AURORA | There was no shortage of action as the spring prep sports season continues to make a fast push for the finish line.
Sentinel Sports Editor Courtney Oakes gives a quick look at the happenings in one of the busiest and nearly last weekends of the season:
CHEROKEE TRAIL BOYS TRACK TEAM CRUISES TO REPEAT AS 5A CHAMPIONS, EAGLECREST RELAYS RISE
The Cherokee Trail boys track team collected points from just about everywhere over three days at Jefferson County Stadium and nearly doubled up the second place team when the Class 5A meet concluded Saturday. Junior Peyton Sommers won championships in the 100, 200 and 400 meter dashes to make the meet extra memorable, but the Cougars were special in a lot of places on their way to the program’s fourth all-time state title. Eaglecrest won state championships in the 4×100 and 4×400 relays to finish off the meet in style, while a small Overland team had two individual state champions (Jarrius Ward in the discus and Wondame Davis Jr. in the long jump) and finished fifth with just three individuals and relay qualified for the meet.
GRANDVIEW’S GABRIELLA CUNNINGHAM GOES OUT ON TOP, EAGLECREST RELAY DOMINANCE CONTINUES AT 5A GIRLS STATE MEET
A stellar prep career for Grandview senior Gabriella Cunningham came to a conclusion on the final day of the Class 5A girls state track meet Saturday at Jefferson County Stadium, as she swept the 100 and 300 meter hurdles championships. The final day of the meet also saw the Eaglecrest team of Tatum Gratrix, Anaya Ewing, Jaylynn Wilson and Zenobia Witt win the state title in the 4×100 meter relay to go with the crown they collected in the 4×200 — which the Raptors ruled for a third straight season — while Witt finished as a three-event winner after she took the long jump on the opening day. Cherokee Trail’s Kaeli Powe was the only triple jumper to pass the 40-foot mark on her way to a state title.
CHEROKEE TRAIL, GRANDVIEW, REGIS JESUIT MAKE 5A BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
The Eaglecrest baseball team had the win of the weekend, as the No. 32-seeded Raptors knocked out Class 5A No. 1 Fossil Ridge in the opening round of Region 1 play Saturday in Fort Collins, but then ran into rival Grandview in the championship game. The 16th-seeded Wolves — who won a 14-inning marathon in its regional opener — came out on top to secure the spot in the 5A Championship Series. Also among the eight teams headed to the double-elimination tournament are No. 2 Regis Jesuit (which won two games on its home field Friday) as well as No. 11 Cherokee Trail, last season’s 5A runner-up who came out of Region 6 play after a walk-off win over Brighton.
REGIS JESUIT STOPPED IN 5A BOYS LAX SEMIS
The Regis Jesuit boys lacrosse team came off a victory over second-seeded Cherry Creek in the Class 5A state quarterfinals, but the seventh-seeded Raiders couldn’t get past No. 3 Valor Christian in a semifinals Saturday afternoon at Peter Barton Stadium. Senior Dylan Kummer scored three goals for Regis Jesuit in a 13-3 loss to the Eagles, who moved into a Monday matchup with No. 1 Arapahoe for the state title.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
