Colorado Preps Weekly

The last few weeks have brought a lot of challenges for area athletes, with the wind remaining at the forefront. Still, the competitors have been digging deep and continue to turn in noteworthy performances.

While the same names continue to appear on the girls golf leaderboards, the competition at each event has become even more fierce. Rye was able to wrestle the Santa Fe League title away from defending champion Swink last Thursday, behind top 10 finishes from Paige Hyatt (second), Emma Garcia (third), and Abbigail Sammons (seventh).

Swink took second in the event, with Kinzie Ensor adding another individual crown to her season haul. Five teammates posted personal bests, as Teagan Summers (10th), Jade Hunter (11th), Lydia Ballantyne (19th), Olivia Preston (24th) and Rainy Weber (30th) all established new low rounds. Emma Hanagan helped the team with a 12th place finish.

Fowler tied Swink for second in the team standings, but wound up third on a tiebreaker. The Grizzlies had three golfers in the top 10, led by Jacelyn Hagerman in fourth. Alyssa Maestas was sixth and Andrea Maestas claimed eighth.

Earlier in the week, Swink claimed the title at the Lady Savage Invitational held in Lamar, edging Rocky Ford and Fowler for the top hardware. Ensor was the lone participant to break 100 on that very blustery day.

Most of the programs from the northern part of the region got their only action of the week in on Monday, when they converged upon Wray. The fight for the top spot in the team standings was intense, with Washington County posting a 291 to beat Holyoke by six strokes.

Holyoke's Emma Thompson tied for the low individual with Mary Dracon from Washington County, as both shot a 92. Thompson got the gold in a tiebreak. Dracon's teammate, Kendall Velder, was four shots back, claiming third in a tiebreaker with Brush's Macie Doherty. Anna Marie Schaal from Burlington rounded out the top five, as the freshman was the final contestant to post double figures with a 98.

High winds last Tuesday caused the pole vault competition at the Bill Kalb Invitational hosted by Yuma to be postponed until Friday. For Yuma's Nash Richardson and Ryan McCaffrey from Akron, the worth was definitely worthwhile. Both cleared 12-02 to finish first and second, respectively. Ivan Losa from Akron was third. In the girls' event, Lone Star went first and second, with Alivia Weathers and Lamya Kuntz each clearing 8-08.

One of the most watched events during the meet on Tuesday was the boys 100. Yuma's Clay Robinson continues to gear up for the postseason, as he won the spring in a time of 11.17 seconds. Haxtun speedster Kyle Fryrear was second with a career best 11.32, while Omar Perez from Wiggins was third in 11.44 seconds. Perez won the 200 in 23.83 seconds.

Wiggins sophomores Cade Green and Isaac Reed went 1-2 in both the 800 and 1,600 and then they did it again in the 3,200 for good measure. Mohamed Ibrahim won the discus, but was relegated to second in the shot by rival Bryant Schoenthal from Wray. Those two would put on a show on Saturday at the Terry Amundson Invitational at Byers, Where Schoenthal established new meet records in both throws, edging out Ibrahim for the top spot. Laith Ibrahim took third in both events.

It was the girls relays on Tuesday that drew the most eyes on the track. Sedgwick County took the 400 and 800 relays in thrilling fashion. The Cougars just eked past Strasburg to win the 400 event by .07 seconds. They were just under one second faster than Merino in the 800.

That was one of two second place finishes for Merino in the relays, as they also came in just behind Wiggins in the sprint medley. The Rams would stand atop the podium in the 3200 relay, as they finished ahead of Burlington and Stratton. Burlington won the 1600 relay.

In the individual events, Strasburg freshman Peighton Marrero was the lone double champion, as she won the 300 hurdles and the triple jump. Burlington's Trinitee Holmes continued her strong season in the high jump, as she cleared 4-11 for the win. Linda Esser (long jump) and Corey Koellner (shot) gave Holyoke two champions in the field events. Haxtun's Cassidy Goddard led the field in the discus.

Sterling and Fort Morgan spent a chilly Friday afternoon at the NOCO event hosted by Valley. Emerie Rios collected the lone gold for either program, as she won the triple jump. Sterling would claim seventh in the team race for girls and eighth in boys. Consistent efforts across the board helped the Fort Morgan girls finish fourth. The boys were 10th.

There were nine “elite” performances at the aforementioned Terry Amundson Invitational on Saturday. All were in throwing events. Schoenthal's winning efforts were all good for the MileSplit US Second Team standard, as were those of the Ibrahim brothers in the disc. Lamar's Alee Tice, who won the shot and placed second in the discus, along with Koellner (shot) and Lauren Herman (Holyoke) and Zadie Mackey (Elbert) in the discus, surpassed the second team standard. Mackey set a new meet record in the discus.

The smaller schools in the southeastern corner spent Saturday at the Tri-League in Holly. Cheyenne Wells won both team titles, as the girls edged McClave by 10 points and the boys finished well in front of second place Granada. The Tigers boys were powered by their relays, which swept the 400, 800, 1,600, and 3,200. Granada's John Hainer swept the shot and discus, while also winning the thrower's 55 meter dash. Keaton Marriott from Kit Carson took both hurdle events.

Shaylee Scheler from Cheyenne Wells duplicated that feat in the girls meet and the Tigers posted wins in two relays, while also getting a win from Izzy Trevino-Lopez in the thrower's 55. Cheraw had two athletes become double champs, as Delanie Bond won the 100 and 200 and Abby Provost took both shot and discus.

Two of the top Class 1A baseball teams will meet in Akron on Friday, as Merino and Holly will square off on the neutral field. Those two met in the state semifinals last season, with Holly claiming a 9-1 victory on its way to the championship. The Wildcats ran their winning streak to 10 straight with a 17-2 thumping of La Veta last week. They have a single contest with Manzanola on Tuesday and will also face Akron on Friday. Merino had its long winning streak snapped in a 6-3 loss to Haxtun on Saturday.

Cheyenne Wells picked up an important sweep of Eads on Friday, moving the Tigers into second place behind Holly in the district. The Tigers earned a 7-6 walk-off in game one, when Carson Noe's sac fly scored Keaton Marriott with the winning run. Cheyenne Wells kept things rolling in game two, scoring 10 in the bottom of the first, en route to a 17-2 victory.

Rye and Limon both bring 10-game winning streaks into this week. They are the only two unbeatens left in Class 2A. The Thunderbolts rolled John Mall 21-1 and 21-0 on Friday, as their pitchers allowed a total of five hits in the doubleheader. Limon trailed Yuma 4-0 after one inning on Thursday, before scoring nine in the top of the second. The Badgers would go on to earn a hard-fought 13-9 victory. Rye will host Limon next Tuesday.

Class 3A saw three big clashes in the area last week, beginning with Lamar hosting Brush on Monday. Brush scored in each of the first four innings, including three in the second, and led 7-3 going to the sixth. The Beetdiggers added three more in that frame and went on to claim a 10-6 victory. Cesar Hinojos homered for Brush and Ryker Ratcliff left the yard for Lamar.

Brush then hosted league rival Sterling on Thursday in the first of a home-and-home series. Sterling struck for three in the first and three in the seventh, while scattering five more runs in between, earning an 11-3 win for the Tigers. Easton Wilson homered for the Tigers, and Jake Gordon drove in four runs. Ty Griffith hit one out for the Diggers.

The return contest on Saturday saw the Tigers walk it off in the eighth, 4-3. They trailed 2-0 heading into their final at bat, but came up with a two-spot to tie it. Brush regained the lead in the top of the eighth, but they could not hold on. It was the 11th straight win for the Tigers.

It was a tough week for the Fort Morgan Mustangs in Class 4A, as they were swept in a home-and-home by Northridge. The Mustangs allowed 10 unearned runs on Tuesday in a 17-12 loss to the Grizzlies. They would allow nine more unearned runs on Thursday, as the Grizzlies came back from a 12-9 deficit after five innings to score a 14-13 victory.