CCSD Athletics: Highlights from the week of Jan. 20, 2025
6A Basketball: Eaglecrest bests Smoky Hill in league showdown
The Eaglecrest Raptors boys basketball team got a big win over A-Town rival Smoky Hill at a packed Nest on Jan. 25. The final score was Raptors 70, Buffaloes-50. EHS was led by senior Anthony Nettles with 15 points, and senior La ‘Quince York, who had 14 points in the win. Smoky was paced by junior Carter Basquez who had a game-high 18 points. Sophomore Jai Jegede poured in 14 points for the Buffs. The game was tight throughout, with Eaglecrest leading by 2 at the halftime break, and by 4 after three quarters of play. But the Raptors pulled away in the fourth, outscoring the Buffs 24-8 on the way to their 13th win of the season, with only two losses. The Raptors also beat Grandview in the Centennial opener last Wednesday. Smoky Hill opened league play on Jan. 22 with a win at Cherry Creek. The Buffs are now 7-8 overall, and 1-1 in Centennial League play. Next, on Jan. 29, the Raptors host Cherry Creek, and Smoky is on the road at Cherokee Trail.
In other league games, Overland improved to 2-0 in the Centennial with wins at Mullen on Wednesday, and a 61-50 home win over the Bruins on Saturday. The Blazers (6-9 overall, 2-0 in the conference) will next host Arapahoe on Wednesday evening. Cherry Creek (5-9, 0-2) lost the conference-opener to the Buffaloes last Wednesday, and then fell to Overland on Saturday. CCHS will try and get back into the win column as they travel to Eaglecrest on Jan. 29. Cherokee Trail split league games last week, losing at Arapahoe, and then getting over the .500 mark with a close 58-56 win at Grandview last Saturday. The Cougars, (8-7, 1-1) will host Smoky this Wednesday. The Wolves (7-8, 0-2) also fell to Eaglecrest in the Centennial opener, and are on the road at Mullen on Jan. 29.
6A Girls Basketball: Grandview rolls on
For the girls, Grandview leads the way, going 2-0 to start league play last week, with wins at Eaglecrest and at home against CT. The Wolves (12-3 overall, 2-0 in the Centennial) will be at Mullen on Jan. 29. Cherry Creek was also 2-0 in conference play last week, besting Smoky hill at home and Overland on the road. The Bruins (10-5, 2-0) will be on the road at Eaglecrest on Wednesday evening. The Raptors (10-5, 1-1) split Centennial games last week, losing at home against Grandview, and winning at Smoky Hill this past Saturday. Next, EHS will host Cherry Creek on Jan.29. Cherokee Trail (9-6, 1-1) was also 1-1 last week, winning at home against Arapahoe and falling to Grandview on the road. CT will next host Smoky Hill this Wednesday. Overland boasts an 11-4 record overall, but fell to 0-2 in the conference with losses to Creek and Mullen last week. The Blazers will next host Arapahoe on Wednesday evening. Smoky Hill fell to 0-3 in league play, losing to the Bruins and Raptors last week. The Buffs (4-11, 0-3) are at Cherokee Trail on Jan. 29.
5A Boys Wrestling: Grandview and Cherokee Trail lead the way
It was a big week for the Grandview boys grapplers as the Wolves had significant wins in league events.
Last Wednesday, third-ranked Grandview hosted No. 7 Cherokee Trail in a Centennial showdown. The Wolves trailed early, but wins in the higher weight classes saw Grandview prevail with a 49-27 team win over the Cougars. The Wolves had nine victories (one by forfeit) to CT’s five.
The Wolves and Cougars also finished 1-2 in the Centennial League Championships held last Saturday at Arapahoe High School. Grandview finished with 246.5 points in the overall team standings, with CT coming in second at 190 points. Eaglecrest finished third, Cherry Creek fourth, Smoky Hill fifth and Overland eighth.
In individual performances, Wolves’ sophomore JR Ortega was champion at 113 pounds, senior Graeson Streit took first at 132 pounds, sophomore Braxton Widrikis got the win at 144 pounds, junior Jonathan Montes Gonzales was victorious at 150 pounds, junior Gunner Lopez was champion at 157 pounds, senior Charlie Herting won at 175 pounds, sophomore Oz Nowick took top honors at 215 pounds, and sophomore Leland Day was the champion at 285 pounds.
For the Cougars, sophomore Cooper Mathews was champion at 120 pounds, senior Chance Mathews prevailed at 138 pounds, and senior Mateo Garreffa won at 190 pounds.
Eaglecrest senior Alijah Gabaldon was champion at 126 pounds and Smoky Hill senior Dashawn Jenkins was champion at 106 pounds.
Girls Wrestling: Eaglecrest paces the Centennial Championships
The Eaglecrest Raptors girls wrestlers took first-place team honors at the league championships at Arapahoe High School on Jan. 25. Overland was third, and Smoky Hill finished fourth.
Individually, Raptors junior Sofie Ghasabyan was the champion at 100 pounds, freshman Jayden Schwabauer won at 105 pounds, junior Sydney Babi took top honors at 110 pounds, freshman Tatum Debelak prevailed at 115 pounds, junior Lily Homant was victorious at 120 pounds, junior Jordan Heibult earned champion at 125 pounds, senior Bailee Mestas won at 130 pounds, senior Alaysia Ornelas was the champion at 135 pounds, and freshman Maxime Lantz won at 140 pounds,
State Regionals are approaching and will be held at various sites on Feb. 7-8.
5A Ice Hockey: Mixed results for district teams
Ice hockey teams from the Cherry Creek School District had their ups and downs last weekend.
On Jan. 24, Grandview fell on the road to Ralston Valley at the Apex Center in Arvada. The final score was 8-1. The Wolves couldn’t overcome a 4-0 first period deficit, and their lone goal came in the second period. Cherry Creek got off to a 2-0 lead early over rival Regis Jesuit at Family Sports, but the Raiders outscored the Bruins 4-1 in the final two periods to take the contest 5-3.
Saturday saw better performances by the two district clubs, as the Bruins rebounded and took down third-ranked Valor Christian. Cherry Creek got out of the box fast, taking a 3-0 lead to the first intermission, and managed to hold on for the 7-5 win. Creek (8-4-2) hosts Denver East at South Suburban on Jan. 31 and is on the road to take on Monarch on Feb. 1 at Blue Sport Stable in Superior. On Jan. 25, Grandview had a nice comeback on the way to a 5-5 tie with visiting Standley Lake at Big Bear Ice Arena. The Wolves (1-11-1) were down early by a score of 3-1, but outscored the Gators 4-2 the rest of the way for the tie. Next, Grandview is on the road to play Lewis-Palmer next Friday in Monument, and then hosts Dakota Ridge on Feb. 1 at Big Bear.
Girls basketball photo courtesy Courtney Oakes, Sentinel Colorado.
Posted 1/27/2025.