As the winter sport season nears the home stretch, competition continues to heat up.  

State championship competition begins this week for girls swimming and diving in Thornton while wrestlers prepare for regional competition.

Falcon boys basketball is a week away from capturing its league’s title after a sluggish start to the season and Cobelyn Wisener nears history on the Falcon girls basketball team.

Below is a recap of the week in the Pikes Peak region.

14ners

Olivia McEwen, so., Widefield, girls basketball – There’s something about McEwen and her matchups with Coronado that pulls the best from the Gladiators’ guard.

McEwen scored a career-high 20 points in the Gladiators’ 56-37 win against the Cougars. The sophomore finished 7 for 17 from the field and hit three 3-pointers. Her previous career high in points and made 3-pointers came Jan. 16 in a 51-36 win against Coronado.

McEwen averages 6.8 points and has 95 points through 14 games. In two games against the Cougars, McEwen has 35 points.

Emma Hill, sr., Liberty, girls basketball – Hill had a pair of stellar games last week, but she had a monster night against Vista Ridge.

The Lancers’ post player had a game-high 20 rebounds in Liberty’s 45-42 victory against Vista Ridge and added three steals.

Hill had double-digit rebounds in five of her last six games and her 10 points gave Hill her seventh double-double of the season.

Sole’ Alexander, sr., Vista Ridge, girls basketball – One of the state’s top rebounders demonstrated her abilities against Liberty.

Alexander finished with 10 points, 18 rebounds and seven blocks in the 45-42 loss but reached double-figure rebounds for the sixth time in seven games.

On Jan. 30, in a 52-40 win against Doherty, Alexander earned a 19-rebound, 10-block double-double and climbed to ninth in the state in rebounding.

Rose Ross, jr., Colorado Springs Christian, girls basketball – Ross only needed 11 points to reach 1,000 for her career. Against Pueblo County, she doubled that.

The Lions guard scored 22 to surpass 1,000 and help CSCS defeat Pueblo County 43-38. After she dropped 28 points on Lamar on Saturday, Ross has 310 this season and averages 19.4.

She reached at least 11 points in all but two games and, along with a tremendous scoring prowess, averages 5.4 steals.

Eligah Myles, sr., Mesa Ridge, boys basketball – Myles had two of his best shooting nights in back-to-back games to help the Grizzlies earn their 13th and 14th wins.

Last week in a 51-47 win against Palmer, Myles scored a game-high 20 points and finished 10 of 13 from the field. In Mesa Ridge’s 55-47 victory against Cañon City, Myles shot 7 of 9 to finish with 16 points.

His shooting percentage (77) against the Terrors tied his third-best mark of the season and his game against the Tigers, where he shot 78 percent, was Myles’ second-hottest shooting night.

Acai Biglow, sr., Doherty, boys basketball – The Spartans guard was a pest to Pine Creek all night and finished with more steals than all Eagles players combined.

Biglow ended the Spartans’ 53-38 victory with a game-high seven steals while Pine Creek finished with six. Biglow also grabbed five rebounds and had four assists.

His 11 points were third on the team and gave the senior consecutive games in double figures.

Wyatt Kirch, sr., Rampart, boys basketball – The Rams scoring machine tied a career high in points against Pueblo West and was unconscious from beyond the arc.

Kirch finished with 26, buried six 3-pointers and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds. This was Kirch’s first double-digit rebounding game since he grabbed 11 in a 69-53 victory against Berthoud on Dec. 12.

His 10 defensive rebounds also set a career high and eclipsed his previous season best of seven.

Dylan Arocho, sr., Harrison, boys basketball – The Panthers forward gave Widefield all it could handle in an 86-72 win and scorched the Gladiators’ defense.

Arocho scored a career-high 36 points and finished 10 of 18 at the free-throw line. The senior also went 13-of-17 shooting and reached 30 despite attempting just one 3-pointer.

Arocho scored 20 or more four times this season, but had not previously reached 30 points in his career.  

Alex Treglia, jr., Cheyenne Mountain, boys basketball – Colorado’s sixth-leading scorer demonstrated in two league games his ability to put the ball in the cup.

In the Red-Tailed Hawks’ 73-57 win against Lutheran, Treglia finished with 31 points on 11-of-17 shooting and nailed eight of his nine free throws. In the 78-72 loss to Lewis-Palmer, Treglia dropped 29 on the Rangers and tied a season high in 3-point makes and attempts with a 5-of-9 night.

Through 20 games, Treglia has 427 points and is 95 away from 1,000 for his career.

Mya Bland, jr., Rampart, girls swimming and diving – In a loaded pool that featured 5A Pine Creek, Bland walked, eh, swam, away with the 200 and 500 freestyle titles.

During the Colorado Springs Metro League Championships, Bland clocked in at 1 minute, 55.35 seconds to win the 200 free. In the 500 free, Bland cruised to the title in 5:18.92, which was just shy of eight seconds faster than Pine Creek’s Trista Neukom, who finished second.

Bland has placed first 27 times and is seeded third in the 200 and 500 freestyles at the upcoming 4A state swimming and diving meet in Thornton.

Elizabeth Gray, sr., Pine Creek, girls swimming and diving – The “flyest” swimmer at the CSML Championships last weekend went to Gray, who crushed the competition.

Gray won the 100 butterfly in 59:48. Gray’s time was just over a second off her fastest finish of the season, a 58.85.

She last swam the event Jan. 29 in a dual against Discovery Canyon and clocked a 1:01.75.

Grace Perry, so., Lewis-Palmer girls swimming and diving – Perry dominated two events at the Pikes Peak Athletic Conference Championships last week and hopes to keep that momentum in the final meet.

The Rangers swimmer won the 100 fly at 54.73 and the 200 IM at 2:03.60, both by a wide margin. Perry won the 200 IM by nearly 16 seconds and had more than five seconds of distance between her and second in the 100 fly.

At the upcoming 4A state swimming and diving meet at Veterans Memorial Aquatics Center, Perry is seeded first in the 100-yard butterfly.  

Hailey Birkby, so., Cheyenne Mountain, girls swimming and diving – Birkby earned the title of fastest swimmer at the PPAC Championships.

The Red-Tailed Hawks sophomore placed first in the 50 free at 25.18, which was .09 shy of being a second faster than Air Academy’s Lucy Larson, who took second.

While four competitors at the upcoming 4A state swimming and diving championships have a time near Birkby, the Red-Tailed Hawks competitor is seeded first.

Mia Castro, jr., Evangel Christian Academy, girls basketball – One of the nation’s top pickpockets, Castro continues to frustrate opposing teams and flustered Pikes Peak Christian.

Castro had a game-high 11 steals and added 21 points in the 53-19 win against Pikes Peak Christian. The junior finished with a game-high seven assists.

ECA’s star guard is ninth in the nation at 9.4 steals per game and leads Colorado with 6.5 assists. Castro’s 10 double-doubles are 11^th in the state and first in the 1A Black Forest League.  

Matthew Crocfer, jr., Pikes Peak Christian, boys basketball – The Eagles star flirted with his season high in points and punished Evangel Christian Academy’s defense.

Crocfer finished with a game-high 24 points on 9-of-18 shooting for PPC in the 77-66 win against ECA. Crocfer hit a season-high four 3-pointers and went 2 of 2 at the line.

The finish against ECA gave Crocfer his first 20-point night since Dec. 20 when he scored 22 and marked his third game of the season over 20.

Close contests

Boys basketball

Liberty 63, Fountain-Fort Carson 60

Two late steals by Cameron Cunningham helped break a 58-58 tie and gave Liberty its fourth win by five points or less.

Cunningham finished with a game-high 21 points, five steals and shot 8 of 12 at the line for the Lancers. Skai Council poured in 15 for the Lancers and tacked on four assists.

Torian Carr scored a team-high 20 for Fountain-Fort Carson along with nine rebounds and was closely followed by Jordan Ulmer’s 19 points and seven boards.  

Prior to their game against Pine Creek on Tuesday, after Saturday’s victory against Vista Ridge, Liberty captured its fourth consecutive win.

Girls basketball

Manitou Springs 37, Sand Creek 33

Aylin Gomez led the way for Manitou Springs with 18 points and hit two of the Mustangs’ three 3-pointers.

The Mustangs led 16-12 at the break and extended that lead to 29-23 after they outscored the Scorpions 13-11 in the third quarter.

Sand Creek finished the final period ahead 10-8, but Manitou Springs staved off the Scorpions’ comeback efforts and earned its eighth win of the season.

Gomez also had a game-high six steals while Madison Anderson added eight points, eight boards and five steals for the Mustangs.

Palmer 44, Mesa Ridge 43 (OT)

The Terrors earned their first one-possession victory in nearly a year and needed an extra period to do so.

Palmer held off host Mesa Ridge in overtime and outscored the Grizzlies 6-5 to earn their seventh win of the year.

The victory avenges a home loss to the Grizzlies last season. Mesa Ridge earned a 38-37 win against the Terrors down the home stretch of the 2025 season.

Prep Editor’s corner

Falcons’ basketball squads stellar as playoffs loom

Is it “meh” to say the Falcons are soaring?

Well, the Falcons look amazing. The boys basketball team, one season removed from a 5A final four appearance, started the season 2-6 and dropped five in a row after they opened the year with a 62-59 win against Discovery Canyon.

Prior to their game against Elizabeth on Tuesday night, the Falcons boast a 12-game winning streak and are first in the 6A/5A/4A Colorado Springs Metro North League at 8-0.

If the Falcons close the season with three more wins, their streak will balloon to 15 in a row, which would be their best stretch of the MaxPreps era, which dates back to 2005.

On the girls’ side, Cobelyn Wiesner is chasing her own history. Wiesner is five points shy of tying Hannah Burg’s girls team record of 1,062 points. With six points Tuesday at Elizabeth, Wiesner will set the mark.

Wiesner has scored 11 or more in all but one game this season and has 380 points through 20 games. She’s 28th in Colorado at 19 points per game and blew past her 331 points scored as a junior.