14ners

Taytum Soppe-Cope, Palmer, sr., girls volleyball – The Terrors logged nearly as many aces (24) as they did kills (25) in their matchup against Sierra and Soppe-Cope led that charge.

In Palmer’s sweep of the Stallions, Soppe-Cope earned a career-high seven aces and had a 92.3 serving percentage. In 2024, Soppe-Cope hit just one ace in 27 sets played and only needed three sets this year to sail past that production.

Gabrielle Sisson, Cheyenne Mountain, sr., softball – Sisson had her best game of the young season in a 18-6 victory over Liberty. The Red-Tailed Hawks senior followed her 2-for-2 outing against Pueblo South with a 4-for-4 outburst against the Lancers to finish back-to-back games unblemished in the batter’s box.

Sisson also finished the contest against the Lancers with five RBIs and a pair of doubles along with two runs.

Will Dunham, Palmer Ridge, jr., boys soccer – Dunham was the “2” in the Bears’ 2-0 victory against Fountain-Fort Carson last week and notched both goals in the second half.

After a scoreless first half between the Trojans and Bears, Dunham scored with assists from Tyler Frank and Liam Doyle to give Palmer Ridge its first win of the year and avenge a 2-1 loss from the Trojans from 2024.

Da’kari Releford, Fountain-Fort Carson, jr., football – One week after setting a career high in rushing yards, the Trojans running back nearly topped his mark.

Releford scored a touchdown and rushed for 136 yards on 17 carries in a 42-7 victory against Horizon and fell 23 yards shy of setting a career best after he ran for 158 in Fountain-Fort Carson’s opener. Releford also returned a kickoff 30 yards.

Logan Aggers, Lewis-Palmer, sr., football – Of the Rangers’ 237 rushing yards Friday, Aggers accounted for more than 60 percent.

The Rangers opened the year with a 30-0 victory over Rampart. Aggers finished the game with 143 yards on 19 carries and added two touchdowns.

Bella Holcomb, Discovery Canyon, jr., softball – Holcomb put her stamp on the Thunder’s 11-0 win over Rock Canyon on Saturday as a pitcher and hitter. In the circle, Holcomb pitched all seven innings, allowed just three hits and fanned five batters.

Holcomb hit her second home run of the season and seventh for her career. She finished 3-for-3 with two RBIs, two doubles and three runs for the Thunder.

Oliver Horton, Coronado, jr., boys cross country – A field of 209 competitors at the Arapahoe Warrior XC Invitational attempted to keep pace with Horton last Friday, but the Cougar’s speed scorched the competition.

Horton earned first place in 14 minutes, 47.8 seconds and finished 36 seconds swifter than the second-place finisher – teammate Xzavier Campos, who clocked a 15:23.5.

Noah Thompson, Lewis-Palmer, sr., boys cross country – The Rangers’ lone representative in the top 49 of the race, Thompson continues to inch closer toward his career-best time.

During last week’s Arapahoe Warrior XC Invitational, Thompson finished with a 15:53.2 for third place. The time is 22 seconds off his best mark of 15:32.48 set during last season’s New Balance Running Lane XC Championships.

Aspen Roberson, Palmer, fr., girls cross country – This is an ideal start to a freshman campaign. In two races, Roberson has earned second and first with the latter coming during the Widefield Cross Country Invitational.

Roberson finished the race in 19:18.10 finishers in the girls’ race consisting of freshmen and sophomores.

Lucy Harris, Air Academy, so., girls cross country – The Kadets runner not only trimmed time from her first race of the year, she bolted up the placement chart.

After she finished 91st at the Cheyenne Mountain Stampede on Aug. 22, Harris placed second at the Widefield Cross Country Invitational at 19:49.10 and the sophomore cut 43 seconds from her initial race.

Michael Tanner, Rampart, sr., boys tennis – Tanner remains effective for the Rams despite a hiatus during last year’s tennis season.

Following a 6-0, 6-0 victory against Widefield’s Dean Herrera in an Aug. 28 dual against the Gladiators, Tanner has built a 3-0 record to start the season and has not dropped a set in three contests.

Jackson Mabe, Palmer Ridge, sr., football – The Bears’ tailback didn’t wait to have his best in the first game. Mabe led 4A’s No. 4 Palmer Ridge and its running attack in a 42-14 win over No. 8 Ponderosa and finished with 176 yards and four touchdowns, both career highs.

As a junior for the Bears, Mabe ran for 406 yards and 16 touchdowns in 12 games. In his opening game as a senior, he’s nearly halfway to last season’s yardage and one-fourth of the way to his touchdown total.

Joseph Ornelas, Peyton, jr., football – Ornelas got into Pinnacle’s backfield so often the Timberwolves should have given the junior a jersey.

Ornelas morphed into a defensive menace in the 39-15 win and finished the game with two caused fumbles and a fumble recovery. The Panthers junior also logged a sack, one tackle for loss and six total tackles.

Sontee Keys, Doherty, sr., flag football – Keys dazzled on the offense for the Spartans in a 33-6 victory over Heritage on Friday that helped give Doherty its first win.

At running back, Keys finished with four carries for 72 yards and a pair of touchdowns. As a receiver, Keys hauled in three receptions for 26 yards.

Exciting finishes

Girls volleyball

Discovery Canyon 3, Colorado Springs Christian 2

The Thunder nearly swept this contest, but found themselves in a 2-0 hole after 26-24 and 28-26 losses in the opening sets.

However, Discovery Canyon bounced back in its final three sets including an emphatic 25-15 win in the third, which was the largest margin of victory for either team Aug. 26. After the Thunder won 26-24 in the fourth, they nipped the Lions 16-14 in the decisive fifth set to pick up their first win.

Junior Aniyah Clore led the Thunder in kills with nine and finished the match with three aces and four total blocks.

Softball

Pine Creek 8, Liberty 7

The Eagles had a cozy 6-2 lead after the fourth inning and watched the Lancers erase it and build a 7-6 lead after the top of the fifth.

Then, with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth, Pine Creek’s Cadey Currin scored on a wild pitch to tie the contest 7-7. Kylie Croyle ended the game with an RBI single that sent Abigail Stenerson home and helped the Eagles move to 5-0.

After a 17-0 win against Lewis-Palmer in the second game of the Trojan Invite, the Eagles improved to 6-0 for the second time in the past three seasons.

Field hockey

Palmer Ridge 3, Cheyenne Mountain 2

Lauren Russo led the Bears’ attack with a pair of goals and a team-high 20 steals in the victory and Addison Cozetto tacked on a goal and nine steals.

The Bears entered halftime with a 2-0 lead over Cheyenne Mountain and, although the Red-Tailed Hawks found the net twice in the second half, Palmer Ridge scored again in the second to keep the opposition at bay.

If you haven’t heard…

Sand Creek softball scores 23 runs on five hits in shutout victory over Palmer

The Scorpions’ first win of the season came in amazing fashion as Sand Creek took advantage of being walked 19 times in their contest with the Terrors.

At the time, Sand Creek had just five runs in two games, but the 23-0 shutout victory gave the Scorpions 28 total through three games. Freshman Lyla Almeida led the Scorpions with two hits and added an RBI. Junior Jaida Moody hit an inside-the-park home run in the top of the second to give the Scorpions their 23rd run and her first homer of the year.

Woodland Park scores 50 in the first, crushes Lincoln 68-0

Before Friday’s game entered the second quarter, the Panthers already had a running clock in their favor, earned one of their biggest wins in school history and wide receiver Nathan Summeril had a Randy Moss-esque night against the Lancers.

Summeril finished with four catches for 91 yards and three touchdowns in Woodland Park’s opener. Not only did Summeril’s numbers serve as career highs, but they nearly eclipsed his offensive output from 2024. As a junior, Summeril finished with five catches for 86 yards.

The Panthers led 50-0 after the first quarter and built a 60-0 advantage by halftime against Lincoln. The Panthers lambasted the Lancers 62-0 in their meeting last year and had 49 points at the break. This is the first time since 2012-13 that the Panthers have won the season opener in back-to-back years.