Colorado Preps Weekly

The winter sports season came to an exciting close last weekend, with the State basketball championships. A lot of history was made, with individual milestones, as well as program firsts.

In the Class 1A girls tournament, Lone Star took home the consolation championship, in the first tournament appearance for the Lady Longhorns. After falling to Briggsdale in the opening round, Lone Star bounced back to eliminate Sangre de Cristo on Friday. Alivia Weathers went over 1,000 career points in the win, and she also put her name in the state record book, with 16 assists. That is third all-time for a single game. She's the program's second leading scorer, all-time. Alison Davis was on the receiving end of a lot of those helpers, as she went for a career-high 32 points.

Lone Star's win in the consolation championship contest, 40-35, came against Cheyenne Wells, who was making the program's first appearance in 44 years. The Lady Tigers (known as the Tigresses at the time) reached the tournament in each of the first three years that girls basketball were sanctioned by CHSAA, 1976-78. Their consolation semifinal win over Dove Creek was the first for the program since finishing second in 1978.

Fleming brought home third place, as the Lady Wildcats defeated McClave 46-28 on the final day of the tournament. Fleming handed Sangre a loss in the opening round, but fell 57-27 to rival Briggsdale in the semifinals. Senior Sam Pope suffered an ankle injury early in that contest, but returned to see action in the closing minute. Her teammates elected her to receive the trophy for the squad.

Briggsdale was seeking its first State title in program history, but their bid came up short, as Flatirons Academy went back-to-back, taking the championship contest 52-43. The loss did not come without some excitement, as Jenna Krise hit a 55-foot buzzer beater to end the third and get the Lady Falcons within three going into the fourth.

Holyoke won its first State title in the Class 2A tournament, taking down Dayspring Christian (33-30), Limon (45-34) and Sanford (39-34) on their way to the crown. Kristin Vieselmeyer scored 38 points over the three games and Lauren Herman recorded a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds in the title game.

Limon saw its chance to bring home hardware end in the third place game, as Rye hit a buzzer beater of its own. Trailing 55-54 in the closing seconds, Rye broke the hearts of the Lady Badgers with the game winner. Wiggins, who also represented the area, went through a dry spell in its opener against Sanford and eventually fell 49-30. The Lady Tigers were ousted on Friday by Cedaredge, 54-37.

Lamar's journey through the Class 3A bracket led to a Great 8 meeting with top-seeded Platte Valley, the defending champion. The Lady Savages fell behind 18-4 in the first quarter, and they could not overcome the slow start. Their season ended with a 51-29 loss. Platte Valley went on to win its second straight title by defeating league rival University in the championship contest.

McClave took its first title in Class 1A boys since 2013, as the Cardinals went through Caprock Academy (66-58) and Sierra Grande (53-35). They then dominated Merino in the final game, setting off a frenzy with the 61-36 victory on Saturday. The lone senior on the roster was Italian exchange student, Riccardo Cazzaniga, who was one of four Cards in double figures in the title game.

Merino got into the title game by upsetting #2 Evangelical Christian 38-37 in the opening round. Derrick Alber, who once picked off four passes in a football game, came up with the biggest interception of his career, as he came up with the game clinching steal in the final seconds. The Rams outlasted Granada, 54-45 in the semis.

Granada bounced back from that disappointing loss and took third place by defeating Sierra Grande 63-61 on Saturday. The Bobcats let a 15-point third quarter lead disappear and they trailed 61-60 with five seconds to play. Brandon Gonzales, who had hit three three-pointers in the first half, got loose and buried the go-ahead three. Sierra Grande had one last shot at hardware, as their standout senior Isiah Chairez launched a 30-footer at the buzzer. It hit front iron and bounced off, giving the Bobcats the win.

Yuma took its third Class 2A title in the last five years, as the Indians dominated Lotus School (63-42) in the opening round, before holding off Denver Christian in the semis, 59-49. They met Sanford in the finals, and after only leading 11-10 at the end of the first quarter, Yuma took control with a 19-8 second. They would go on to take the win by a 59-43 count. The Indians won their final 20 games of the season and finished 25-1 overall.

Wray sent a second piece of hardware back to Yuma County, as the Eagles rebounded from a heart-breaking 53-51 double overtime loss to Denver Christian in the opener. The Eagles crushed Lotus School 72-31 in the conso semis and then escaped Peyton in the consolation championship, 42-40.

Limon, who sent Crowley County into the consolation side of the bracket on the opening day of the tournament (41-29), came up short in the semifinals against Sanford, falling 44-40. The Badgers squared off against Denver Christian in the third place contest on Saturday. It was the third meeting of the year between the two squads, with each having won once going into the rubber match. Limon would find itself in another tight contest, and once again, they came up four points short, 41-37.

Sterling was attempting to send coach Mike Holloway out with another State title in Class 3A, as the Tigers' leader had already announced that his 19th season in charge of the program would be his last. The Tigers needed another monster effort from Jackson Kiel in the quarterfinals, as they were pushed to overtime by Manual. Kiel went for 42 points, helping the Tigers to a 63-56 victory. Aspen would end the dreams of a story book ending, as the Skiers avenged their lone loss from last season by bouncing Sterling 49-43 in the semis. Sterling still sent its mentor out on a high note, as they hit 23 threes in an 80-60 win over St. Mary's in the third place game. Bray Swenson hit eight of them to tally 24 points and Kiel added six in his game-high 26 points.

Spring sports are underway, with baseball and track dealing with last week's snow storm forcing a number of cancellations. Warmer weather is on tap for the early part of this week, but Mother Nature could cause issues again this weekend. Most baseball teams won't see their first action until next Monday or Tuesday.