As the final days of January approach and postseason looms for winter sports, competition heats up as teams and athletes jockey for position in their respective arenas.

In the Pikes Peak region, several notable contests will occur in the coming days. Below are a handful of those matchups.

Five contests to watch

Thursday

Girls swimming and diving

Discovery Canyon at Pine Creek, 4 p.m.

The Eagles are 5-0 in dual competitions and have placed first in a pair of meets. As the state tournament approaches, the 5A Eagles look to trim those times and boost scores with just over three weeks left in the season.

Discovery Canyon aims to remain strong as 3A’s reigning state champs with a Thunder squad chock full of talented competitors.

Alaia Sloan owns the best individual time in each event for the Thunder and will face a loaded Pine Creek roster that features five swimmers who own the Eagles’ best marks. Discovery Canyon also has Brielle Thompson, the Thunder’s best diver who has cleared 260 points twice this season.

Pine Creek boasts Danika Warren, the Eagles’ talented diver who was one of two freshmen to place in the top 12 at 5A state diving last year.

Ice hockey

CSD11 vs. Cheyenne Mountain, 7:30 p.m. (Ed Robson Arena)

The Red-Tailed Hawks look to bounce back after a 5-1 loss to Valor Christian on Saturday and face a hot District 11 team that has won six of its last seven games.

Colorado School District 11 scored a season-best 14 goals in a 14-0 win against Woodland Park on Jan. 6 and has 54 total goals in its past seven contests.

Since a 5-2 loss to Pine Creek, the D11 conglomerate has outscored its opponents 16-5. But Cheyenne Mountain rarely allows offensive outbursts.

The Red-Tailed Hawks allow less than three goals per night and, aside from Summit’s five goals and Pine Creek’s six, only one opponent – Colorado Academy – has three goals in a game against Cheyenne Mountain.

Friday

Girls basketball

Falcon at Sierra, 5:30 p.m.

A battle of defense vs. offense will ensue as the Falcons and Stallions compete.

The Falcons feature Cobelyn Wisner, who averages 18.6 points per game and has scored 11 or more in all 13 matchups she’s played. When the Falcons faced Sierra at home Jan. 24, Wisner scored a game-high 18 points and added five assists and four steals.

The Stallions have Deja Burns, Sierra’s blocking machine who is 22^nd in the nation and fourth in Colorado at 5.5 blocks per game.

Burns has at least two blocks in all 15 games and when the Stallions last faced the Falcons, she finished with three.  

Saturday

Colorado Springs Christian at St. Mary’s boys and girls basketball

Girls at 5 p.m.

The all-time record between two of the Pikes Peak region’s top 3A girls teams is 16-15 in favor of the Lions. CSCS has owned this rivalry the past three years and has an eight-game winning streak against the Pirates.

Colorado Springs Christian beat St. Mary’s 50-35 to close February 2025 and Rose Ross, then a sophomore, scored a game-high 15 points and added eight rebounds, four assists and four steals.

Now a junior, Ross leads the Lions in points and steals at 16.1 ppg and 6.3 steals. Ross had a season-high 28 points in a win against Buena Vista on Jan. 15 and dropped 22 on Florence on Jan. 17. Jordyn Rollins is second on the team with 13.8 points per night and steals at 5.9.

For the Pirates, after an 0-3 start, they’re 6-5 ahead and are 6-2 since Dec. 5. Jaela Pedro leads the Pirates with 16.2 points and 8.6 rebounds. Sophomore Kylie Nail is also a lethal scorer and is second behind Pedro at 12.6 points and leads St. Mary’s with 3.7 assists.

Boys at 6:30 p.m.

Prior to their matchup, the Pirates are 9-2 a year after a 16-9 finish and two seasons removed from a 9-15 mark in 2024.

The Pirates average just under 66 points and have four players over 10 points per game with Jeremiah Starr (14.5), Cruz Artaechevarria (13.4), Michael Trechter (10.7) and Kisean Dawson (10.2) shouldering the scoring load.

But the Lions boast one of the state’s top scorers in Maximiliano Cota-Cordova, Colorado’s fourth-leading scorer who averages 29.1.

Cota-Cordova has 23 or more points in 10 of 11 games this season and scored a career high 39 on 15-of-17 shooting in a 77-55 win against Salida on Friday. Sam Salsbery also gets to the cup and averages 16.5 per night for the Lions and leads the team in rebounds at 8.9 and blocks with 1.9.

The Lions and Pirates split this series last season with St. Mary’s winning their March 1 meeting 81-68. The Lions won the first matchup 55-44 on Feb. 1.

One thing to know

Evangel Christian Academy girls basketball is thriving

The Eagles have won close contests and blowouts en route to a 10-1 record and have an outstanding cast of players who highlight that success.

Mia Castro leads the Eagles at 15.2 points per game and is also the leader in steals at nine per night and assists at 6.2. Castro’s 99 total steals is nearly more than the rest of her teammates combined, who have 103.

Castro’s assists total leads Colorado and her steals average is 13^th in the nation. Despite being a point guard, Castro is also tied at 1.1 blocks per game with teammate Sadie Caldwell.

Reagan Schultz averages a double-double for the Eagles at 13.3 points and 11.1 rebounds. Schultz also averages 2.4 steals and shoots 46 percent from the field.

The Eagles have won five in a row and will travel to Elbert on Friday as they attempt to build their streak to six games.