Colorado Preps Weekly

Less than three weeks remain in the 2020-2021 athletic year and the champions of Season D will start being crowned this weekend. Girls tennis leads the parade, as the State tournament gets underway on Friday.

Fort Morgan will have representation at the Class 3A meet after Olivia Wolff earned the Region 4 title for #2 singles. Ashley Anderson and Kaitlyn Bell are the alternates for #1 doubles, while Ali Guerrero and Allie Lauck (#2 doubles alternates) and Raelynn Carlock and Rebecca Bratrsovsky (#3 doubles alternates) also had very good runs at Regionals.

Girls golf will be busy with regionals this week. Class 3A's Region 2 field was on the links on Monday at the South Suburban course in Parker. Washington County (Akron/Otis) was in that region. Holyoke, Yuma, Wray and Brush were set to the Estes Park Golf Course as part of Region 3 on Thursday. Kit Carson, Burlington, Lamar, Trinidad, La Junta, Rye, Fowler and Swink are part of the Region 1 field that tackled Hollydot on Wednesday.

Fort Morgan was the lone are team competing in Class 4A, and they were part of Region 3. That was played on Monday at Highland Hills in Greeley. State golf for all classes is slated for June 21-22.

Class 1A baseball finished its regular season last weekend and district play is set for this weekend. The top two finishers in each of the five districts will qualify for next weekend's regional round, as will two wild cards. The State championship is set for June 23.

All of the remaining classes will wrap up regular season play this weekend, with 3A-5A beginning regionals next Monday. Class 2A will wait until next Tuesday to begin and will play its championship contest on June 26. The bigger schools will crown champions June 25-26.

Merino finished the regular season with the best record in Class 1A, posting a 14-1 mark. The Rams will enter the postseason having won 13 straight games. They've outscored their opponents 194-37 and their only loss came against 2A Wray (6-1). They'll be one of the favorites in District 5, along with Caliche and Haxtun.

Holly and Eads head into District 5 play as the favorites, but Cheyenne Wells, Stratton and Granada can't be counted out. Stratton owns a win over Eads and also one over Granada, while Cheyenne Wells played Eads close in a doubleheader and also earned wins over Stratton and Granada.

The Class 2A field will be set by RPI, with 24 teams making the bracket. Wiggins entered this final week of regular season action #11 in that metric, while Burlington was #18 after dropping two one-run games to #21 Yuma last week. That sweep, plus a split with Sedgwick County, may have been enough to get the Indians into the field.

There will be plenty of drama this week, as teams 23-29 were only separated by .030 in the standings. That group includes Fowler, Sedgwick County, County Line and Rocky Ford, among others.

The Class 3A bracket will also be seeded by RPI, with the top 24 making the field. Lamar (7) and Brush (9) are both safely in the regional field. Sterling entered the week 21st, riding a five-game winning streak. Wins over Resurrection Christian on Monday and University on Wednesday would solidify the Tigers' bid for the postseason.

Fort Morgan found itself in pretty good position at the beginning of the week, with the Mustangs sitting 20th in the Class 4A RPI. The Mustangs stopped a two-game skid by blanking both Greeley West (2-0) and Northridge (6-0) last Saturday. Briggs Wheatley drove in both runs in support of Jesse Campa in the first game. Campa went the distance, recording a four-hit shutout. Frank Ortega got the win in game two, with his defense turning five double plays behind him.

Girls soccer reaches the end of its regular season this weekend, with State play for classes 3A and 4A beginning on June 16th. Class 2A doesn't get underway until June 19th, when all classes reach the quarterfinals. Semifinals will be conducted June 23, and the finals in all classes will go down on June 26th at Colorado Switchbacks Weidner Field in Colorado Springs.

Only eight teams will qualify in Class 2A, and Lamar headed into the final week well out of the playoff picture. While a number of metrics go into determining the field in each class, the Savages were 23rd in the RPI on Monday.

Sixteen teams qualify in classes 3A-5A, again using multiple data points to set their respective fields. Sterling was 37th in the 3A RPI to begin the week, while Fort Morgan was 46th in 4A.

Track and field continues to power its way through the regular season, and the combination of warmer weather and improved conditioning, has led to better performances across the area. Last week, it is believed that Yuma junior Clay Robinson established a new 2A record in the 200 meter dash. Robinson clocked in at 22.15 seconds at the Platte Valley meet.

State track and field is set for June 24-26th.