David Peterson took the mound for the first time on April 17, providing a boost to an already rolling Regis Jesuit baseball team.
The senior left-handed ace underwent surgery to repair a fractured fibula in two places prior to the season, but just six weeks and a day later threw one impromptu inning of relief in the Raiders’ 8-1 victory over Ponderosa.
Peterson — a University of Oregon signee — struck out the first batter he faced in a varsity game since last May and finished with two punchouts in a scoreless frame for Regis Jesuit, which stretched its winning streak to eight games with the victory over the Mustangs. The Raiders sit No. 3 in the latest Associated Press Class 5A baseball poll.
“It was nice; I struck the first guy out and I had to turn around because I had a pretty big smile on my face,” Peterson said. “It was nothing but joy; it was great to look back and see all my teammates behind me again,” he added.
• Senior Megan Campbell scored the lone goal in the first half on an assist from Darian Simpson and the Rangeview girls soccer team held on for a 1-0 victory over Brighton April 22 at Aurora Public Schools Stadium. The Raiders won their sixth straight game and took over sole possession of first place in the EMAC.
• Parker Loyd had one of the monster efforts of the boys lacrosse thus far, as the Eaglecrest sophomore attackman racked up nine goals and five assists in a 19-4 victory over Gateway on April 21. Fellow sophomore Isaac Towner added five goals and four assists for the Raptors.
• Senior Sean Kennedy tossed 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief and finished 4-for-4 with 3 RBI at the plate to help the Grandview baseball team snap a lengthy losing streak to Cherry Creek with a 10-6 Centennial League road victory over the Bruins April 19. Junior Keifer Glau also contributed three hits and scored four times for the Wolves, who scored four times in the top of the seventh inning to break open a tie game.
• The Cherokee Trail boys and girls won titles at the Ray Campbell Invitational track meet on April 19 at Fountain-Fort Carson, scoring 137 points on the boys side and 120.5 in the girls competition. Mar’Keith Bailey had himself a day for the Cougars, as he won the 400 meter dash, took second in the 100 and ran on the winning 4×100 and 4×200 meter relay teams. Cherokee Trail won three of the four relay events as it also took the 4×400 meter relay and got other individual titles from Isaiah Kaiser in the 300 meter hurdles and Duncan Barnhill in the 3,200 meter run. Sophomore Shayna Yon ran a scorching 11.80 to win the girls 100 meter dash and leaped 16 feet, 11 inches to take the long jump and Cherokee Trail won the 4×100, 4×800 and 800 sprint medley relay and saw senior Tiana Cephers capture the triple jump.
• Vista PEAK senior Ayo Sanusi won the boys 100 meter dash and triple jump at the George Washington Patriot Invitational April 19 at All-City Stadium, while Overland got victories in the 110 meter hurdles from Josh Wright and the shot put from AJ Roper in a strong showing of city teams.
• A year after an agonizing overtime loss, the Grandview girls lacrosse team knocked off rival Cherokee Trail in the rematch April 18. Senior Alexis Petrarca and sophomores Madison Marshall and Morgan Matthews tallied two goals apiece and the Wolves turned back a late charge by senior Shea Butler and the Cougars to snap a two-game losing streak in the series.
• Sophomore Sam Howshar netted another game-winning goal in overtime and the Smoky Hill girls soccer team came away with a huge 2-1 road win at Arapahoe in a showdown of Centennial League powers on April 17. Freshman Brooke Sosa scored a second-half goal to lift the Buffaloes into a tie with the Warriors, then Howshar finished the win with a long range free kick goal. Junior keeper Megan Kneefel saved seven shots in the victory.
• The 200 yard medley relay team of Sean Kelly, Alexey Lutkov, Phillip Sobczak and Kelton Erickson qualified for the Class 5A boys state swim meet and helped Overland to a 100-83 victory over Hinkley in an all-Aurora dual meet on April 17 at Utah Park. All four individuals won at least one individual event for the Trailblazers, which topped Tim Martin and the Thunderbirds.
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. Facebook: Aurora Prep Sentinel
