AURORA | A look back at the key games, tournaments and happenings in Aurora prep sports from Jan. 7-13, 2025:
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
THE WEEK PAST IN AURORA PREP SPORTS, 1.7-13.25
MONDAY, JAN. 13: In a game where both teams had big advantages in single quarters, the Regis Jesuit boys basketball team rallied to a 70-64 road victory at Cherry Creek. The Raiders finished the game on a 12-4 run that included seven points from Lucas Dickinson.
SATURDAY, JAN. 11: The Regis Jesuit boys basketball team paid a visit to parochial school rival Mullen and picked up a 67-48 victory that included a 20-point effort from Eric Fiedler. Lucas Dickinson chipped in 16 points and Joseph Haubert went for 13 for the Raiders. …The Vista PEAK Prep boys basketball team turned in its offensive performance of the season in a 103-24 win at Hinkley. Malachi Holden paced the Thunder with eight points. …Isreal Littleton tallied 18 points and Siraaj Ali also had 17 for the Overland boys basketball team, which pushed past Denver East for a 66-52 home victory that snapped a six-game losing streak. …The Grandview girls basketball team faced a challenger from a different classification in Roosevelt and earned a 70-43 road victory. Sienna Betts finished with 23 points and Ava Chang had 20 for the Wolves. …The Overland girls basketball team played on its home floor and defeated Erie 49-41 as Michaela Halton had 20 points and Ilaisaane Davis added 10. …The Grandview boys wrestling team won the championship of the Arvada West Invitational, as it earned 266 points to the 258.5 of top-ranked Pomona. JR Ortega (120 pounds), Gunner Lopez (157), Charlie Herting (175) and Leland Day (285) won their respective weights, while three others lost in finals among 12 total top-six placers. Regis Jesuit’s 12th-place finish was paced by Richard Avila’s third-place results at 113 pounds, while Mohammad Sohail Amiri (113) and Daniel Ayala Sanchez (126) had matching sixth-place finishes for Gateway, which came in 20th. …The Cherokee Trail boys wrestling team finished in second place at the War Horse Invitational tournament hosted by Chatfield High School. The Cougars had champions in three weight classes — Elijah Van Horn at 106 pounds, Cooper Mathews at 113 and Chance Mathews at 138 — among 10 top-six placers. A split Grandview team had three placers on its way to 11th, while Rangeview and Aurora Central were 18th and 19th, respectively. …The Eaglecrest boys wrestling team played host to its annual Armando Rodriguez Tournament of Champions — held in honor of one of its late assistant coaches — and finished 13th among 34 scoring teams. Alijah Gabaldon (120 pounds) and Britton Matejovsky (150) each placed sixth to lead the Raptors, while 24th-place Smoky Hill had one placer in Jovani Galvan (fifth at 126 pounds) and 26th-place Vista PEAK Prep had one in Ian Bacon, who was fourth at 120 pounds. …The Overland girls wrestling team cruised to victory at the 16-team Raven Rumble hosted by Denver South High School with a total of 108.5 points that was boosted by championships from 105-pounder Mihret Shimels and Ruth Worknhe at 235. Smoky Hill tied for seventh and Regis Jesuit came in 15th. …The Eaglecrest and Vista PEAK Prep girls wrestling teams finished third and ninth, respectively, among 30 scoring teams at the Vista Ridge Alpha Female Tournament at Vista Ridge High School. The Bison had the lone champion among locals in Amelia Bacon at 125 pounds, while the Raptors had a runner-up at 235 pounds in Emma Roberts among six placers. …The Cherokee Trail girls swim team repeated as team champion at the Smoky Hill Invitational with a sizeable victory over Heritage, as the Cougars’ point total of 740 included an event championship in the 100 yard backstroke from Ava Zadigian. Host Smoky Hill finished in fourth place with help from three event wins as Cameryn Walkup claimed the 200 and 500 freestyles and Mya Noffsinger ruled the 200 individual medley. Eaglecrest finished in eighth place. … Austin Katz, Matthew Lopez and Carter Sharkey scored goals for the Cherry Creek co-op ice hockey team in its 3-1 win over Chaparral. Lopez and Sharkey (Cherokee Trail) also had assists to help the Bruins, who got an 18-save effort from Mason Banks in the net.
FRIDAY, JAN. 10: The Rangeview boys basketball team extended its unbeaten start with a 69-59 outlasting of Grandview in a local matchup that was close most of the way. LaDavian King racked up a game-high 26 points to pace the Raiders, while Marceles Duncan added 16 and Kenny Black-Knox contributed 14. The Wolves had one double-digit scorer in Breven Anderson, who finished with 17. …The host Smoky Hill boys basketball team took a four-point lead into the final quarter in a showdown with Class 6A No. 2 Ralston Valley before the visitors pulled away in the fourth quarter to deal the Buffs a 63-53 defeat. Kaylan Graham’s 22 points topped Smoky Hill, which also got 11 from Carter Basquez and 10 from Lorenzo Contreras. …The Overland boys basketball team built a good lead early, fell behind, then rallied before it fell short in a 67-60 loss to ThunderRidge. …The Cherokee Trail girls basketball team extended its winning streak with a 46-19 home victory over Erie. …The Eaglecrest girls basketball team traveled to Pueblo West and came away with a 55-29 non-league victory that included a double-double for Jada Bobb (10 points, 13 rebounds) plus 13 points from Amaia Jones. …In a rematch of last season’s Class 5A state championship game won by the Regis Jesuit ice hockey team, the Raiders saw a two-goal lead disappear and lost to Valor Christian 4-3 in overtime at Family Sports Center. Vincent Cieslak, Alexander Warot and Nolan Williams had the goals for Regis Jesuit.
THURSDAY, JAN. 9: Five players scored nine points or more — led by Jack Berry with 13 and Jake Scott with 12 — the Cherokee Trail boys basketball team picked up a 60-54 victory at Vista PEAK Prep in a local matchup. …Alex Flores poured in 29 points and Deon Davis Jr. (11) and Ual Yonas (10) joined him in double figures for the Aurora Central boys basketball team in a 75-40 win over Montbello. …The Eaglecrest girls basketball team made the plays down the stretch to hold off Vista PEAK Prep for a 59-52 win in a crosstown matchup. Jada Bobb paced the Raptors with 16 points, while Amaia Jones had 12 and Kaydence Waymire 10 to counter a game-high 19 points for Amirah Pena of the Bison, who also got 10 from Eianna Jackson. …The Overland girls basketball team secured a 51-45 road win at Kent Denver on the strength of 25 points from Michaela Halton in addition to 16 from Ilaisaane Davis. … The Grandview boys wrestling team picked up a quality 49-15 dual meet win over Chatfield in a matchup of team ranked in the top five of Class 5A. Among the Wolves’ 10 wins were pins from Forrester Warnovk, Kyle Menuez, Charlie Herting, Ryder Hoffschneider and Leland Day. … The Cherokee Trail boys wrestling team earned a 45-21 victory at Chaparral with help from pins by Chance Mathews, Nathan Maestas and Ryan Everhart. …Jovani Galvan and Liam Cook won by fall and the Smoky Hill boys wrestling team received six forfeits in a 57-19 dual match win at Littleton. … The Vista PEAK Prep girls wrestling team split a tri-dual meet that included a 69-6 win over Conifer plus a 48-28 loss to Douglas County. Hailey Brown, Anastasia Smith and Amelia Bacon wrestled in both matches and went 2-0. …The Grandview girls swim team picked up a 99-87 Centennial League dual win over Smoky Hill with wins in the 200 yard medley and 200 freestyle relays, plus wins from Delaina Burgeson, Makenna Dyk and diver Addison Campbell. Mya Noffsinger picked up two wins for Smoky Hill, which also saw Cameryn Walkup, Caroline Kaiser and Eve Niemann claim firsts in addition to the 400 freestyle relay. …The Eaglecrest girls swim team picked up its first Centennial League dual win of the season with a 126-48 home victory over Mullen. Lin Naraoka won twice individually and anchored two winning relays, while Alex Jones, Quinn Paulson and Sadie Halladay posted victories in addition to diver Lily Grigorian.
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 8: The Smoky Hill boys basketball team earned a road win over defending Class 6A state champion Valor Christian with a 86-73 victory behind a 26-point effort from Kaylan Graham. Carter Basquez added 20, while Jai Jegede had 17 and Lorenzo Contreras 15 — which included a 8-for-8 performance at the free throw line in the fourth quarter — for the Buffaloes. …The Regis Jesuit boys basketball team held off a challenge from Overland in a local matchup and prevailed 80-67 as three players scored in double figures. Eric Fiedler paced the Raiders with 27, while Lucas Dickinson added 20 and Alec Roumph 15. …The Grandview girls basketball team picked up a strong 48-41 road win against Ralston Valley that was powered by 26 points and 17 rebounds from Sienna Betts. Deija Roberson added 12 points and Maya Smith had six for the Wolves. … The Cherokee Trail boys wrestling team played host to a tri-dual meet and posted a 46-26 win over Broomfield as well as a 61-15 loss to top-ranked Pomona. Mateo Garreffa, Chance Mathews and Ryan Everhart each wrestled two matches and won both. …The Eaglecrest girls wrestling team secured a 60-21 dual match win over Columbine on the strength of wins by fall from Sofie Ghasabyan, Sydney Babi, Jordan Heibult, Carmella Trujillo and Maxime Lentz.
TUESDAY, JAN. 7: The Eaglecrest boys basketball team claimed the championship of the Raptor-Titan Classic with a 60-59 overtime win over Legend. Lucas Kalimba made a 3-pointer and two free throws for all of the overtime points for Eaglecrest, which erased a 14-point halftime deficit. …The Rangeview boys basketball team rolled to an 86-14 win at Aurora Central in its first game after winter break. Ten players scored for the Raiders, who had four in double figures in LaDavian King (17 points), Kenny Black-Knox, Marceles Duncan and Royce Edwards 11 apiece. Alex Flores led the Trojans with six points. …The Vista PEAK Prep boys basketball team went on the road and defeated Cherry Creek 73-68. …The Cherokee Trail girls basketball team played without its full lineup, but claimed an 84-38 win at Vista PEAK Prep in a local matchup. …The Eaglecrest girls basketball team prevailed over Douglas County in a 44-38 road win. …The Aurora Central girls basketball team got 15 points from Andena Torres, 14 from Anabella Lumba and 12 from Jamaea Johnson-Gonzalez on its way to a 60-14 win at Aurora West College Prep Academy. …The Smoky Hill girls basketball team defeated visiting Gateway 59-25 in a local matchup. …The Regis Jesuit girls swim team captured a 184-131 road dual win at Arapahoe that featured a relay sweep and 17 Class 5A state-qualifying performances. Elsa Osborne earned two event wins for the Raiders, while Avery Stanga, Lexi Stramel, Elise Kittleson, Mia Staubli and Erica Mitsuoka also took firsts. …The Rangeview girls swim team earned a 114-67 City League home dual win over Thomas Jefferson behind a relay sweep and two individual wins from Hailey McDonald. Daveah Archibeque, Kayla Allen and Shemiah Turner also were event winners for the Raiders. …The Aurora Central girls swim team earned a win over Adams City and Gateway in a tri-dual meet. The Trojans’ winning total of 78 points included two wins by Lizzett Mireles and Berenice Guerrero Cuarenta plus another by Adrianna Chatman and a relay win, while Sophie Curry posted a win for the Olys, who finished third.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
