AURORA | A look back at some of the key games, tournaments and happenings in Aurora prep sports from Nov. 28-Dec. 4, 2023:
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
MONDAY, DEC. 4: The Gateway boys basketball team played its first game at the Fairview Festival tournament and fell to the host Knights 77-54. …The Vista PEAK Prep girls basketball team dropped a 72-38 non-league home contest to Legend. The visitors enjoyed a 26-5 advantage in the pivot second quarter.
SATURDAY, DEC. 2: Eric Fiedler poured in 34 points and Damarius Taylor added 26 as the Regis Jesuit boys basketball team had the 1-2 punch it used to defeat parochial school rival Mullen 88-75. Alec Roumph also reached double figures with 10 points. …The Grandview boys basketball team finished in fourth place at the Mountain Vista/Rock Canyon Tournament with a 71-47 loss to Ralston Valley. The Wolves had a 1-2 record in the tournament. …The Smoky Hill boys basketball team finished 1-2 at the Shoot The Rock Tour tournament in Arizona, which concluded with an 83-69 loss to Boulder Creek (Arizona). Kaylan Graham paced the Buffs with 23 points and Kevin Sylla added 20 and Carter Basquez 12. …The Cherokee Trail girls basketball team rolled to a 61-40 win over Mullen in the Castle View/ThunderRidge Tournament championship game. Delainey Miller had 22 points to lead the Cougars, who also got 10 apiece from Karson Chaney and Madeline Gibbs. …Coryn Watts (21 points), Hana Belibi (13) and Iliana Greene (10) reached double figures for the Regis Jesuit girls basketball team in a 71-29 home win over Doherty. …The Eaglecrest girls basketball team finished 1-1 on the final day of the Central Valley Showdown in California with a 53-30 win over Liberty (California) and 44-39 loss to Liberty (Nevada). The Raptors finished 3-1 in the tournament hosted by Clovis West H.S. …The Grandview girls basketball team finished three games at the She Got Game Classic in Dallas, Texas, with a 59-58 loss to Karen Wagner (Texas) despite a 34-point outburst from Sienna Betts. The Wolves finished 0-3 at the prestigious tournament with two losses by six points or less. …The Rangeview and Vista PEAK Prep girls basketball teams finished sixth and seventh, respectively, at the Best In The Nest tournament hosted by Horizon H.S. The Raiders fell to Ralston Valley 64-34 in the fifth-place game, while Vista PEAK Prep downed Littleton 51-45 in the seventh-place contest. …The Grandview boys wrestling team racked up 187 points to win the 10-team Bluedevil Invitational hosted by Fort Lupton H.S. JR Ortega (113 pounds), Braxton Widrikis (126), Jonathan Montes (150), Gunner Lopez (157), Charlie Herting (165) and Marcus Nesbitt (215) all won their respective weights. …The Cherokee Trail boys wrestling team finished 7-1 over two days at the Battle of the Best tournament, which included wins over Pueblo West, Garden City, Widefield and Riverdale Ridge in pool matches and against Thompson Valley, Brighton and Fruita Monument in the placing rounds. Chance Matthews (138 pounds) finished 6-1 in wrestled matches, Ryan Everhart (144) and Cole Tennant (150) each finished 5-2. Eaglecrest finished 2-3 in pool matches with defeats of Fountain-Fort Carson and Ralston Valley then topped Legend and Pueblo West in the placing rounds. Adonias Cantu (120 pounds) finished 7-0 for the Raptors in wrestled matches, while 126-pounder Ethan Diaz went 6-1 and 150-pounder Ethan Maughan 5-1. …Regis Jesuit’s Garrett Reece won the 157-pound bracket at the Arapahoe Warrior Invitational boys wrestling tournament and was one of nine top-six placers for the Raiders, who were runner-up to Chatfield. Heavyweight Nick Silva took sixth to lead 14th-place Smoky Hill. …Vista PEAK Prep’s Adrian Pacheco (106 pounds) and Overland’s James Rada Scales (157) both finished second at the Mike Stanley Invitational boys wrestling tournament, while the Bison and Trailblazers were eighth and 11th, respectively, as teams. A split Cherokee Trail team finished 17th and Gateway took 20th. …Manuel Zamora (165 pounds), Fabrisio Nunez (175) and Carlos Garcia-Robles (190) each took sixth place as the Aurora Central boys wrestling team placed 12th among 15 scoring teams at the Titan Cup. …Alexis Segura of the Regis Jesuit girls wrestling team earned the championship of the 125-pound bracket at the Arapahoe Warrior Invitational tournament and the Raiders had a runner-up as well in Remington Zimmerer (105) on their way to an 11th place finish, while sixth-place Overland had the 235-pound runner-up in Ruth Worknhe and the 130-pound Gold bracket winner in Brooklyn Pippins. Smoky Hill competed in its first tournament as its own team and had the 145-pound runner-up in Karmella Gordon. …The Cherokee Trail girls swim team cruised to victory at the Legacy Lightning Invitational with a score of 1,039 points to 545.5 for runner-up Fairview. …Eric Burggraf (Grandview) gave the Cherry Creek co-op ice hockey team a big 4-3 win over Monarch with a tiebreaking goal in the third period. Luke Blair, Cooper Huang and Dominic Suchkov also had goals for the Bruins.
FRIDAY, DEC. 1: The Eaglecrest boys basketball team rolled to a 97-36 home win over Brighton as six players scored in double figures, led by LaDavian King with 20. …The Cherokee Trail boys basketball team improved to 2-0 with a 66-41 home win over Monarch as Braylen Thomas (16 points) and Nathan Baack (15) paced the Cougars. …Isreal Littleton had a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds, while Siraaj Ali and TJ Manuel (11) and Dontae Graham (10) reached double figures for the Overland boys basketball team in a 77-30 win over Aurora Central. Camron Crisp led the Trojans with eight points. … Alante Monroe-Elazier poured in 19 points and Kyree Polk 18 for the Vista PEAK Prep boys basketball team in a 86-53 win over D’Evelyn at the D’Evelyn/Golden Tournament. Polk also claimed 16 rebounds. …Hayden Van Boeckman scored 25 points for the Gateway boys basketball team in a 77-74 loss to Thornton at the Northglenn Tournament. …The Smoky Hill boys basketball team picked up its first win with a 72-44 victory over Valley Vista in Arizona. …Aziza Abdur-Razaaq dropped in 18 points, Ilaisaane Davis had 14 and Destiny Moore 12 as the Overland girls basketball team downed Aurora Central 66-21. Alayna McClain had 12 points for the Trojans. …The Eaglecrest girls wrestling team won the championship of the Greeley West Invitational on the strength of nine placers, plus three others in the B brackets. Chasey Karabell, Natalie Replogle, Diora Moore and Emma Roberts earned main track titles. Sixth-place Vista PEAK Prep had the 125-pound champion in Amelia Bacon, plus two third-place finishers. …The Hinkley girls swim team played host to two Pueblo teams and finished in third place behind Pueblo Centennial (80 points) and Pueblo South (68). …Cooper Huang scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal in the third period as the Cherry Creek co-op ice hockey team downed Heritage 4-2.
THURSDAY, NOV. 30: The Cherokee Trail girls swim team earned its first win over rival Grandview with a 98-88 Centennial League dual meet victory in the Wolves’ home pool. Former Grandview swimmer Ava Zadigan won the 200 yard individual medley and helped the 200 yard medley relay to a victory for Cherokee Trail, which also got wins from Emme Metzmaker, Aria Clouse and the 200 yard freestyle relay team of Metzmaker, Bella Lane, Ella Drakulich and Sarah Woren. It was enough to overcome a two-win day for the Amelia Brown and Keira Vail of the Wolves. Kaitlyn Hafer also picked up a win and teamed with Vail, Brown and Emma Busta for the 400 yard freestyle relay win, while diver Addison Campbell also took victories for Grandview. …The Regis Jesuit girls swim team cruised to victory in a dual meet over Chaparral in the Raiders’ bubble. Diver Sarah Mann set the program record for a six-dive meet with a score of 271.75 points. …Damarius Taylor tallied 22 points and Lucas Dickinson added 20 as the Regis Jesuit boys basketball team won 84-59 at Rocky Mountain. …The Rangeview girls basketball team earned its first win for new coach Tony Speights with a 59-40 victory over Littleton in a consolation semifinal at the Best In The Nest Tournament. …The Grandview boys wrestling team got pins from JR Ortega, Graeson Streit, Nehemiah Quintana, Andrew Krutzsch and Gabriel Resendez plus a slew of forfeits in an 84-0 home win over Arapahoe in a match that ended midway through after an injury in the 150 pound match. …The Overland boys and girls wrestling teams both opened the season with wins over George Washington. …Chatfield swept dual matches from the Eaglecrest boys and girls wrestling teams.
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 29: Alex Riddick scored 14 points to lead a balanced effort for the Grandview boys basketball team in a 59-33 win over Chatfield to open the Mountain Vista/Rock Canyon Tournament. …The Cherokee Trail boys basketball team had three players in double figures — Amari Chandler with 18 points, Braylen Thomas with 15 and Jordan Mitchell with 10 — in a season-opening 65-56 win over Legacy. …Bishop Danyki scored 16 points, Alejandro Flores had 15 and Gabou Camara and Christopher Perkins each contributed 12 points in the Aurora Central boys basketball team’s 61-55 home win over DSST:Cedar. …The Gateway boys basketball team dropped its Northglenn Tournament opener 53-51 despite 19 points from Hayden Von Boeckman and 12 from Kaiemion Ashley. …Damara Allen and Madeline Gibbs tallied 12 points apiece as the Cherokee Trail girls basketball team opened the Castle View/ThunderRidge Tip-Off Tournament with a 59-27 triumph over Pueblo West. …Aditi Quinones was the only player in double figures for the Aurora Central girls basketball team in its opener against DSST:Cedar, as she scored 11 points in a 36-33 victory. …The Eaglecrest boys wrestling team downed Vista PEAK Prep 55-21 in an all-Aurora area matchup that saw the Raptors gets wins by fall from Blake Saddler (106 pounds), Adonias Cantu (120), Damian Payan (132), Alijah Gabaldon (138), Oscar Hinojos (144) and Gavin Norum (215), while the Bison’s pins came from Cole Redmond (113), Marcus Johnson (157) and Zachary Voltura (165). …Anastasia Smith (100 pounds), Marley Allen (115) and Riley Hettich (120) won by fall and Amelia Bacon won a tight decision at 130 as the Vista PEAK Prep girls wrestling team topped Denver South 51-12. …The Hinkley girls swim team earned a 65-44 road win at Gateway as Lizzy Baker won twice and Andrea Campos, Indira Rivera and the 400 yard freestyle relay team won for the Thunder. Sophie Curry, Love Quintana, Fenix Z’Dorn and the 200 yard freestyle relay won for the Olys.
TUESDAY, NOV. 28: The Regis Jesuit girls basketball team got off to a strong start to the season with a 79-57 home win against Arapahoe in a powerhouse opening matchup played on the new floor at the Regis Jesuit Girls Division. …The Cherokee Trail girls basketball team downed Highlands Ranch 59-40 on the road to open the season. Delainey Miller tallied 19 points and had 10 rebounds, while Madeline Gibbs added 13 points. …The Regis Jesuit boys basketball team held off a challenge from Overland for a 72-65 home victory in an all-Aurora opening matchup. Damarius Taylor scored 23 points and Eric Fiedler added 21 for the Raiders, who overcame the game-high 28 from the Trailblazers’ Siraaj Ali. …The Eaglecrest boys basketball team defeated Mountain Range 86-42 on the road in its first game of the season. LaDavian King’s 16 points paced the Raptors, who got 13 apiece from Garrett Barger and Lucas Kalimba. …The Rangeview boys basketball team fell to preseason Class 6A No. 1 ThunderRidge 75-45. …The Smoky Hill girls swim team posted a 128-57 Centennial League home dual win over Eaglecrest. The Buffaloes swept the relays, had two two-event winners in Cameryn Walkup and Mya Noffsinger and other winners in Kaiya Ricketson, Eve Niemann and diver Christianna Duthie. Shannon Beaulieu claimed both sprint freestyle events for Eaglecrest.
