Prep notebook: F-FC’s Jones released from hospital following surgery
Fountain-Fort Carson sophomore running back Q Jones was released from a local hospital late Saturday, two days after he underwent surgery to set broken fibula and tibia bones in his left leg following a season-ending injury against Regis Jesuit.
Jones faces 6-8 weeks in a cast and, following rehab, should be ready for spring track and summer lifting, according to Trojans football coach Jake Novotny.
“He’s in good spirits and thinking about his teammates, and he wants to be at the game next week and is already talking about when he can be in the weight room, working out for next season,” said Novotny, whose team faces city rival Doherty on Friday. “The kids are resilient and handling it well.”
Jones had rushed for 1,396 yards and 16 touchdowns heading into the contest, including six games with 100-yard efforts.
Early exit has Palmer Ridge field hockey thinking big things in 2019
Being a defending state champ provided different pressures for Palmer Ridge and first-year coach Mallory Cuccio during the recently completed field hockey season.
The Bears went 8-4-3 during the regular season and earned a No. 5 seed in the eight-team postseason but lost at No. 4 Colorado Academy, 4-0 on Saturday.
“We’ve never had that target on our backs, and it was a totally different mindset,” said Cuccio, a 2012 Lewis-Palmer graduate and former Palmer Ridge player and assistant coach under longtime coach Paul Lewis, who stepped away after the Bears won the state title in 2017. “I think we did all right, but we didn’t finish like we wanted to. The girls did a great job and battled through adversity. Next year, I’ll know what to expect, and the girls will know my style and there won’t be that transition.”
According to Cuccio, the Bears will lose only three seniors to graduation.
State boys’ soccer brackets to be unveiled Monday
Brackets for the four divisions of boys’ state soccer will be released Monday.
The 12-team 2A field and 32-team brackets in 3A, 4A and 5A will be based on final placement in the Ratings Percentage Index following the 15-game regular season.
As of Sunday, defending 4A state champion Air Academy (13-1-1) had the top RPI in 4A, while Atlas Prep (14-0-1) was No. 1 in 3A. Fountain Valley (11-4) was No. 2 in 2A.
The postseason starts Wednesday, when 2A and 4A play first-round games, followed by opening-round games in 3A and 5A on Thursday.
Liberty Common (3A) and Broomfield (5A) are the other defending state champions.
Norris-Penrose, Bear Creek Park host state cross country on Saturday
The west side of Colorado Springs will become the epicenter of the cross country world Saturday when the state’s best converge on Norris-Penrose Event Center and Bear Creek Regional Park for the state cross country championships.
The 3A boys’ race starts the day at 9 a.m., and seven events will follow, ending with the 4A girls’ competition at 2:20 p.m.
Palmer Ridge (4A) and TCA (3A) claimed team titles in the boys’ divisions a year ago, as did Lyons (2A) and Mountain Vista (5A). Defending girls’ teams champs are Mountain Vista (5A), Battle Mountain (4A), Peak to Peak (3A) and Nederland (2A).
File, The Gazette