Gazette Preps rewind: Tremendous scoring highlights week in preps
As athletes prepare for the final stretch of regular-season contests, a slew of competitors had spectacular stretches last week.
From undefeated wrestlers at tournaments to multiple basketball players scoring 40 or more points, the Pikes Peak region featured several strong outings.
Below are some athletes and contests that stood out in the final week of January.
14ners
Kordae Knight, fr., Mitchell, boys basketball – The Marauders earned their first win of the year and the freshman was Mitchell’s Knight in shining armor.
Knight scored a career-high 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting in a 74-51 win against Rocky Ford on Jan. 26 and hit four 3-pointers in the matchup.
The game against the Meloneers gave Knight his second 20-point game of the season and a career high in 3-point makes.
Sara Christensen, sr., Thomas MacLaren, girls basketball – Christensen’s third triple-double of the season came in a 44-17 blowout victory against Florence and helped the Highlanders build their win streak to seven.
Against the Huskies, Christensen finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds, 11 steals and four assists. Through 12 games, Christensen averages 7.5 steals, which is 47th in the nation and eighth in Colorado.
Along with her steals total, Christensen averages 16.3 points and 12.5 rebounds.
Cobelyn Wiesner, sr., Falcon, girls basketball – An impressive scoring streak continues for the Falcons shooter.
Wiesner earned a career-high 33 points in a 78-23 victory against Mitchell on Jan. 28 and nailed four 3-pointers to match her season high.
The Falcon senior also crashed the boards and ended with seven rebounds, three shy of teammate Layla Lindsey, who finished with a game-high 10.
Lance Mathews, sr., Thomas MacLaren, boys basketball – Something’s in the water at The Thomas MacLaren school that helps players excel at rebounding.
The state’s No. 2 rebounder and 3A’s top glass cleaner, Mathews finished with 19 points and 17 rebounds in a 54-48 win against Florence on Jan. 27.
Through 12 games played, Mathews has 185 rebounds and has at least 11 in every matchup. It’s the second time Mathews grabbed 17 boards in a game this year, but is nine shy of his career-high 26 on Dec. 12.
Sean Smith, sr., Doherty, boys basketball – Following a string of single-digit scoring nights, Smith had a breakout game against Liberty.
Smith scored a career-high 23 points in a 69-49 victory against the Lancers and added 12 rebounds and four assists. His 23 against the Lancers marked the second time this season Smith reached 20 or more and was his first game with 10 or more rebounds.
Jackson Schipfer, sr., The Classical Academy, boys wrestling – The Titans 175-pounder dominated his opposition at the Discovery Canyon Duals last weekend.
Schipfer finished 5-0 with a major decision against Discovery Canyon’s Chase Robins and a pinagainst Rampart’s Jordi Perez.
The Titans senior also earned a forfeit victory and two wins by decision, including a 1-0 win against Meeker’s Drake Jones to keep an unblemished record.
Jackson McDaniel, sr., Falcon, boys wrestling – Falcon’s No. 2 seed bulldozed the 165 bracket en route to a first-place finish at the Duff Seaney Invite in Cañon City.
McDaniel went 5-0 in the tournament and won three of his five matches by tech fall. McDaniel also earned a major decision at the event and closed with a pin in the final 32 seconds of the finals against West Grand’s Walker Howell.
Zander Muna, sr., Banning Lewis, boys basketball – The 5-foot-6 point guard led the Stallions in rebounding and left his mark in a contest where he didn’t register a point.
Muna finished the 98-34 victory against Florence with a game-high 13 rebounds and 12 assists. Muna leads the state in assists per game at 7.4 and ranks 47th in the nation in the category.
He’s also 24th in the state in steals at 4.3 per contest and had two against Florence.
Alaia Sloan, so., Discovery Canyon, girls swimming and diving – In the Thunder’s dual with 5A Pine Creek, Sloan had a pair of dominant performances.
Sloan won the 100 fly at 57.25 seconds and finished the race more than four seconds swifter than Pine Creek’s Elizabeth Gray, who placed second at 1:01.75.
The Thunder sophomore won the 100 backstroke at 1:00.02, which was again more than four seconds faster than Pine Creek’s Sofie Ruskin at 1:04.47 in second.
Megan Havenar, jr., Liberty, girls swimming and diving – Havenar collected her 25th and 26th first-place finishes this season in the Lancers’ 133-53 victory against Palmer last week.
In the 100 free, Havenar won in 59.58 seconds and beat teammate Addison Miller, who finished second at 1:01.48.
Havenar crushed seven other swimmers in the 200 IM in 2:25.12. That was nearly 14 seconds faster than teammate Abigail Maghanoy, who earned second at 2:39.08.
Tristan Pino, so., Sand Creek, boys wrestling – The Scorpions’ 120-pounder had a smooth ride to the championship at the Duff Seaney Invite in Cañon City.
Pino finished 5-0 to earn the 120 title and improve his win streak to seven.
In the first three rounds, Pino won via pin and followed with a 10-5 decision in the semifinals against Holy Family’s Kaden McCraken. For the finals, Pino earned a 19-4 tech fall against Fowler’s Stockton Sharon.
Amaya Hinojosa, sr., Widefield, girls wrestling – Another 5-0 finish for the Gladiators’ 120 competitor highlighted the senior’s weekend at the Chatfield Lady War Horse Invitational.
Hinojosa won her bracket as the four seed. She defeated Alamosa’s Samantha Maestas with a second-period pin to cruise to the title.
Hinojosa has won 19 in a row and hasn’t dropped a match since December at the Northern Colorado Christmas Tournament.
Bella Arellano-Gandy, sr., Coronado, girls wrestling – Arellano-Gandy remains potent and earned four victories and the 125 title at the Chatfield Lady War Horse Invitational.
The Cougars star earned a 9-1 major decision in the finals against Sedwick County’s Lexie Amendt.
Arellano-Gandy has won seven matches in a row and five of those seven have come by tech or pin.
Nolan Pettingell, jr., Pine Creek, ice hockey – Pettingell had a stellar outing in a 10-2 win against Mullen to help the Eagles earn their 13th win. Pettingell finished with three points via a pair of goals and an assist against the Mustangs.
The goal was Pettingell’s seventh and placed him fifth among Eagles scorers. It was the third time this season Pettingell had two goals in a game.
Close contests
Boys basketball
Manitou Springs 58, Vanguard 50
After a 1-3 start to the season, the Mustangs are red hot and Vanguard felt that wrath. The Mustangs dropped Vanguard for their fourth consecutive win, eighth victory in nine contests, and improved to 9-4.
The Mustangs outscored the Coursers 20-13 in the opening frame and never trailed after the first. The Coursers closed the lead to 28-26 in the second quarter after a bucket by Matty Dessalegn, but the Mustangs wrapped the second quarter on a 9-4 run to build a 37-30 lead.
After a 3-pointer by Cameron Jenkins cut the Mustangs’ lead to 41-40 in the third, Manitou Springs scored the next four points to make it 45-40 ahead of the fourth.
Vanguard remained persistent and Josh Alade’s score made it 50-48 late in the fourth, but the Mustangs finished the quarter on an 8-2 run.
Girls basketball
Liberty 57, Doherty 51
Samira Gantt continues to scorch opposing defenses and the Liberty senior scored a game-high 26 points against Doherty in the Lancers’ second consecutive victory.
The Lancers led 12-11 after the first and outscored the Spartans 9-5 in the second to build a 21-16 lead at the break. That’s the only breathing room the Lancers had all night. Liberty outscored Doherty 16-14 in the third and the Spartans’ fourth-quarter rally fell shy.
Doherty shot 50 percent from deep and hit 11 3-pointers. LaLannie Donald, who led the team with 13 points, hit three of her five 3-point attempts.
Gantt went 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc. Emma Hill scored 12 for the Lancers and Amelia Motely finished 6 of 9 at the line for 11 points.
Prep Editor’s corner
A week of notable feats
Postseason action is around the corner and the Pikes Peak region’s athletes seem ready for the spotlight.
Banning Lewis’ scoring machine Matthew Lebron dropped 40 and the Stallions fell two points shy of the century mark in their 98-34 win against Florence. Air Academy’s Kinley Asp’s 49 points didn’t just serve as a career high, but it also broke the previous Kadet record of 46, which was held by Caitlin Kramer.
Widefield’s Amaya Hinojosa, despite missing her sophomore wrestling season, reached her 100th career victory Wednesday.
Of course, several other athletes had outstanding marks this season and will continue to see what they’re capable of accomplishing as the playoffs and state action begins this month.
-Marcus Hill