The week past in Aurora prep sports included championships aplenty, both on the hardwood and the wrestling mat.
Aurora Central (Fairview Festival), Eaglecrest (Palmer Terror Invitational) and Rangeview (Fort Collins/Poudre Tip-Off Invitational) secured titles in boys basketball, the Grandview girls hoops team captured the Dakota Ridge tournament and both Cherokee Trail (La Costa Canyon, California) and Vista PEAK (Bison Invitational) took wrestling crowns.
The Regis Jesuit boys basketball team also finished 3-0 in the round robin Duel in the Desert in Phoenix.
• The Rangeview boys basketball team collected the championship of the Fort Collins/Poudre Tip-Off Invitational with a 66-56 win over Fort Collins on Dec. 12 at Poudre High School in Fort Collins. Senior EJ Reed scored a game-high 21 points in the title game for the Raiders (5-0), while fellow seniors Jalen Guidry (13) and Tyrei Randall (11) also got into double figures. Randall averaged a little more than 20 points per contest in Rangeview’s three victories. Full bracket/results, here.
• The Eaglecrest boys basketball team moved to 6-0 by winning the Palmer Invitational on Dec. 12 as they dealt the host Terrors a 65-54 defeat. Junior Colbey Ross paced the Raptors with 19 points, while sophomore Victor Garnes contributed 14 and junior Ikenna Ozor chipped in 12. Full brackets/results, here.
• The Grandview girls basketball team had a long wait to open the new season, as the Wolves played their first contest of the season nine days after the Dec. 1 opening of the season. Coach Josh Ulitzky’s team — which has added some new young talent to an already quality mix — didn’t look worse for the wait at the Dakota Ridge Tournament, as they finished 3-0 and won the tournament championship for the second season in a row. Junior Michaela Onyenwere scored 26 points, pulled down 17 rebounds and picked up eight steals in the championship game on Dec. 12, helping lift Grandview to a 70-57 over 4A powerhouse Mesa Ridge. Junior Lenzi Hudson added eight points and four others contributed at least six points as the Wolves overcame 28 points and 20 rebounds from 6-foot-4 Mesa Ridge star Kylee Shook. Smoky Hill finished sixth at the tournament and Gateway came in eighth. Full bracket/results, here.
• Cherokee Trail won the championship of the La Costa Canyon Classic Dec. 11-12 in California, finishing atop a 47-team field of teams from a variety of states. With runner-up finishes from 170-pounder Seth Bogulski and 220-pounder Max Gonzales and a variety of other placers, coach Jeff Buck’s team finished with 223 points to finish just ahead of San Marcos (California), which had 220.5.
• The Vista PEAK wrestling team won its first ever varsity tournament and it just happened to be the one it hosted itself, as the Bison topped a 14-team field in its home gym Dec. 12. Coach David Benedict’s team scored 160.5 points to finish comfortably in front of runner-up Ridge View Academy, which had 130.5. Returning Class 4A state qualifiers Dilan Esparza (113 pounds) and Marcus Guerra (138) won individually for Vista PEAK. Gateway finished sixth with 83 — as Elijah Kelly won the 182-pound bracket — and Smoky Hill’s 66 put it ninth.
• The Aurora Central boys basketball team captured the Fairview Festival crown on Dec. 11 with a come-from-behind 71-68 win over Denver South. Coach Ian Calvert’s Trojans outscored the Rebels 41-25 in the second half as Ladarius Thomas finished with 30 points and Elijah Coleman tallied 24. Full bracket/results, here.
