As all winter sports begin competition this week, we’ll highlight contests and athletes to watch this season.

Below is a list of a few notable competitors and events taking place.

Athletes to watch

Boys basketball

Bryce Riehl, sr., Mesa Ridge – Riehl hit 88 3-pointers as a junior, the most in Colorado, and averaged 17.6 points. Riehl scored a career-high 30 points in the championship game against Windsor to help lead the Grizzlies to back-to-back titles.

London Praytor, sr., Liberty – The 7-foot Toledo commit averaged 14.9 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.2 blocks last season for the Lancers. Praytor also operated as a sharpshooter for the Lancers and hit 51 percent of his 3-pointers last season.

J’twane Mike, sr., Palmer – Mike closed his junior campaign hitting double figures in 11 of the Terrors’ final 13 contests. Mike also led the Terrors in steals and averaged 2.2 per contest.

Matthew Lebron, jr., Banning Lewis – After scoring 14 per game as a freshman, Lebron’s average jumped to 23.9 ppg his sophomore year at James Irwin. Now, at Banning Lewis, Lebron hopes to push the Stallions to the 3A title game.

Jackson Weber, sr., Palmer – Weber served as the Terrors’ third leading scorer last season with 11.4 points per game. Weber shined as Palmer’s floor general and averaged 6.4 assists per game, which led 5A and was ninth in the state.

Jeilo Hamenyimana, jr., Harrison – Hamenyimana had a solid freshman year for the Panthers and averaged 7.5 points. As a sophomore, Hamenyimana more than doubled that output and scored 16.5 and was Harrison’s second leading scorer.

Blake Marshall, sr., Pine Creek – The Eagles’ lethal shooter led the team in most statistical categories including: points per game (16.9), field goal percentage (46), rebounds per game (6.5), blocks (.6), 3-point percentage (41). Marshall also led the Eagles in free throw percentage (95) and finished the year 56 for 59 at the stripe.

Girls basketball

Kinley Asp, jr., Air Academy – The two-time state champion at Colorado Springs Christian School transferred to Air Academy for her junior season. In two years at CSCS, Asp averaged 14.3 points, 5.8 assists and 4.2 steals. In 53 games for the Lions, Asp scored in double figures in all but eight contests.

Brooklyn Stewart, sr., Pine Creek – The Oklahoma commit had her best season statistically as a junior. Stewart averaged 20.8 points, 12.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.7 steals, which were all career highs.

Tatyonna Brown, sr., Air Academy – Brown averaged 13.2 points per game and 9.4 boards for the Kadets as a junior. The Kansas commit scored in double figures in 18 games and was 11th in Colorado in double-doubles with 11.

Leekaya Burke-Perryman, sr., Pine Creek – Burke-Perryman averaged 5.4 assist last season which was eighth in the state. Burke-Perryman also poured in 14.1 points per game for the Eagles and 2.1 steals per contest.

Lydia Flowers, sr., Air Academy – As a junior, Flowers improved her points per game average by nearly seven points from her sophomore campaign. Flowers scored 17.1 ppg last season and hit double figures in all but four contests.

Brooklyn Kaiser, sr., Vista Ridge – Kaiser needs just 8 points to reach 1,000 for her career. The senior averaged 16.8 as a junior and scored a career-high 31 last season against Rampart.

Jaela Pedro, jr., St. Mary’s – Pedro averaged 5.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks as a sophomore, which both led the team. Pedro was the Pirates’ second leading scorer and totaled 325 points.

Boys wrestling (Rankings come from On the Mat and Inside Colorado Wrestling unless otherwise noted)

Griffin Rial, sr., Pine Creek – Rial earned the 5A 120-pound title for the Eagles at Ball Arena last season. Rial amassed a 45-5 record as a junior and enters this season ranked No. 1 at 132.

Robert Joseph Meza III, sr., Falcon – Meza finished 44-8 as a junior and earned a 4-1 decision win in the 4A 120-pound finals at state to earn the title.

David Burchett, jr., Falcon – After building a 49-2 record and earning state title as a sophomore, Burchett will start the season ranked No. 2 at 157 pounds.

Jack Doughty, sr., Cañon City – The Tigers senior placed second at state in 2024 at 175 pounds and, this year, holds the top spot at 190 to start the season.

Elijah Banks, sr., Pine Creek – Banks will start the year No. 3 at 138 and placed third in the weight class during last year’s state championship tournament. Banks built a 38-10 record in his junior campaign.

Damien Reyes, sr., Mesa Ridge – After a third-place finish at the state championships in his junior year, Reyes will start the year ranked second in 4A at 138 pounds following a 39-6 record last season.

Angel Fernandez, jr., Widefield – The Gladiators junior earned third at state in 2024 at 106. Fernandez makes the jump to 120 this season and enters the season ranked fourth.

Girls wrestling

Katey Valdez, sr., Doherty – Valdez missed most of her junior year with a torn meniscus and ACL in her right knee. But Valdez is No. 1 in Flowrestling’s Class of 2025 ranks and is 19th in the nation in Flowrestling’s pound-for-pound rank. The Spartan senior is also No. 2 at 100 pounds.

Hayden Newberg, sr., Vista Ridge – The Wolves’ stoic wrestler finished 45-2 en route to a state title at 120 pounds and holds the top spot at 135 to start the year.

Kate Doughty, sr., Cañon City – Doughty holds the top spot at 130 pounds to start the year after the Tigers senior finished as a runner-up at 130 pounds in 2024.

Amaya Hinojosa, jr., Widefield – After a second-place finish at 115 pounds as a freshman, The Gladiators wrestler missed her sophomore campaign with a shoulder injury. Hinojosa enters this season ranked third at 120 pounds.

Myka Martinez, jr., Widefield – Martinez earned runner-up at 145 pounds last season, but enters the year with the top spot in the weight class after finishing 32-7 as a sophomore.

Girls swimming

Madison Mintenko, sr., Pine Creek – The No. 4 swimmer in the nation has a final season to terrorize her competition in the pool. The Virginia commit helped the Eagles earn their only two state swim titles in school history and clocked in at 1 minute, 45.93 seconds in the 200 freestyle and at 4:44.75 in the 500 freestyle at state, both 4A state records.

Samantha Synsvoll, sr., Cheyenne Mountain – Synsvoll won the 200-yard IM as a junior and finished in at 2:05.03 during the state swim meet. The Denver commit nearly captured the 100 yard backstroke crown but fell .18 seconds behind Pine Creek’s Isabella Burton during the finals race at state and earned a time of 56.30.

Ice hockey

Duke Pingrey, sr., Rampart – Pingrey finished the year with 728 saves for the Rams in 731 minutes between the pipes and had 88 goals against for the season.

Events to watch

Boys basketball

Lewis-Palmer at Mesa Ridge, 7 p.m. Dec. 20

The Rangers and Grizzlies enter the year ranked fourth and fifth, respectively, in CHSAA’s pre-season 5A poll.

Mesa Ridge is coming off back-to-back 5A titles and has lost just two games in the past two seasons.

Vanguard at Banning Lewis, 6:30 p.m. Jan. 10

The Stallions’ dream season ended in the 3A semifinals after the Coursers defeated Banning Lewis 55-45 to advance to the title game.

Vanguard and Banning Lewis split the season series 1-1 with the Stallions earning a 56-50 win in the regular season.

Their matchup will be the second of four consecutive road games for the Coursers.

Girls basketball

Pine Creek at Air Academy, 7 p.m. Jan. 9

To say this is a star-studded matchup is an understatement.

The Eagles have Brooklyn Stewart and Leekaya Burke-Perryman while the Kadets boast Tatyonna Brown, Lydia Flowers and Kinley Asp.

Pine Creek is 11-2 all-time against Air Academy, but the two schools have not played each other since February 2022.

Wrestling

Battle of the Best tournament, Dec. 6-7

Pine Creek will welcome 24 teams to its annual tournament and have a stacked list of invitees.

Ponderosa, Pomona, Cherokee Trail, Thompson Valley, Chatfield, Mesa Ridge, Widefield and several other schools will head to Pine Creek to compete in the two-day tournament.

Alpha Female tournament, Jan. 11

Vista Ridge has 30 teams slated to compete in the annual all-girls wrestling tournament. Ponderosa, Pomona, Coronado, Doherty, Chatfield and several more will be featured at the competition.

2025 COS Metro Wrestling Championships, Jan. 17-18

Fountain-Fort Carson’s Trojan Arena will feature the area’s top boys and girls wrestlers in the two-day tournament.

The tournament occurs about three weeks prior to regionals and offers the chance for local competitors to scale their potential opponents.

Ice hockey

Palmer Lake Outdoor Classic, 6 p.m. Jan. 4

The third annual hockey spectacle will see Pine Creek attempt to defend its crown against its competition.

This year’s tournament features defending champions Pine Creek, Lewis-Palmer, Chatfield and Grandview.