AURORA | A look back at some of the key games, tournaments and happenings in Aurora prep sports from Sept. 12-Sept. 18, 2023:
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
THE WEEK PAST IN AURORA PREP SPORTS, 9.12-9.18.23
MONDAY, SEPT. 18: The Regis Jesuit boys tennis team completed an undefeated dual season with a 7-0 sweep of Boulder at Colorado Athletic Club Monaco. All seven lines won in straight sets for the Raiders, who finished 11-0 and now await placement in the Class 5A state dual tournament bracket, which will be released Sept. 25. …The Eaglecrest and Cherokee Trail softball teams played to a 5-5 tie through six innings before impending darkness caused the rest of the game to be suspended. Megan Drugan homered early for the Raptors, who had a two-run lead through four innings until Kennedy Brian drove in Kylie Twilt and then scored on an overthrow for the Cougars. …Sasha Kennedy and Ashley Miller each had three hits and scored three times and Kristin Gallego had three RBI among the highlights for the Grandview softball team in a 15-4 win over Cherry Creek at Village Green Park. …Bentley Sutherland-Arreola had a hat trick to help the Cherokee Trail boys soccer team to a 5-0 win over visiting Chatfield at Legacy Stadium. …The Rangeview boys soccer team rolled past Dakota Ridge 7-1. …Mikiyas Regassa scored three goals to lead Lotus School For Excellence boys soccer team to a 10-0 win over Weld Central. …The Grandview boys tennis team swept Eaglecrest 7-0 in Centennial League play.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 16: Ashlyn Pallotta of Regis Jesuit crossed the finish line first among 156 total runners in the girls cross country race at the Metro State Invitational at Washington Park and teammate Erika Danzer finished fifth. Jade McDaniel-led Cherokee Trail earned top team honors among locals in the girls standings in sixth. …The Cherokee Trail boys cross country team cruised to the Metro Roadrunner Invitational team title behind McKay Larsen, Dylan Smith and Brady Smith, who finished 3rd, 4th and 6th, respectively. Fourth-place Regis Jesuit had the Nos. 3 and 5 finishers in Braeden Focht and Caleb Aex. …Cesar Romero had two goals and Giovanni Herrera also tallied for the Aurora Central boys soccer team in a 3-1 home against Overland. …The Rangeview girls volleyball team — which was led in kills in each match by Maddie Kilmer — finished 3-1 at the Regis Groff Tournament. … The Eaglecrest girls volleyball team dropped all four of its matches — two in three sets — at the annual Eaglecrest Invitational. ...Smoky Hill and Eaglecrest finished first and second, respectively, at the four-team Doherty Invitational boys tennis tournament.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 15: The Regis Jesuit girls volleyball team swept Highlands Ranch 25-14, 25-16, 25-23 in Continental League competition. Madelyn Hannam had nine kills to lead a balanced attack, while Lucy Tricco had 18 assists, 12 digs and three aces for the Raiders.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 14: After a number of close calls, the Vista PEAK Prep girls volleyball team finally got in the win column with a 25-23, 25-13, 25-21 win over Skyview that saw Amelia Bacon record eight kills. Mindy Allred added five kills and three aces. …The Hinkley girls volleyball team kept on rolling with a 25-9, 25-4, 25-11 victory over Aurora West College Prep to stretch its win streak to six matches. …The Overland girls volleyball team prevailed over visiting Gateway 25-21, 25-15, 25-17 in a matchup of city programs. …The Eaglecrest girls volleyball team roared back from a two-set deficit against Arapahoe, but the Warriors prevailed with a 25-13, 25-19, 19-25, 18-25, 15-9 victory. … Kassie Cooley had four kills and five blocks, but the Cherokee Trail girls volleyball team fell to Mountain Vista, which prevailed 25-14, 25-23, 25-22. …Two second-half goals — one apiece for Marcelo Ruiz and Derek Seymour — landed the Cherokee Trail boys soccer team a 2-0 road win at Pine Creek. …Despite a goal from Cesar Romero, the Aurora Central boys soccer team fell to undefeated Legacy 2-1. …The Gateway boys golf team posted the lone team score to win the Colorado League major tournament at Thorncreek G.C. Ronan McNeal and Colt Wenzel finished first and second, respectively, individually for the Olys.
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 13: Chessa Reid had three hits and three RBI, Kaitlyn Hendrian drove in two runs and Briahna Gallegos pitched five effective innings as the Eaglecrest softball team edged Cherry Creek 9-8. …Abby Anderson had three hits, while Kylie Twilt and Kiki Pryor drove in two runs apiece as the Cherokee Trail softball team downed Smoky Hill 16-1. Nikiah Light went 2-for-2 and drove in the Buffs’ only run. …Jaya Gray doubled three times among four hits and drove in three runs, while Amara Herrera plated four runs with three hits (two doubles and a triple) as the Vista PEAK Prep softball team cruised to a 20-5 City League win over Kennedy. …Natalie Shellhorn’s two doubles, home run and 3 RBI performance wasn’t quite enough as the Regis Jesuit softball team fell to Heritage 10-8. Anna Najmulski also drove in three runs for the Raiders. …The Overland co-op gymnastics team earned a socre of 171.900 points to finish in between Palmer Ridge (177.125) and Cherry Creek (162.125) in a three-team meet. Ainsley Renner finished a close second in the all-around competition, while Kyla Burke posted the meet’s best score on the balance beam (9.350) for the Trailblazers.
TUESDAY, SEPT. 12: Monster matches for Emerson Deferme and Savannah Adams helped the Grandview girls volleyball team defeat Mountain Vista 25-17, 19-25, 25-17, 25-23. Deferme had 14 kills, 10 digs and six blocks, while Adams finished with 13 kills and 10 digs and Ashley Harkness had three aces and 32 assists for the Wolves. … Ashlie Gonzalez-Lima was credited with 23 digs, Mayte Vaca Rios had 11 assists and Desiree Hairston five aces in the Hinkley girls volleyball team’s 25-9, 25-16, 25-14 win over Manual. …Mindy Allred’s 13 kills and five aces weren’t enough for the Vista PEAK Prep girls volleyball team, which saw Elizabeth take a 25-17, 23-25, 24-26, 25-22, 15-6 victory. …Anthony Cecena-Cervantes and Cesar Romero had two goals apiece and Giovanni Herrera also tallied as the Aurora Central boys soccer team won a 5-2 road game at Vista PEAK Prep. …Jack De Simone had half for the Regis Jesuit boys soccer team’s goals and Ian Liu and Stefan Zehnacker scored in the Raiders’ 4-0 win over ThunderRidge. …Abdu Ahmed and Jaznuary Torres had goals for the Overland boys soccer team in a 2-2 tie with Columbine. …Oliver Given made four saves and the Smoky Hill boys soccer team played to a scoreless tie with unbeaten Fossil Ridge. …Madison Jaramillo had three hits and was one of four players to drive in runs, but the Grandview softball team fell to Legend 6-5. …Lotus School For Excellence finished third in the boys cross country standings at the Denver West Cowboy Classic meet with help from runner-up Biruk Begashaw. Kimi Bulto finished seventh for sixth-place Rangeview. …The Denver West Cowboy Classic girls cross country race saw Eliana Wright’s sixth-place individual finish help Rangeview to sixth. …The Smoky Hill boys tennis team defeated Mullen 5-2 in Centennial League play with George Robin, Pravinh Jaine and Lucas Smolenski pulling off a singles sweep. …The Regis Jesuit boys tennis team downed Mountain Vista 6-1 in Continental League play, winning all matches save No. 1 singles. …The Grandview boys tennis team swept past Overland 7-0. …The Cherokee Trail boys tennis team suffered its first dual loss as it fell to Arapahoe 6-1. The No. 4 doubles team of Edward Tay and Kunj Patel earned the win for the Cougars. …Vista PEAK Prep finished sixth in the City League Cup boys golf tournament played at Kennedy G.C. The Bison’s top result came from Connor Angelini, who shot 85 to finish 14th. …The Smoky Hill field hockey team scored first on a goal by Katie Keating, but Liberty rallied for a 2-1 victory.