AURORA | A look back at some of the key games, tournaments and happenings in Aurora prep sports from Oct. 17-Oct. 23, 2019:
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
OCT. 23: The Regis Jesuit field hockey team opened the state playoffs with a 4-0 victory against Arapahoe at snow-bound Lou Kellogg Stadium. Senior Lauren Pendergast scored two goals in the opening half to give the Raiders the lead and seniors Caitrin Lombardo and Zoey Dale added second half scores to send them to the semifinals. (Field hockey playoff scoreboard and schedule, here).
OCT. 22: Junior Nyasha Mpondi broke a scoreless tie in the early stages of the second half and senior Bryant Becerra added two insurance scores as the Smoky Hill boys soccer team got a much-needed 3-0 win over Eaglecrest. …Senior Beneyam Yifru scored twice in the second half to help Overland to a 2-0 Centennial League boys soccer win over Mullen that helped keep the Trailblazers’ hopes alive to qualify for the 5A postseason. …Eaglecrest (vs. Smoky Hill), Cherokee Trail (vs. Mullen) and Grandview (vs. Overland) all won in the opening round of the Centennial League Challenge volleyball tournament, which continues with championship and consolation play on Oct. 24. (Scoreboard and schedule, here).
OCT. 19: The Smoky Hill softball team homered seven times during a 2-1 showing at the Class 5A Region 2 tournament at the Aurora Sports Park to qualify for the 5A state tournament. The Buffaloes bounced back from a loss in the championship game to Fossil Ridge with a five-homer effort (highlighted by Izzy Giroux’s grand slam) in a double-digit win over Fruita Monument that clinched the state berth. …The Cherokee Trail softball team fell to Legend 16-9 with a Class 5A state softball tournament berth on the line in Region 8 play at Columbine H.S. Jenna Medhus homered twice and Cheyenne Ausborn and Ryleigh Cruz also went deep, but it wasn’t enough for coach Caley Mitchell’s Cougars (who also lost to Columbine in their opener) as they finished the season 14-12. …The Grandview softball team lost two competitive games at the Region 6 tournament to see its season end at 11-14. Coach Erik Higens’ Wolves were poised to upset host Broomfield in the opener before allowing three runs in the final inning in a 4-3 walk-off loss and they battled to escape a big early hole before falling to Arvada West. Alexys Stepina totaled three RBI and Jenny Allen and Elly Smith had three-hit games …JP Pak’s first-half goal stood up as the Regis Jesuit boys soccer team came away with a quality 1-0 victory over Pine Creek.
OCT. 18: The Vista PEAK cross country team finished eighth on the girls side and 11th on the boys side at the Class 4A Region 3 race at City Park in Denver. Neither team had a state qualifier, but freshman Grace Dow led the girls with a 38th-place finish, while junior Ethan Moore’s 64th paced the boys.
OCT. 17: The Cherokee Trail and Regis Jesuit boys and girls both finished in the top four in the Class 5A Region 1 races at the Aurora Sports Park to earn automatic berths in the Oct. 26 5A state meet in Colorado Springs. The Raiders won the boys title and the Cougars were second, while the Cougars were third on the girls side and the Raiders were fourth. Gateway’s Yasin Sado was the individual runner-up in the boys race with Overland’s Abdi Abade third and Regis Jesuit’s Thomas Beatty fourth, while Cherokee Trail’s Cameron McConnell placed second in the girls race with Regis Jesuit’s Isalina Colsman fourth. (Full results for boys, here; girls, here)