AURORA | A look back at some of the key games, tournaments and happenings in Aurora prep sports from Dec. 5-11, 2023:
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
WEEK PAST IN AURORA PREP SPORTS, 12.5-12.11.23
MONDAY, DEC. 11: The Eaglecrest boys basketball team pulled away from visiting Doherty in the fourth quarter for a 68-56 home win. LaDavian King poured in 18 of his game-high 35 points in the final period for the Raptors. …The Overland boys basketball team won a 63-61 road game at Denver East, last season’s Class 6A state champion. Isreal Littleton tallied 26 points and Siraaj Ali added 18 as the Trailblazers snapped a 32-game winning streak for the Angels dating back to last season.
SATURDAY, DEC. 9: Kaylan Graham tallied 17 points and Kevin Sylla added 10 for the Smoky Hill boys basketball team in a 58-49 home win over Rangeview, which got 14 from Royce Edwards and 12 from Kenny Black-Knox. …The Vista PEAK Prep boys basketball team grabbed third place at the Erie-Mead Tournament witih a 69-36 win over Erie that featured 16-point efforts for both Alante Monroe-Elazier and Kyree Polk. …The Eaglecrest girls basketball team wrapped up a 2-1 performance at the Wildcat Classic with a 53-20 win over Grand Junction. Shyann Farbes had 11 points, Adaure Ozor 10 and Kaydence Waymire nine for the Raptors. …A 42-33 victory over Brighton sealed the Grandview Duals championship for the host Grandview boys wrestling team, which went 5-0 on the day. Nehemiah Quintana finished 5-0 with three pins and a win by technical fall, while Jonathan Montes Gonzales, Gunner Lopez, Charlie Herting and Leland Day also went 5-0 (which included one win by forfeit). …Cooper and Chance Matthews won the championships of their respective weights at the Hamada Classic in California to help the Cherokee Trail boys wrestling team to a seventh-place finish in the massive tournament. Jay Everhart took sixth and Jaqoah Younger eighth in their brackets as well for the Cougars. …The split Eaglecrest boys wrestling team earned the Vista PEAK Prep Bison Invitational title, with the host Bison third, Smoky Hill seventh, Overland eighth, Cherokee Trail 10th and Rangeview 11th. Gavin Norum won the 215-pound bracket to head six total placers for the Raptors, while Vista PEAK Prep had the 285 pound champion in Joseph Maes and seven other placers, DaShawn Jenkins won the 113-pound bracket for Smoky Hill, Overland had four placers and three were champions (Eric Kelly, James Rada Scales and Jarrius Ward), Cherokee Trail had a runner-up in Jaxon Kynor and Caleb Maez’s third place got Rangeview on the podium. …Adonias Cantu, Ethan Diaz, Thayne Lundy and Dalton Leivian won their respective bracket championships to to help the split Eaglecrest boys wrestling team outdistance Garden City by 10 points to take the Harold McCray Invitational title. …Emmanuel Martinez (second) and Amari Unitt (fourth) earned places for the Aurora Central boys wrestling team and Asmir Huskic (fourth) got on the podium for Gateway at the Vikings Invitational. …The Hinkley boys wrestling team finished 2-4 at the Jefferson Brawl with wins over Englewood and Westminster. …The Eaglecrest girls wrestling team earned a comfortable win over 15 other teams at the Eaglecrest Invitational, while Vista PEAK Prep finished eighth, Overland ninth, Regis Jesuit 11th and Smoky Hill 16th. Twelve Raptors earned top-six places with Chasey Karabell, Gianna Falise and Emma Roberts taking titles. The other champion from a local program went to Regis Jesuit’s Alexis Segura, while Overland (Violet Garcia) and Vista PEAK Prep (Amelia Bacon) each had runner-up finishes and Maddie Patterson led Smoky Hill with a third-place result. …The Smoky Hill girls swim team accrued 185 points to tie for second place behind Columbine at the Denver East Invitational meet at Manual High School. Mya Noffsinger finished second in the 500 yard freestyle and Cameryn Walkup was the runner-up of the 100 butterfly to lead the Buffaloes.
FRIDAY, DEC. 8: Five players from the Eaglecrest boys basketball team scored in double figures in a 90-63 home win over Rampart. LaDavian King tallied 21 points, followed by Garrett Barger with 15, Lucas Kalimba with 13, La’Quince York with 12 and Sir Devin Roberts 10. … Alante Monroe-Elazier scored 19 points, but the Vista PEAK Prep boys basketball team struggled at the free throw line in a 54-52 loss to Mead in a championship semifinal at the Erie-Mead Tournament. … The Regis Jesuit boys basketball team earned another win in Arizona with a 79-54 defeat of Peoria as Eric Fiedler went for 28 points. …A 79-37 loss to Horizon put the Gateway boys basketball team in sixth place in the final standings of the Fairview Festival. …Despite a 21-point outing from Breven Anderson, the Grandview boys basketball team fell to visiting Mountain Vista 62-48. …The Overland girls basketball team picked up another lopsided win with a 63-21 home victory against Golden behind the double-digit trio of Seilani Relford (15 points), Destiny Moore (14) and Michaela Halton (13). …The Eaglecrest girls basketball team bounced back for a 43-32 win over Castle Vista at the Wildcat Classic as Shyann Farbes led the way with 13 point and Brooklyn Bickerstaff added 11. …The Rangeview girls basketball team outscored Poudre 11-6 in the final quarter of a 34-30 win at the Battle of the Rockies tournament. …Hana Belibi had 19 points, Iliana Greene 16 and Coryn Watts 14 as the Regis Jesuit girls basketball team fell to Mary Louis Academy (New York) 67-59 at the She Got Game Classic. …Fabrisio Nunez, Carlos Garcia Robles and Mario Dominguez picked up wins by fall as the Aurora Central boys wrestling team topped Lutheran 42-27. …In a match that featured 11 total pins in 14 matches, the Vista PEAK Prep boys wrestling team topped Northfield 57-24. Adrian Pacheco, Ian Bacon, Tytus Hettich, Marcus Johnson, Caleb Summey, Kent Luft and Jason Leadens won by fall for the Bison. …Vincent Cieslak scored two goals, Jonathan Crowell had two assists and Easton Sparks had nine saves as the Regis Jesuit ice hockey team topped Ralston Valley 4-1 and celebrated its Teddy Bear Toss to boot. …Owen Kulcewski had the lone goal for the Cherry Creek co-op ice hockey team in a 4-1 loss to the Poudre School District.
THURSDAY, DEC. 7: Archie Weatherspoon V tallied 22 points, while Royce Edwards added 19 for the Rangeview boys basketball team in an 85-46 victory over Regis Groff. …Eric Fiedler (19 points), Alec Roumph (18) and Damarius Taylor (16) paced the Regis Jesuit boys basketball team to a 68-46 win at Valley Vista in Arizona. …Sienna Betts poured in 35 points as the Grandview girls basketball team rolled to an 84-53 win over Windsor in its first game in Colorado. Ava Chang added 15 points and Lexi Yi 10. …The Regis Jesuit girls basketball team visited Mt. Zion Prep Academy in Maryland and dropped its first contest of the season 59-45 despite Hana Belibi’s 19 point and 14 for Iliana Greene. …The Eaglecrest girls basketball team dropped a 51-36 decision to host Fruita Monument at the Wildcat Classic as Shyann Farbes was the lone Raptor in double figures with . …The Grandview boys wrestling team blanked Adams City 79-0 in a dual match that included only one win by forfeit. Kyle Menuez, Graeson Streit, Braxton Widrikis, Nehemiah Quintana, Andrew Krutzsch, David McCurdy, Dylan McMahon, Preston Baker, Marcus Nesbitt and Leland Day all won by fall. …The Eaglecrest boys wrestling team topped Cherry Creek 69-11 in a Centennial League dual in which Blake Saddler, Ethan Diaz, Damian Payan, Alijah Gabaldon, Ethan Johnston, Thayne Lundy and Braden Conroy contributed wins by pin. …Richard Carrier, Cayden McNellis, Daniel Lantz, Ryan Curran and Durrell Barber recorded wins by fall for the Regis Jesuit boys wrestling team in a 64-13 home Continental League dual win over Heritage. …The Overland boys and girls wrestling teams both dropped dual matches to visiting Douglas County (42-21 in boys and 48-18 in girls), while Smoky Hill visited Sterling and wrestled two competitive duals before falling 43-36 in boys and 24-18 in girls. …Amari Unitt recorded a pin by fall in a 144-pound match to put the Aurora Central boys wrestling team on the scoreboard in a 71-6 dual loss to Horizon.
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 6: The Eaglecrest boys basketball team didn’t light up the scoreboard the same way as in its first three games, but had all it needed for a 68-52 road win at Heritage. LaDavian King’s 24 points paced the Raptors, while he was joined in double figures by Sir Devin Roberts with eight. …The Gateway boys basketball team earned a spot in the consolation championship (fifth-place game) at the Fairview Festival with a decisive 66-33 victory over Battle Mountain in a consolation semifinal. …The Cherokee Trail boys wrestling team downed visiting Regis Jesuit 58-24 in a local matchup that saw 12 of 14 matches contested. Cooper Matthews, Jay Everhart, Nathan Maestas, Chance Matthews, Matteo Garreffa, Michael Collins and Mohamed Benbelkacem won by fall for the Cougars, who also got a major decision from Scott Stevens. Raiders who had their hands raised were Richard Avila, Daniel Lantz, Ryan Curran and Garrett Reece, all of whom recorded pins. …Caleb Maez, Toka Saenz, Jesse Vargas and Jonathan Pineda Fuentes all picked up wins by fall for the Rangeview boys wrestling team in a 43-30 dual loss to Rock Canyon. …Eaglecrest downed both Vista PEAK Prep (53-18) and Severance (36-24) in a girls wrestling tri-dual on the Bison’s home floor. … The Rangeview girls swim team earned a 125-40 win over Hinkley in a dual meet that saw the Raiders sweep relays and claimed firsts in 11 of the 12 events. Hailey McDonald and Shemiah Turner won two events apiece for Rangeview, while Kateland Rodriguez claimed Hinkley’s only event.
TUESDAY, DEC. 5: Christopher Perkins made two free throws inside the final and the Aurora Central boys basketball team held on to defeat visiting Englewood 49-47. Perkins had a team-high 16 points for the Trojans, while Bishop Dankyi added 12. …Five players scored in double figures for the Smoky Hill basketball team in an 85-62 win at Kent Denver that saw the Buffaloes take command after falling behind by four points after one quarter. Carter Basquez had 15 points to lead Smoky Hill, while Damian Dirden, Kaylan Graham and Kevin Sylla had 14 apiece and Ray Gasaway 12. …The Vista PEAK Prep boys basketball team opens the Erie-Mead Tournament with a 94-64 victory over Greeley Central behind the trio of James Brown III and Alante Monroe-Elazier — who scored 19 points apiece — and Kyree Polk, who added 18. In another first round game at the same tournament, Hinkley fell to Erie 60-36. …The Cherokee Trail girls basketball team limited Chaparral to single digits in each of the first two quarters and rolled to a 66-30 road win. …The Regis Jesuit girls basketball team paid a visit to Colorado Academy and came away with a 74-39 victory in a contest that saw Hana Belibi go for 18 points, while Coryn Watts had 14, Jane Rumpf 13 and Mallory Neff 12. …The Overland girls basketball team rode a 22-point effort from Seilani Relford and also got 10 from Aziza Abdur-Razaaq on its way to a 66-5 win at Gateway. …The Eaglecrest girls basketball team played its first game in Colorado after four in California and cruised past Prairie View 64-28 on the road with Amaia Jones and Shyann Farbes tied for team-high honors with 15 points apiece. ..Alayna McClain poured in 18 points, Leslie Garcia added 12 and Jamaea Johnson Gonzalez added eight for the Aurora Central girls basketball team in a 52-33 home win over Englewood. …The Smoky Hill girls basketball team dropped the opener of the Centaurus Invitational by a 61-18 count to the host Warriors.