A look at the games, tournaments and happenings in Aurora prep sports between Jan. 29-Feb. 4, 2015:
• The Regis Jesuit ice hockey team plays Monarch at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 30 at Boulder Valley Ice in a rematch of teams that met in last season’s state semifinals, with the Coyotes prevailing. The Raiders remained unbeaten through their first 12 games, while Monarch had just one loss in its first nine contests.
• The Aurora Public Schools Championships girls swim meet runs Jan. 30-31 at Gateway High School as the meet featuring Aurora Central, Gateway, Hinkley and Rangeview takes on a new two-day format as it celebrates its 25th running. Prelims begin at 5:10 p.m. Jan. 30, with diving prelims slated for 9:30 a.m. Jan. 31 and finals for both set for 12:10 p.m. Rangeview is the defending team champion and Gateway junior Jessica Mitchell is the two-time defending city diving champ. Also in the pool is the Centennial “B” League Championships at Smoky Hill and Continental “B” League Championships at Heritage.
• The Les Mattocks Invitational wrestling tournament runs Jan. 31 at Lincoln High School with plenty of city representation, as Aurora Central, Gateway, Overland and Regis Jesuit are among 34 teams from several classifications set to face off in a strong late season tournament. Eaglecrest heads out of state to the Rocky Welton Invite in Garden City, Kansas, while Cherokee Trail is at Brighton, Rangeview is at Thornton and Smoky Hill is at Thomas Jefferson.
• The Cherry Creek co-op ice hockey team plays host to Mountain Vista at 6 p.m. Jan. 31 at Family Sports Center the Bruins continue a rugged stretch of Foothills Conference play. Cherry Creek faced two-time defending state champion Ralston Valley on Jan. 27, followed by Columbine on Jan. 30 ahead of the meeting with the Golden Eagles.
• The Vista PEAK boys basketball team plays at Fort Morgan at 7 p.m. Feb. 3 as the Colorado 7-leading Bison attempt to deal the second-place Mustangs a second defeat after winning by seven on Jan. 9.
• Eaglecrest pays a 7 p.m. visit to Overland on Feb. 4 in a Centennial League boys basketball showdown that will set a tone for the final few weeks of the season. Neither team has lost since Jan. 9, when the league-leading Raptors defended their home floor against the De’Ron Davis-less Trailblazers. The schools’ girls teams play at 5:30 p.m. in the opener of the league doubleheader. Other strong contests include Cherokee Trail playing host to rising Smoky Hill at 7 p.m.
• The Grandview girls basketball team visits Cherry Creek at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 4 in a Centennial League rematch as the Wolves seek to avenge their only loss of the season. The Bruins won the first meeting between the teams by 10 points when Grandview was without sophomore star Michaela Onyenwere, who is averaging 23.5 points and 9.7 rebounds per game this season.
• National athletic letter of intent signing day is Feb. 4 with a variety of ceremonies set at schools around Aurora for a group of signees made up largely of football players. Grandview’s Kellan Poole has committed to North Dakota and teammate Willy Hayes to DII national champion Colorado State-Pueblo, Overland’s Josh Wright chose Washburn (Kansas) and Eaglecrest’s Anthony Karmazyn picked Augustana (Illionis) among city recruits.
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
