6A State Basketball: District teams begin quest for championship
The 2025 girls and boys state basketball tournament started this past week, and the Cherry Creek School District was heavily represented in the early rounds.
For the girls, Eaglecrest and Overland gained spots in the preliminary play-in round on Feb. 26. The No. 25 Raptors hosted No. 40 Fairview and advanced with a solid 54-33 win. No. 28 Overland hosted No. 37 Boulder and came away with a 50-29 victory.
Top-seeded Grandview had a bye first, then had no trouble with No. 33 Horizon on March 1. The final score was Wolves 72, Hawks 30. GHS was led by senior Sienna Betts’ 24 points, and sophomore Ava Chang, who scored 22 in the win. Betts also set the new state record for career rebounds (both girls and boys), ending the game with 1,451, eclipsing a record that had stood since 1975. The Wolves will next host No. 16 Rocky Mountain in a Sweet 16 contest at 6 p.m. on March 5.
No. 4 Cherry Creek also came off their bye with a big 50-25 win over No. 36 Rangeview. The Bruins used a 20-5 2nd quarter to take command, leading 28-7 at the half. Creek was led by senior Aneya Chambers’ 17 points, and sophomore London Taylor, who posted 10 in the win. Next, CCHS will host No. 13 Columbine in the Sweet 16 at 7 p.m. on March 5.
11th-seeded Cherokee Trail had a bye and got by No. 22 Mountain Vista by a score of 73-39 on March 1. CT led every quarter of the contest, taking a 39-24 lead into the halftime break. The Cougars outscored Mountain Vista 34-15 the rest of the way for the win and a berth in the Sweet 16. Cherokee Trail will be on the road to take on No. 6 Highlands Ranch at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
No. 25 Eaglecrest fell to No. 8 Denver East 54-49 in overtime this past Saturday. The Raptors, down by as many as 16 points in the second half, staged a big comeback, but came up short, and were eliminated. EHS was led by senior Jada Bobb, who poured in 23 points in the losing effort. Eaglecrest ends the 2024-25 campaign at 14-11.
28th-seeded Overland was on the road to take on No. 5 Pine Creek on Saturday. The Blazers made it a game, going to halftime trailing the Eagles 21-17. But Pine Creek outscored OHS 40-19 in the second half to eliminate the Trailblazers by a score of 61-36. Overland finishes the season at 14-11.
See the complete 6A Girls bracket here.
On the boys’ side, Grandview, Cherokee Trail, and Cherry Creek were part of the preliminary play-in round on Feb. 25. The No. 25 Wolves defeated No. 40 Castle View at home to advance. No. 33 CT got a road win over No. 32 Erie 63-47 to get to first-round play, and No. 36 Cherry Creek was at No. 29 Legend and got a big 53-50 win in overtime to advance.
On Feb. 28, all six district boys basketball teams were in action.
No. 2 Eaglecrest came off the bye and defeated No. 34 Rocky Mountain 61-53. The Raptors were led by senior Anthony Nettles with 23 points, followed by sophomore Kris Coleman, who had 10 points in the win. EHS will now host No. 15 Arvada West for a Sweet 16 tilt at 7p.m. on March 4 at the Nest.
14th-seeded Smoky Hill had a bye and then hosted No. 19 Rock Canyon and was eliminated by the Jaguars on Feb. 28. The final score was 81-67. Junior Carter Basquez and senior Kaylan Graham each had 22 points in the loss. The Buffs finish their season at 13-11.
No. 22 Overland got a big 74-53 win on the road over No. 11 Broomfield on Saturday. Senior TJ Manuel tallied 18 points, and senior Siraaj Ali scored 16 for the win. The Blazers will be on the road for a Sweet 16 contest against No. 6 Mountain Vista at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
In other first-round games, No. 25 Grandview got the upset of the night to advance as the Wolves knocked off No. 8 Horizon on the road. The final score was 59-55. GHS will next take on No. 9 Regis Jesuit at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
No. 33 Cherokee Trail qualified to go up against No. 1 and undefeated Rangeview in first round play on the road last week. The Cougars were certainly in the game at the halftime break, trailing 20-17. However, the Raiders found their game and outscored CT 42-8 in the second half for the 62-25 win. Cherokee Trail ends their season with a record of 10-15 overall.
Finally, 36th-seeded Cherry Creek was on the road at No. 4 Ralston Valley. The Bruins were eliminated by the Mustangs 75-43. Creek finishes the 2024-25 campaign at 10-15.
See the entire 6A Boys bracket here.
Best of luck to district teams that are moving on!
5A State Ice Hockey: Cherry Creek comes up short
The Cherry Creek High School ice hockey team was hoping to have a memorable postseason as they got past fifth-ranked Regis Jesuit in the first round of the state tournament last Tuesday night at South Suburban Sports Complex. The Bruins got two goals from junior Carter Sharkey, and one each from senior Garrett Linville, sophomore Ari Gelfand, and junior Shotik Badashyan, in the win. Senior netminder Payton Mills stopped 19 of 20 shots for Creek to advance.
Next on the docket, a Final 4 matchup with No. 1 Poudre School District on March 1at Ed Robson Arena in Colorado Springs. The Bruins got tallies from senior Cooper Huang, and juniors Davis Ritter and Brian Kopeck, to take a 3-1 lead over the Stars to the third period. But PSD got timely goals, including the tying score with less than two minutes left, to send the contest to overtime. The teams stayed tied at 3 after the first OT, but Poudre scored early in the second overtime session to eliminate the Bruins, 4-3. CCHS finishes their season at 12-7-2.
See the complete 5A Bracket here.
5A State Speech and Debate: Overland hosts championships
The 2024 Speech and Debate State Championships were held Feb. 28 and March 1 at Overland High School. Competitors from high schools across the state were in attendance, and Cherry Creek High School finished third in the team standings. Denver East was the state champion with George Washington taking second. Students competed in ten event categories during the weekend.
Here's more on the competition from CHSAANow.
GHS boys basketball photo courtesy Jake Chau, Grandview High School.
CCHS ice hockey photo courtesy Cristina Navarro, Cherry Creek High School.
Posted 3/3/2025.
