AURORA | A look back at some of the key games, events and happenings in Aurora prep sports, 12.13-12.19.22:
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com> Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
MONDAY, DEC. 19: The Grandview boys basketball team cruised to a 78-43 victory over Basic (of Henderson, Nevada) by the score of 78-43 to open play in the Gatorade Division of the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas. Zane Cole (14 points), Breven Anderson (13) and Gallagher Placide (12) led Wolves. …The Grandview girls basketball team also picked up an out of state victory as it topped Canyon (Calif.) 46-32 in its first game in the Dan Division of the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix. …The Vista PEAK girls basketball team christened play in the Sapphire Division of the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas with a 54-30 victory over Foothills (Nevada) as Eianna Jackson poured in 14 points, Ashlyn Stapleton had 11 and Amirah Pena 10. Also in the Sapphire Division is Cherokee Trail, which downed Clark (Nevada) 57-23. …Rickey Mitchell tallied 29 points, while Carter Basquez and Kevin Sylla had 10 apiece to help the Smoky Hill boys basketball team to an 81-62 win over Red Mountain (Arizona) to open play in the Visit Mesa Challenge in Arizona. In the same tournament, but in a different bracket, Overland fell to Otay Ranch (Calif.) 68-59. Siraaj Ali led the ‘Blazers with 16 points. …The Overland girls basketball team advanced in the Northglenn Shootout with a 60-25 victory over the FNE Warriors, while Gateway dropped into the consolation bracket of the same tournament after a 61-10 defeat to Standley Lake.
SATURDAY, DEC. 17: For the second straight season, Eaglecrest’s Blythe Cayko won a championship at the Reno Tournament of Champions girls wrestling tournament, as she ruled the 185-pound bracket at the national gathering. Cayko went in as the No. 2 seed and pinned two opponents in the first period to make the final against top-seeded Reece Woods of Idaho, who she pinned in 1 minute, 12 seconds. Teammate Chasey Karabell finished as the runner-up at 100 pounds as she upset the No. 1 seed in the quarterfinals before she lost by technical fall in the finals to Grace Romans of Texas. The Raptors finished fifth out of 43 scoring teams. …Adonias Cantu earned sixth place at 106 pounds for the Eaglecrest boys wrestling team at the Reno Tournament of Champions as he won his first three matches, rebounded from a semifinal loss and earned his way to the fifth-place match. The Raptors finished 56th in the team standings, while Grandview took top honors with a tie for 44th place though no wrestlers placed. …Regis Jesuit’s Garrett Reece won the 138-pound bracket at the massive Jimmy John’s Northern Colorado Christmas Classic boys wrestling tournament to help the Raiders (who also got a fifth-place finish from heavyweight Dirk Morley) to 20th-place in the team standings. Jay Everhart grabbed seventh place at 113 pounds for Cherokee Trail, which finished in 30th place. …Three Aurora teams (Vista PEAK, Regis Jesuit and Overland) competed at the Jimmy John’s Northern Colorado Christmas Classic girls wrestling tournament and earned a combined handful of places. The highest places among locals were runner-up results for Regis Jesuit’s Alexis Segura at 125 pounds and Vista PEAK’s Leilani Caamal at 155 pounds. The Bison, who were 15th out of 54 scoring teams, also had place-winning performances from Jayden Abreo (3rd at 140) and Amelia Bacon (6th at 120), while Overland’s lone placer was Vianca Mendoza, who was sixth at 125 pounds. …The Vista PEAK boys basketball team rolled past previously undefeated Eagle Ridge Academy 73-57 on the road in a game in which 10 different players contributed points. Carson McDonald’s 18 points led the way, while Nasir Mills had 11 and Kyree Polk 10. …A three-goal second period helped propel the Cherry Creek co-op ice hockey team past Ralston Valley 4-3 at Family Sports Center. Ayden Schmidt (Cherokee Trail) had a goal and an assists, while James Lembke (Grandview), Alexsei Suchkov and Dominic Suchkov also scored for the Bruins, who had assists from seven players. …The Eaglecrest boys basketball team finished in fourth place at the Cherry Creek Holiday Classic with a 67-45 loss to host Cherry Creek. Garrett Barger had his third double-digit effort of the tournament with 12 points. Rangeview finished in sixth place at the same tournament after a 50-32 loss to Rocky Mountain despite seven points apiece from Kenny Black-Knox and Royce Edwards. …The Cherokee Trail boys basketball team ended up fourth in the Charger Challenge with a 70-68 double-overtime loss to host Chatfield. A handful of Cougars reached double figures in Michael Steinbrinck (15 points), plus Cade Brook, Keean Lloyd and Alonzo Rodgers (all with 12) and David Behrendt (10). …Jamaea Johnson-Gonzalez (23 points) and Alayna McClain (19) alone outscored the Far Northeast Warriors in the Aurora Central girls basketball team’s 61-35 victory. …The Hinkley girls basketball team won its second straight games with a 48-33 defeat of Gateway, which got 16 points from Aaliyah Taylor.
FRIDAY, DEC. 16: The Grandview boys basketball team controlled the key parts of the fourth quarter on its way to a 69-61 road win at Regis Jesuit in a high-energy battle of nearby Aurora schools. Simon Kibbee and Gavin Placide had 15 points apiece to lead the Wolves (who had five players in double figures), while Joe Dorais made six 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 24 points and TaRea Fulcher added 20 for the Raiders. …The Eaglecrest boys basketball team took a 12-point lead over top-ranked Mountain Vista into halftime in a championship semifinal at the Cherry Creek Holiday Classic, but struggled in the third quarter and fell to the Golden Eagles 71-65. LaDavian King made six 3-pointers and finished with 30 points, while Garrett Barger added 15 and Joshua Ray 10 for the Raptors, who moved into the third-place game. …Michael Manville scored five goals, Carter Schick had five assists and Ian Beck lit the lamp and dished out three assists in the Regis Jesuit ice hockey team’s 7-1 win over Resurrection Christian at Family Sports Center. …The Rangeview boys basketball team picked up a win in the consolation semifinals (and a place in the fifth-place game) of the Cherry Creek Holiday Classic with a 64-47 victory over Fairview. Mareon Chapman tallied 18 points, DeMarco Duncan 14 and Khiem Davison 11 for the Raiders. …The Cherokee Trail boys basketball team got edged out of a spot in the championship game of the Charger Challenge at Chatfield with a 57-56 loss in double overtime to Arvada West. Keean Lloyd had 15 points, Amari Chandler 14 and Alonzo Rodgers 12 for the Cougars. …Chanin Jenings (Cherokee Trail) had a goal and two assists to help the Cherry Creek co-op ice hockey team to a 6-1 victory over Summit at Family Sports Center. …Siraaj Ali was the lone player from the Overland boys basketball team in double figures as he scored 16 points in the Trailblazers’ 70-47 loss at Rock Canyon. …Cai’Reis Curby went for 23 points for the Aurora Central boys basketball team in its 91-51 loss to Columbine at the Mullen Christmas Classic. …The Vista PEAK boys wrestling team dropped a 40-39 dual match to Chatfield despite seven victories, including consecutive wins by fall from Jason Leadens (175 pounds), Ezekiel Taylor (190), Oscar Valdez (215) and Joseph Maes (285). Zachary Lee (138) and Carlos Robles (157) also had pins and 132-pounder Jorge Hernandez-Garcia won by decision. …The Vista PEAK girls basketball team fell to Arvada West 62-45 in non-league play as Amirah Pena (14 points) and Ashlyn Stapleton (11) reached double figures. …The Hinkley girls basketball team got a 22-point effort from Emma Josephson and 10 more from Karen Peprah in a 48-23 win over KIPP Denver Collegiate. …Shaya Kelley had 13 points for the Aurora Central girls basketball team in a 48-28 loss to Eagle Ridge Academy. …
THURSDAY, DEC. 15: The Regis Jesuit boys basketball team went on the road and came away with a 70-66 victory at Valor Christian in a game fueled by TaRea Fulcher’s 24-point effort. Cole Records contributed 13 points and Damarius Taylor 11 for the Raiders. …Four Smoky Hill boys basketball players scored in double figures in an 88-72 home victory over Pueblo South, last season’s 4A state runner-up. Rickey Mitchell scored 23 points to pace the Buffaloes, while Carter Basquez contributed 16, Lorenzo Contreras 13 and Torian Gasaway 12. …Carson McDonald tallied 12 points and five Vista PEAK boys basketball players in all had nine points or more, but the Bison fell to Windsor 66-60 in non-league play. …The Cherokee Trail boys basketball team opened the Charger Challenge at Chatfield with its first win of the season as it downed Heritage 61-51. Keean Lloyd poured in 26 points in the victory, while Alonzo Rodgers added 12. …Garrett Barger racked up 23 points and DeAndre Brown 20 as the Eaglecrest boys basketball team earned a 69-55 victory over Rocky Mountain to open the Cherry Creek Holiday Classic tournament. …Camron Crisp (16 points), Christopher Perkins (14) and Alejandro Flores (11) supplied much of the scoring, but the Aurora Central boys basketball team dropped a 69-50 decision against host Mullen at the Mullen Christmas Tournament. …Nine Eaglecrest girls basketball players got in the scoring column in a 70-22 road victory at Brighton that saw Shyann Farbes take team-high honors with 17 points. Brooklyn Bickerstaff chipped in 12 points, Anjolene Ramiro 11 and Laci Roffle 10. …Despite double-digit efforts from Hana Belibi (15 points), Coryn Watts (14) and Iliana Green (13), the Regis Jesuit girls basketball team couldn’t quite keep pace with Valor Christian in a 61-54 road loss. …Charlegh Reeves tallied 20 points to pace the Gateway girls basketball team past DSST Green Valley Ranch 68-23. Iyana Faraji went for 14 points and Samari Williams 10 in the winning effort for the Olys. …Shaya Kelley’s 16 points helped fuel the Aurora Central girls basketball team to a 53-24 victory over Aurora West College Prep. …The Grandview girls swim team won all 12 events in a 138-37 Centennial League dual victory over Mullen. The Wolves had nine different individual winners in Caroline Payne, Baylie Renner, Keira Vail, Amelia Brown, Kateryna Fajda, Becky Hildebrand, Kya Guikema, Megan Doubrava and diver Addison Campbell. …The Cherokee Trail girls swim team got two wins from Jameson Young and Sarah Woren and others from Sage Trusler, Morgan Walker, Emma Metzmaker and Aria Clouse plus a relay sweep in a 147-42 Centennial League win over Eaglecrest. The Raptors’ win came in the diving competition from Taylor Browning. …Pilot Horst claimed the 50 yard freestyle and finished second in the 100 freestyle for the Overland girls swim team in its 141-21 Centennial League loss to a lower level Cherry Creek team at Utah Park.
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 14: Sparked by a 16-7 advantage in the third quarter, the Rangeview girls basketball team downed visiting Broomfield 53-47. A balanced effort for the Raiders saw D’Ajha Horton tally 13 points, Zane Bullock and Danielle Washington add 12 apiece and Jenessee Byrd score 11. …Hamza Mursal (19 points), Johnathan Lyons (12) and Jaleel Dixon (11) scored in double figures for the Overland boys basketball team, which dropped an 83-63 home contest to ThunderRidge. …The Regis Jesuit boys wrestling team prevailed over Rock Canyon 39-34 in a Continental League dual that saw 12 matches contested and each team receive a forfeit. The Raiders got wins by fall from Cayden McNellis (113 pounds), Richard Carrier (120), Connor Mohr (126), Garrett Reece (138) and Daniel Lantz (144), while 106-pounder Dane Anderson won by decision. …Dashawn Jenkins (113 pounds), Zach Majernick (138), Zach Brophy (190) and Elijah Villegas (215) won by fall and Jacob Castellano earned a decision at 144 pounds as the Smoky Hill boys wrestling team battled Arapahoe before it dropped a 46-33 Centennial League dual match.
TUESDAY, DEC. 13: The Smoky Hill boys basketball team earned a large 71-68 road win at Valor Christian behind a 40-point effort from Rickey Mitchell. Lorenzo Contreras added 12 in the victory for the Buffaloes. …The Eaglecrest girls basketball team downed visiting Vista PEAK 52-23 in a matchup of local programs that saw Laci Roffle (16 points) and Shyann Farbes (13) score in double figures. Eianna Jackson topped the Bison with eight points. …The Grandview girls basketball team got another 22-point effort from Sienna Betts and came away from a road trip to Fort Collins with a 49-37 victory. …Keean Lloyd scored 23 points and Amari Chandler added 13 for the Cherokee Trail boys basketball team, but a late rally fell short in a 70-68 loss to Broomfield. …The Vista PEAK boys basketball team earned a 60-49 road win at Centaurus. …A huge start from Destiny Moore got the Overland girls basketball team off to a flying start against Englewood and the Trailblazers finished off a 55-21 victory. …The Smoky Hill girls basketball team got into the win column for the first time with a 58-23 victory over visiting Hinkley in a matchup of city programs. …Despite eight points from Samari Williams and seven apiece from Iyana Faraji and Charlegh Reeves, the Gateway girls basketball team fell to Kennedy 46-32.