Colorado Preps Weekly

The weather finally cooperated this past weekend and a majority of local athletes took advantage of the warmer conditions to turn in strong performances in several sports. That includes meet and school records falling in track.

Wray's Sydnee Cheek established a new meet record in the pole vault at the Yuma Early Qualifier last Saturday, as she cleared nine feet, eight inches to win the event my more than a foot. Chloe Cure swept the shot and discus for the Lady Eagles, who won the team championship with 152 points, 47 more than second place Yuma. Merino and Sedgwick County were third and fourth, thanks in part to outstanding runs in the relays.

Lone Star's Alivia Weathers, who was second in the pole vault, took an individual title in the triple jump after outdistancing the field by more than 2.5 feet. Krista Wieser gave Idalia a pair of championships, as the freshman won the 200 and 400 meters.

Yuma kept the team title in the boys division at home, after the Indians amassed 186 points. Wray was next with 125. The hosts saw Daman Thornton (400 meters), Beau Tate (110 hurdles, 300 hurdles), Alex Lozano (long jump), Jaxson Lungwitz (triple jump) and Nash Richardson (pole vault) all stand atop the podium.

Bryant Schoenthal won both the shot and discus for Wray, while Kyle Fryrear pulled off the double for Haxtun in the 100 and 200 meters. Kellum Carnahan from Sedgwick County took the 1,600 and 3200 for the Cougars. Weldon Valley's Westin Filter took first in the high jump, clearing six feet, two inches. The senior was also second in the long jump.

As usual, the Lamar Savage Invitational saw a huge turnout on Saturday. Alee Tice won the shot and discus for the home squad, recording distances that met the MileSplit US Second Team standard. The senior won the shot by nearly five feet over teammate Lauren Reyes, while beating the field in the disc by nearly 20 feet.

Shaylee Scheler, a sophomore from Cheyenne Wells, won the 300 hurdles and just missed out on sweeping the hurdles, as she finished second in the 100s. McKenna Notter established a new school record for Stratton in the triple jump, as she finished third with a 32 feet, 2.5 inch performance. Like Scheler, Notter is just a sophomore. Sticking with that theme, Burlington sophomore Trinitee Holmes was second in the high jump, clearing four feet, 10 inches in her first competition in the event since her seventh grade year.

Limon saw Brinlyn Owens pick up four second place finishes in the meet. The junior was eked out in the 100, 400, long jump and triple jump.

It was a good day for the Badger boys, too, as Gabe Schubarth won the long jump, sailing 22 feet, six inches. It was good enough to garner MileSplit US Second Team recognition. Schubarth was second in the 400 and third in the 200.

Branden Davis was in the mix for a double for Lamar, as he won the 1,600 by just over a second and a half, while also finishing second in the 3200. John Hainer of Granada also just missed out on a double victory performance. Hainer won the shot by nearly three feet over Burlington's Keaton Floyd and was second in the discus. One individual who was able to take a pair of titles was Crowley County's Rashaun McNeil, who took the 110 hurdles and the triple jump.

Fort Morgan's ladies performed quite well at the Grizzly Invitational on Saturday. Elena Arteaga took the title in the 400 meters and the Lady Mustangs also stood atop the podium after winning the 1,600 meter relay. Fort Morgan took second in the sprint medley relay and 3200 meter relay and third in the 400 meter relay. Adison Burton grabbed second in the high jump.

Jose Romero Bermudez (400 meters) and Tyler Neal (high jump) were the top individual placers for the Mustangs, with each taking a fourth place finish. Fort Morgan's 3200 meter relay team took third in the meet.

Cheyenne Wells got its first baseball action of the season knocked out last week and the Tigers dominated Manzanola 29-0 and 19-0. Ty Scheler went 4-4 with a double, triple and five RBI in the sweep.

Merino, looking to build upon last season's semifinal run, is off to a 4-0 start, having outscored its opponents 67-1. The Rams have key league doubleheaders with Wiggins on Tuesday and Wray on Saturday.

Holly, who bounced Merino in the State semis last year, dropped its second straight game, falling 11-1 to Peyton on Saturday. The Wildcats were done in by an eight-run third inning. Andre Salgado's bat was a bright spot for the Wildcats, as he collected two of their three hits and drove in the team's lone run.

Seven teams in Class 2A begin the week unbeaten (with at least one game played), with Limon checking in at 5-0. After going 3-0 in the Fowler/Rocky Ford tournament a week earlier, the Badgers took out Stratton (10-1) and Byers (11-1) last weekend.

Keon Bandy hit a three-run homer in the first against Stratton on Friday, which was more than enough offense to support Trey Hines, who went 4.2 innings, striking out seven and allowing one earned run. Bandy drove in four runs in each contest last week, giving him 13 RBI on the season. After Monday's game with Wiggins (also unbeaten), the Badgers will host Peyton, another unbeaten team, on Thursday.

Swink handed Las Animas its first loss of the season, winning 15-4 last Saturday. The Trojans got off to a fast start, pushing three runs across the plate in the bottom of the first, but the Lions, winners of six straight, got four in the top of the second, three in the third, and then eight in the fourth.

Sterling bounced back from a season-opening loss to sweep its way to victory in the Hampton Inn Tournament. The Tigers did not allow a run in their three games, defeating Coronado (21-0), Lamar (10-0) and Fort Morgan (7-0). Fort Morgan had defeated La Junta 11-6 and Bayfield 7-3 to reach the finals. The loss was the first for the Mustangs, who enter this week 6-1.

It's been feast or famine for Brush this season. The Beetdiggers are 2-2, with every game seeing a goose egg on one side of the scoreboard. After falling 1-0 to Fort Morgan in the opener, Brush bounced back to beat Platte Valley 12-0. They then fell to Eaton by the same score. In their last outing, the Beetdiggers blasted Weld Central, 20-0. Ismael Hernandez drove in five runs in that victory.

Girls golf, soccer and tennis are all looking forward to the warmer weather, as many contests in all three sports have been impacted by cold, rain/snow and wind over the first few weeks of the season. One important contest was able to be held last week, however.

While the final result showed Brush falling to Fort Morgan, the Lady Beetdiggers were happy to take the court for the first time as members of their own tennis squad. The student-athletes advocated for the birth of the program, which came to fruition this season.

One final note ... congratulations to all of the individuals who were recognized by the Colorado High School Coaches Association and the Colorado Coaches of Girls Sports, over the past weekend. CCGS held its All-State games on Sunday, while the CHSCA had its annual awards celebration on Saturday. That included the induction of several coaches into the CHSCA Hall of Fame, and recognition of our own Kevin Shaffer, who was the recipient of the Benefactor Award, for all of his contributions to high school sports in our State.