard for Wednesday, Jan. 29, here
TUESDAY, JAN. 28: Martin Renteria (285 pounds) and Ashton Solis (138) recorded consecutive pins to rally the Hinkley wrestling team to a 48-48 dual match tie with Denver West in the second annual “Town Center Takedown” held at the Town Center of Aurora. A round of Team X-Treme vs. Denver West youth matches took place prior to the dual, which took place in front of a large crowd of family, friends and shoppers. …The Rangeview boys basketball team encouraged fans to wear purple and yellow as a memorial to the late NBA great Kobe Bryant — who was one of nine victims of a fatal helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, two days earlier — at its game against Thornton. On the court, junior Cade Palmer knocked down nine 3-pointers on his way to 29 points in an 83-44 victory. …The Overland wrestling team edged Smoky Hill 40-39 in a Centennial League dual match that saw the Trailblazers win six of the nine contest matches, with the rest being decided by forfeit. …The Smoky Hill girls swim team topped Eaglecrest 121-65 in a Centennial League dual meet.
— The Aurora prep sports scoreboard for Tuesday, Jan. 28, here
MONDAY, JAN. 27: The Rangeview girls basketball team held a three-point lead after one quarter of its visit to Denver East, but got outscored 30-8 in the second period on its way to a 63-41 non-league loss. Amari Bullock was the lone Raiders play in double figures with 10 points. …Semira Mahmoud scored 15 points and Amaya Charles had 11 in the Overland girls basketball team’s 53-36 non-league loss to Legend. …Alyssa Lutz took the 100 yard backstroke for the only event win for the Hinkley girls swim team in a dual meet loss to Thomas Jefferson.
— The Aurora prep sports scoreboard for Monday, Jan. 27, here