AURORA | A look back at the key games, tournaments and happenings in Aurora prep sports from Aug. 27-Sept. 2, 2024:
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
MONDAY, SEPT. 2: No contests were held due to the Labor Day holiday.
SATURDAY, AUG. 31: Several local girls volleyball teams wrapped up play at the Chaparral Showcase tournament played at the Gold Crown Fieldhouse. Cherokee Trail defeated Eagle Valley and Ponderosa, while Regis Jesuit split two matches (with a win over Eagle Valley and five-set loss to Ponderosa), while Grandview and Smoky Hill lost their matches. …Lowisyo Hoyos scored his second goal of the game with just over six minutes remaining and the Overland boys soccer team held on for a 3-2 win over Bear Creek in its long-awaited season opener. Adonis Mitchell also scored for the Trailblazers, while Francisco Banuelos, Ernest Darko and Yaman Khudhair had assists. …The Regis Jesuit boys soccer team rolled to a 10-1 win over Arapahoe at the Arapahoe Warrior Invitational as Charles Sharp had a hat trick and Sebastian Campos and Jack De Simone each added two goals. De Simone dished out five assists as well as the Raiders finished 2-0-1 at the tournament. …Sybella Trevino, Kaitlyn Hendrian, Callie Johnson and Alyssa Vallejos all homered as part of a 17-hit attack for the Eaglecrest softball team in a 16-3 win at Vista PEAK Prep. Zaya Elliott added three hits and was one of 10 players with at least one RBI for the Raptors. Nayely Duran, Nia Mathis and Lauren Reed drove in runs for the Bison. …Brooklyn Heil homered and drove in three runs, while Madison Jaramillo and Leah Graves both finished 3-for-4 and combined to score four times in the Grandview softball team’s 12-2 win at Chaparral. Kamaya Soniea-Harris scattered seven hits over five innings to earn the win. …The Smoky Hill girls flag football team split two games in a tournament played at Mountain Range. …The Cherokee Trail boys tennis team won the Amy Howe Memorial tournament, which also included host Smoky Hill, Eaglecrest and Rangeview. No. 3 singles player Clark Deleeuw and the No. 3 doubles team of Ali Minhajuddin and Dillon Ray and No. 4 doubles duo of Daniel Demyanovich and Edward Tay won brackets for the Cougars, which had finalists in five of seven positions. The Buffaloes were three points behind in second place with five finalists of their own, while the lone bracket championship came from Devan Naastad and Lucas Smolenski at No. 1 doubles. Eaglecrest finished sixth. …Macie Parsons and Katie Rasure each scored two goals and had an assist as the Regis Jesuit field hockey team rolled to a 7-0 win at Pine Creek. Isabel Golding had a shutout with four saves.
FRIDAY, AUG. 30: Cherokee Trail, Grandview, Regis Jesuit and Smoky Hill girls volleyball teams began play in various brackets of the Chaparral Showcase at the Gold Crown Fieldhouse and finished a combined 2-6 on the opening day. …Izzy Becker homered and drove in two runs and Kennedy Brian knocked in three runs with her three hits as the Cherokee Trail softball team topped Elizabeth 7-5. Emma Rice earned the win with 3 2/3 strong innings of relief with four strikeouts. …The Eaglecrest softball team scored in all five at-bats on its way to an 11-1 win at Regis Jesuit in a local matchup. Zaya Elliott earned the win as she allowed three hits and a run in four innings, while she joined Chessa Reid, Sybella Trevino and Briahna Gallegos (who had two RBI apiece), Callie Johnson and Jordyn Stilley with two hits. Elsa Pederson knocked in Regis Jesuit’s lone run. …Braeden Focht of the Regis Jesuit boys cross country team finished as the runner-up in the boys varsity race at the Arapahoe Warrior Invitational at deKoevend Park, while Cherokee Trail led four local teams with a third-place finish. Focht ran a time of 15 minutes, 50.50 seconds, to finish 10 seconds off the pace, while Dylan Smith’s 11th-place finish in 16:50.20 paced the Cougars. Cherokee Trail’s Jade McDaniel earned a 23rd-place finish in 20:14.00 to lead locals in the girls race, which saw the Cougars finish in 11th place. …Delaney Sitzmann threw for 116 yards and two touchdowns, while Naala Barnes had two interceptions for the Regis Jesuit girls flag football team in an 18-13 loss at Valor Christian.
THURSDAY, AUG. 29: The Aurora Central girls volleyball team took Montbello all the way to the end, but the Warriors prevailed 25-23, 21-25, 24-26, 26-24, 15-11. …Sebastian Campos scored twice, while Charles Sharp had a goal and an assist in the Regis Jesuit boys soccer team’s 4-0 win over Lutheran at the Arapahoe Warrior Invitational. …In a matchup of local boys soccer teams off to strong starts, Vista PEAK Prep earned a 2-0 win at Smoky Hill with goals in each half. …Felipe Prieto Suarez had two goals and Eliu Ibanez Espinosa also scored as the Rangeview boys soccer team outlasted Douglas County 3-2. …The Lotus School For Excellence boys soccer team scored three goals in the opening half and four more in the second half of a 7-0 win over William Smith. …Gavin Quinn scored in the second half and Abner Valdelamar Jimenez made three saves as the Grandview boys soccer team played Fossil Ridge to a 1-1 road tie. …The Aurora Central boys soccer team scored twice in the second half to forge a 2-2 tie with Montbello. …The Aurora Central softball team scored six times in the bottom of the seventh inning for a 27-26 walk-off win over Jefferson Academy. Juliana Marquez drove in six runs, Stephanie Gomez had four RBI and America Castro played three for the Trojans. …Emma Rice struck out nine batters in three innings and went 3-for-4 with an RBI to help the Cherokee Trail softball team to a 14-2 win over Denver South. Kennedy Brian had three hits, while Icela Ciocarlan homered and drove in three runs among highlights for the Cougars. …The Overland boys tennis team earned a 7-0 dual match victory against Rangeview. …Without its regularly lineup in place, the Regis Jesuit boys tennis team topped Highlands Ranch 6-1 in a Continental League home dual match. The Raiders won all matches save for No. 1 singles. …The Regis Jesuit field hockey team topped Mountain Vista 3-1 at Laber Field as Isabel Nichols, Macie Parsons and Amina Pope scored goals and Hailey Cornell had two assists.
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 28: Maddie Kilmer amassed nine kills, six service aces, 17 digs and 21 assists to help the Rangeview girls volleyball team outlast Northfield 18-25, 25-22, 22-25, 25-16, 15-10 in City League play. Anika Davison added 14 kills and 13 digs and Shylin Collins had 10 kills for the Raiders. …Leah Graves pitched five hitless innings as the Grandview softball team defeated Regis Jesuit 13-1 on the road. Sasha Kennedy tripled, stole four bases and scored three times and Macy Hemstreet went 3-for-4 with an RBI for the Wolves, while the Raiders’ run came home via error. …Despite a rushing touchdown from Maria Gutierrez Benitez and a passing score between Nevaeh Flores Duran and Clementine Uwamahoro, the Aurora West College Prep Academy girls flag football team dropped an 18-12 contest to Mountain Range. …Ivy Daniel threw for 104 yards — 57 to Tierra Goodgain — but the Grandview girls flag football team dropped an 18-0 contest to Chaparral. …In a dual match between boys tennis teams that came into the season ranked No. 1 in two classifications (Regis Jesuit in 5A and Kent Denver in 4A), the Raiders earned a 5-2 win in their first home match. Blake and Sebastian Wright won matches at Nos. 2 and 3 singles, respectively, while Regis Jesuit’s doubles wins came at the No. 1, No. 3 and No. 4 positions. …The Cherokee Trail boys tennis team earned a 7-0 sweep of Legend that saw the Cougars win every set played. …Ainsley Renner earned a score of 37.100 points to easily top the all-around competition in the tri-meet between the Overland gymnastics team with visiting Heritage and Rock Canyon. Renner had the top score in all four events to help the Trailblazers to a score of 175.050, while Heritage finished at 152.925 and Rock Canyon at 150.350. Ali Padgett had three top-three finishes and Audrey Cox two for Overland.
TUESDAY, AUG. 27: The Cherokee Trail girls volleyball team defeated Douglas County 25-18, 25-23, 25-14 with help from Kassie Cooley’s eight kills and Avery Krause’s 22 assists. …Lillian Grimble had seven kills and six service aces, while Audrey Robbins racked up eight kills for the Smoky Hill girls volleyball team in a 25-12, 25-15, 25-21 sweep of Mountain Range. …Jordyn Campbell and Jayci Fifita were each credited with eight service aces apiece as the Vista PEAK Prep girls volleyball team downed Gateway 25-8, 25-11, 25-10. …Madelyn Hannam had nine kills, while Sophia Capra added five and joined Lucy Tricco (18 assists) with eight digs as the Regis Jesuit girls volleyball team swept Columbine 25-21, 25-15, 25-18. …Brandom Funez scored twice as the Gateway boys soccer team rallied for a 3-1 road win at rival Rangeview. The Raiders scored first on a goal by Luis Castro Morales. …Elliot Kaganer scored the tie-breaking goal in the second half on an assist from Andreas Karpouzos as the Smoky Hill boys soccer team downed Doherty 1-0. …The Vista PEAK Prep boys soccer team started strong and finished off a 5-2 road win at Aurora Central. … Peter Eugenio, Joshua Kim, Stephen Solomonik and Isaac Wells had goals for the Cherokee Trail boys soccer team in a 4-0 win over Chaparral. …Jack De Simone’s first half tally was it for the Regis Jesuit boys soccer team in a 1-1 tie with Ralston Valley at the Arapahoe Warrior Invitational. Charles Sharp had the assist. …Briahna Gallegos allowed one hit and struck out seven in three innings, while she was 3-for-3 with 3 RBI for the Eaglecrest softball team in a 15-2 win over Denver South. Kaitlyn Hendrian drove in four runs with her three hits, while Zaya Elliott and Callie Johnson drove in two runs apiece. …The Grandview softball team got outhit 10-9, but topped visiting ThunderRidge 12-7 as Leah Graves and Brooklyn Heil homered. Maddie Heinrich and Macy Hemstreet had two RBI apiece, while Monroe Donaldson went 3-for-4 and also drove in a pair. …The Overland softball team doubled up Aurora Central 20-10 with help from a home run and seven RBI game from Elina Relford, while Michaela Halton had four hits and scored five times. Stephanie Gomez went 2-for-4 and Yoselin Reyes Rosales scored three times for Aurora Central. … Amara Herrera, Kaydence Maes and Rylie Camarillo had three hits apiece and Nia Mathis homered and drove in three runs as the Vista PEAK Prep softball team downed Denver North 9-6. …The Rangeview girls flag football team split two games at All-City Stadium with a 35-0 win over Kennedy and 13-10 loss to Denver West. …The Overland boys tennis team earned a 7-0 sweep of Hinkley. …The Regis Jesuit field hockey team blanked Dakota Ridge 3-0 to open the season. …Grandview’s Michael Rosman and Cherokee Trail’s Dalton Sisneros each shot 3-under-par 69 to tie for second at the Centennial League boys golf tournament played at Foothills G.C. Carter Guy Hays (Grandview), Eaglecrest’s Gregory White and Smoky Hill’s Reece Nuwash each shot 70 as part of a three-way tie for sixth place. Cherokee Trail paced locals in the team standings in third place. …The Vista PEAK Prep boys golf team finished seventh and Rangeview eighth in the City League tournament played at Murphy Creek G.C. Casey Nesbitt had the lowest score for the Bison with an 87, while Wyatt Sandness shot 95 for the Raiders.
