Colorado Preps Weekly

Wrestling is in the final week of the regular season, with regionals just around the corner. Basketball has one more week of regular season play before the postseason begins.

Lamar's Crystalyn Felan picked up two important pinfall victories during the Yuma Girls Quad last Monday and continues to be a top state contender for a third straight year. Felan has a title and runner-up finish in her first two years.

Brush will be busy this weekend, as the Lady Beetdiggers travel to Bennett on Friday and then host their own quad on Saturday. They were also part of last week's Yuma event.

Rocky Ford dropped a spot in the latest On The Mat rankings by Tim Yount, as the Meloneers entered the week at #7 in Class 2A. That's one place ahead of Crowley County. Everyone is chasing Wray in the standings. Rocky Ford dropped a dual against 3A Lamar 57-18 last Thursday, winning four of the 11 contested weights. Lamar claimed three forfeits.

Burlington earned a 54-12 win over Holly in a dual last Saturday. Each team won two contested matches, but the Cougars claimed forfeits at seven weights to take the victory. Burlington had split with Yuma and Byers last Tuesday at an event hosted by Yuma. The Cougars beat Byers 38-18, but fell to the hosts 48-24.

It was a full week of action on the mats for La Junta, who went 1-2 in the James Irwin Tri last Tuesday, and 1-2 in their own quad on Saturday. The Tigers defeated the hosts 48-22, and fell to Classical Academy (45-30) and Florence (42-36) at the James Irwin event. At home, La Junta dominated Pueblo Central 45-12, but fell to Fowler (34-29) and Lamar (60-12).

On the hardwood, Lamar's girls picked up their third straight win, downing Ellicott 44-37 last Friday. That victory created a four-way tie behind Tri-Peaks leader The Vanguard School, who was the top-ranked team in Class 3A last week. Lamar visited the Lady Coursers on Monday.

Also in 3A, Brush saw its winning streak reach four games, as the Lady Beetdiggers picked up victories over Valley (43-39), Sterling (46-36) and Liberty Common (53-33). They sit one game behind Patriot leaders Platte Valley and Eaton. Platte Valley owns a win over Brush, while the Lady Diggers close the regular season at Eaton.

Rocky Ford enters the week as one of five unbeatens in Class 2A following wins over Swink (43-31), Fowler (35-28) and Crowley County (62-15) last week. The Lady Meloneers are 9-0 starting this week and have outscored their opponents 457-227. They face an important weekend, with a home game against Las Animas on Thursday, followed by road trips to Rye and Kit Carson.

Holyoke is another of those unbeatens and the Lady Dragons took a major step towards winning the LPAA title by beating Sedgwick County 64-44 last Friday. That moved them to 10-0 on the season, with a critical league clash at home against Haxtun on Tuesday. A trip to Wray awaits on Friday.

After winning only four games all of last season, Burlington improved to 7-2 on the year with wins over Wiggins (63-44) and Yuma (52-32). The Lady Cougars visited Wray on Tuesday and will host Flagler on Thursday before hitting the road again, traveling to Byers on Friday.

Kit Carson is one of three perfect teams in Class 1A, as the Lady Wildcats stand at 9-0 entering the week. They are coming off their closest win of the season, 41-35 over Springfield. Before hosting Rocky Ford on Saturday, they were set to visit Cheyenne Wells on Tuesday.

Last Friday's 52-33 win over Kim/Branson gave South Baca the lead in the Ark Valley. The Lady Patriots can lock up the title with a win over Wiley on Friday at home.

A narrow 57-52 loss to Riverdale Ridge last Saturday dropped Fort Morgan's boys to 4-5 in the Class 4A standings. The Mustangs had won three of their previous four outings before that defeat. They were slated to visit Northridge on Tuesday and will host Berthoud on Thursday.

Brush had been unbeaten in Class 3A before falling 66-42 to rival Sterling last Thursday. The Beetdiggers got right back in the win column with a 77-46 road victory at Liberty Common last Saturday. Cesar Hinojos and Tyler Barfuss each had 17 points in that win and Hinojos added 11 boards.

There are two unblemished teams in Class 2A, Limon and Wray and they will meet on Saturday on the Badgers' home court. Limon picked up wins over Merino (52-32) and Strasburg (70-57) last week, while the Eagles downed Hi-Plains (74-35), Flatirons Academy (77-39) and Merino (79-43). Limon has a date with Simla on Friday. Wray hosted Burlington on Tuesday and has an important LPAA clash with Holyoke on Friday.

Cheraw stayed unbeaten on the season with wins over Prairie (47-43) and Wiley (57-35) last weekend. The Wolverines had an important High Plains tilt with Eads at home on Tuesday and will also host league foe McClave on Friday. Cheraw will visit South Baca in non-league play on Saturday.

McClave has been a good story this season. After going winless last year, the Cardinals entered the week at 4-4. They nearly upset Cheyenne Wells last Friday, eventually falling by a 35-30 count. They hosted Hi-Plains in non-conference action on Tuesday and have games with Springfield and Kim/Branson sandwiched around that meeting with Cheraw.