Colorado Preps Weekly

The first set of state championships in Season C will be awarded this weekend, as gymnasts from around the State will converge upon Thornton High School. Class 5A will compete on Thursday and Saturday, while the 4A athletes shine on Friday and Saturday.

Lone Star's Alivia Weathers won the vault competition at the Overland regional, and the junior was in the mix to land multiple spots in the state field, as she also placed third in the floor and second in all-around. Teammate Elizabeth Miller was third in the bars, one spot ahead of Weathers, but based off full regional results, it was going to be a reach for her to qualify. The same is said for Fort Morgan's Aaliyah Palisoc, who was on the fringe in multiple events after a strong outing at the Mountain Range regional.

Last week's snow storm forced CHSAA to extend the regular season for boys’ soccer to Monday, allowing clubs the opportunity to reschedule any contests that were impacted by the weather. Lamar had climbed to #3 in the Class 3A rankings last week and the Savages took an unbeaten record into their regular season finale at Manitou Springs last Thursday. Lamar led 2-1 at the intermission, but was outscored 4-2 in the second half to drop the decision, 5-4. Omar Moreno had two goals, while Josue Avalos added a goal and a helper. Despite the loss, the Savages should still receive a high seed for the championship tournament.

Jovany Rico scored three goals in Fort Morgan's 8-0 win over Berthoud last Tuesday. Victor Mora scored twice and assisted on another tally, while Irving Rubio had a goal and two assists for the Mustangs. With only 16 teams qualifying for the postseason in Class 4A, the Mustangs were on the outside, looking in.

In 8-man football, Hoehne once again flexed on its opponent, blasting Justice 58-0 last Saturday. The Farmers have scored at least 50 points in all four games this season and are the favorite to win the spring crown. They wrap up the regular season on Friday at Las Animas. The Trojans are 3-1 and coming off a bye.

The top volleyball teams continue to make their case for hosting regionals. In Class 1A, #1 Fleming dropped a set to Holyoke on Tuesday. It was only the third set the Wildcats lost in 11 matches. Second-ranked Simla was pushed to five sets on Saturday by Kit Carson, before pulling out the win. That matched the number of sets Simla had dropped all season. Third-ranked Stratton/Liberty escaped a five-set match with Genoa-Hugo/Karval last Tuesday. The Knighted Eagles have only lost six sets all year.

Fleming has tough match-ups this final week of the regular season, first against Merino and then the defending 3A champs, Sterling. Stratton/Liberty will be favored in matches against Hi-Plains and Cheyenne Wells. The match that could have the biggest impact in postseason seeding takes place Saturday between Wiley and Springfield. Wiley won an earlier match-up 3-1, but both teams enter the week with just one loss, and each could be in line to host a regional next weekend.

In Class 2A, Wiggins bounced back from a 3-1 loss to Merino two weeks ago to down Limon in three sets last Tuesday. The Tigers then beat Sedgwick County in four and Caliche in three last Friday in a triangular. They close out the campaign on Friday against Platte Valley.

Fowler leads the Santa Fe race and can lock up the league title with wins over Hoehne and Rye this week. The Grizzlies, who faced Alamosa on Tuesday, have not lost to a 2A opponent this year, with their losses coming against Manitou Springs and Lamar.

Four teams entered the week unbeaten in Class 3A, but only one has been truly unbeatable so far this season. Lamar came into the week 11-0, with a 33-0 mark in sets played. Sydney Dunning (156) and Fernanda Merancio (152) have combined for more than 300 kills to date. The Savages had home clashes with James Irwin (Monday) and Banning Lewis Academy (Tuesday) to open the week, and will close out the regular season at Vanguard on Thursday.

Sterling's quest for a second straight title gained steam, as the Tigers took a five-match winning streak into this week. Only one of those five wins went more than three sets. They hosted Frontier Academy on Tuesday and visited Valley on Wednesday. The Tigers will be at Fleming in the regular season finale on Friday.

Despite playing very well last week, Fort Morgan only went 1-3. The Mustangs dropped a five-setter to Niwot on Monday, followed by a four-set loss to Mead that same night. They bounced back to take a three-set sweep of Severance on Tuesday, but could not maintain that momentum in a five-set loss to Frederick on Thursday. The Mustangs began the week just out of a postseason spot. They closed out the regular season with road trips to Roosevelt on Monday and Greeley Central on Tuesday.