GIRLS BASKETBALL: Rankings Announced (Jan. 14th)
Five new teams can be found among the five divisions in the Colorado Preps basketball poll announced today. Horizon, Elizabeth, Rye, Jim Elliot and Fleming all made their initial appearances in the rankings this week. New rankings are announced each Monday afternoon and the rundown of all five divisions can be seen below.
CLASS 5A
1. Arapahoe (11-0)
2. Regis (11-0)
3. Highlands Ranch (8-3)
4. Chaparral (9-2)
5. Grandview (10-1)
6. Rock Canyon (8-2)
7. Palmer (8-2)
8. Ralston Valley (10-2)
9. Horizon (6-4)
10. Cherry Creek (7-4)
NEW: Horizon
DROPPED OUT: Denver East (9-4)
TEAMS TO WATCH: Poudre (9-1), Fossil Ridge (8-2), Loveland (8-2), Lakewood (9-3), Mountain Vista (10-2), Grand Junction (10-1), Castle View (7-3)
NOTES: Both Arapahoe and Regis collected impressive wins last week to a very tight one-two in the Class 5A rankings. Arapahoe maintained a share of the early Centennial conference lead with a narrow 37-35 win over Cherry Creek while Regis held off Grandview 59-53 for a quality non-conference win. Neither Grandview nor Cherry Creek lost any ground in the rankings because of the quality losses staying put in the 5th and 10th positions. Rock Canyon collected a solid win beating Palmer 58-47 over the weekend. The Jaguars bumped two spots and leap-frogged Ralston Valley into the sixth spot while Palmer tumbled four spots to seventh. Ranking the Terrors is a bit difficult as they also have a win over Highlands Ranch on their resume. Horizon is the lone newcomer in the poll replacing Denver East. East lost to Highlands Ranch (53-34) and even though it was a quality loss, the margin of victory left them out of the rankings. Horizon picked up three Front Range league wins beating Legacy, Fairview and Mountain Range. They’re tied with Poudre for the early conference lead.
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CLASS 4A
1. Pueblo South (10-1)
2. Broomfield (10-1)
3. Mesa Ridge (11-0)
4. Pueblo West (12-0)
5. D’Evelyn (10-1)
6. Windsor (9-3)
7. Sand Creek (7-3)
8. Palmer Ridge (7-2)
9. Canon City (9-2)
10. Elizabeth (6-4)
NEW: Elizabeth
DROPPED OUT: Conifer (8-3)
TEAMS TO WATCH: Longmont (6-1), Thompson Valley (7-2), Centaurus (8-3), Air Academy (5-5), Pueblo County (10-3), Pueblo East (9-4), Erie (6-3), Delta (5-3), Glenwood Springs (7-2), Montrose (7-2), Durango (7-2)
The top five teams combined to win nine games by at least 17 points apiece so the schools remain in the same order as a week ago. Pueblo South opens what should be a very good South Central league chase against Pueblo County and Canon City this weekend. The league has three teams ranked in the top ten and has five teams with at least nine wins on the season. Pueblo West opens at Pueblo East before hosting Pueblo Central. Broomfield is tied with Centaurus, Thompson Valley and Longmont for the early Northern league lead and they can gain some separation this week as they face both Longmont and Thompson Valley. Mesa Ridge can break a first place tie in the CS Metro when they host Widefield on Tuesday. Both are 2-0 in league play but Widefield has just four wins overall. D’Evelyn took a major step to the Jeffco title with their blowout of previously ranked Conifer. They’ve won five in a row since falling to 5A power Grandview. Sand Creek bumped up three spots to seventh thanks to a win over Palmer Ridge (46-41). The win allowed the Scorpions to also jump past Canon City who lost to Palmer Ridge earlier in the season. Windsor bumped to sixth because of the loss by Palmer Ridge. The Wizards, who edged Roosevelt 58-56 last Tuesday, already has sole possession of the Tri Valley lead. Because of their record, Elizabeth may be a surprise choice at #10 to replace Conifer. The Cardinals have played a tremendous schedule with all four losses coming to teams in the top ten; Canon City, Mesa Ridge and D’Evelyn twice. They’ve also posted a win over Montrose which was the deciding factor in the race for the tenth position. Montrose (7-2) did not play last week but gets started in league play against Grand Junction at home on Friday.
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CLASS 3A
1. St Mary’s (8-0)
2. Denver Science (8-1)
3. Centauri (10-1)
4. Holy Family (7-3)
5. Machebeuf (6-1)
6. Colorado Academy (7-1)
7. Pagosa Springs (7-1)
8. Classical Academy (8-0)
9. Trinidad (8-0)
10. Moffat County (5-3)
NEW: None
DROPPED OUT: None
TEAMS TO WATCH: Bennett (7-2), Lamar (6-2), Olathe (7-1), Grand Valley (6-3), Kent Denver (6-2), Jefferson Academy (5-3), Valley (6-2), Sterling (5-2)
NOTES: Holy Family’s critical Metro league opening win over Machebeuf last Friday caused the only movement in the rankings. Machebeuf fell from second to fifth while Denver Science, Centauri and Holy Family all jumped up one spot. St Mary’s remained in the top spot thanks to a win over Ellicott while the second five also maintained their order as all made it through the week without a loss. Looking ahead to this week, there are several important early conference games that will affect first place. Top ranked St Mary’s battles 9th ranked Trinidad for the first half lead inside the Tri Peaks East. Both are 3-0 in conference play. Denver Science also faces an important road trip to Bennett on Friday. That game likely pits the top two teams in the Frontier against one another in the second week of league action. Centauri also battles Pagosa Springs on Saturday in a game that should determine the first half lead in the Intermountain. The Falcons though cannot look past their Friday date at Alamosa as well. Holy Family has an important clash with Lutheran on Wednesday. If the Tigers land a victory there, they’re in great shape to pick up the Metro title. Of course there are many games yet to be played but Holy Family would already have wins over both Machebeuf and Lutheran.
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CLASS 2A
1. Akron (8-0)
2. Lutheran (7-0)
3. Vanguard (9-0)
4. Simla (7-0)
5. Yuma (5-0)
6. Peyton (6-1)
7. Paonia (5-3)
8. Meeker (7-1)
9. Rye (7-2)
10. Evangelical Christian (6-2)
NEW: Rye
DROPPED OUT: Las Animas (7-2)
TEAMS TO WATCH: Rangely (6-2), Springfield (6-3), Hoehne (6-3), Sangre De Cristo (6-2), Holyoke (5-3), Dolores (7-3), Limon (7-2), Hotchkiss (6-2), Burlington (4-5)
NOTES: Rye is the only new face inside the rankings this week. The Thunderbolts took over sole possession of first place in the Santa Fe with an impressive 43-34 win over Las Animas last week. The loss also dropped the Trojans out of the ranking as they were replaced by their conference rivals. The two teams meet up against on January 31st. Paonia also made a nice move as the Eagles bumped three spots to seventh after beating both Rangely and Meeker on the weekend. Meeker was unbeaten before the loss to the Eagles and that decision dropped the Cowgirls to 8th in the rankings. The Meeker loss also allowed Yuma and Peyton to improve their position by one slot. Peyton played very well in a blowout at Limon at Saturday while Yuma also collected a quality road win at Highland. Evangelical Christian was beaten by Lutheran on Saturday but the loss cost the Eagles just one spot as they’re now 10th. The top four remains unchanged. Akron did not play last week but returns to the court at Wiggins on Friday. The Rams have won eight games by at least 25 points apiece. In addition to their win over Evangelical Christian, Lutheran also mowed down Lyons and St Mary’s Academy. They have a very important date at home against Holy Family on Wednesday in their 3A Metro league opener. Vanguard blasted Pikes Peak Christian (72-7) in their only game while Simla whipped Byers and Elbert by a combined 72 points.
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CLASS 1A
1. Caliche (7-0)
2. Pawnee (7-0)
3. Norwood (8-0)
4. Wiley (9-0)
5. Kim (9-0)
6. Hi Plains (5-1)
7. McClave (5-4)
8. Eads (7-2)
9. Jim Elliot (8-0)
10. Fleming (4-2)
NEW: Jim Elliot, Fleming
DROPPED OUT: Kit Carson, Gilpin County
TEAMS TO WATCH: Otis (4-3), Idalia (6-1), Centennial (6-2), Prairie (6-1), Holly (4-3), Cheraw (5-3), Belleview Christian (9-1), Vail Christian (5-2)
NOTES: The top six teams in the rankings all took care of business last week so they the teams remain in the same spot as a week ago. Caliche rolled Weldon Valley (60-17) while Pawnee collected a solid (49-33) win over Otis. Norwood ripped Ouray (72-33) and survived Ridgway (48-41). The Ridgway win was just the second time this season the Mavericks have allowed more than 40 points. Wiley beat both Kit Carson and Granada by at least 19 points and Kim had their way with Primero (80-31) and Hanover (67-26). Hi Plains had their game with Woodlin postponed. The bottom four has some shuffling this week as Vail Christian upset Gilpin County (28-26) on Friday. That win normally would have put the Saints in the Top Ten but they were bypassed by unbeaten Jim Elliot. Jim Elliott beat Vail Christian head-to-head earlier in the season so they earned the top ten ranking despite a less than stellar schedule. Fleming, which has won two in a row since a loss to 2A Wray, entered the rankings. Their highly anticipated game with Pawnee last Friday was postponed. Their two meetings should determine the North Central league title although once beaten Prairie could also play a role. Prairie has a chance to make some noise this week as they face both Caliche and Pawnee this coming week.
Comments
If Lutheran wins against Holy Family on Wednesday, serious consideration would have to be given for a possible #1 ranking in 2A. That would make 4 wins against Top 10 teams in 3A/2A (Peyton, DSST, Evangelical). I understand that Akron is the defending champ, and returns nearly every key player from that team, but their schedule is not as tough as Lutheran's this year. Also, District 2 overall is not as strong as it has been in the past, when they were sending 3 qualifiers to State on a regular basis, and had 4-5 teams in contention for a Top 10 ranking.
Based on strength of schedule, I agree with your analysis. However, Akron is the Defending State Champion and I feel they should be beaten to lose that spot--also, they do have the same squad from last season which regardless of who they have played or weakness of conference, it is safe to say they probably are as good if not better than they were last season. Since were talking rankings, should Simla (schedule includes mostly weak 1A teams) or a Vanguard team who's schedule does not have a team currently over .500 be ranked above a Peyton team whose only lose was to Lutheran, has a win against a top ten team and a team that was under top 10 consideration prior to losing big to Peyton at home? No doubt Vanguard and Simla will be well rested, but not tested and as a result, it may be difficult to overcome a team like Lutheran or Akron for a title. Unfortunately their schedules only entertain the likes of ECA and an okay, but still weak Peyton team--no disrespect Peyton, but you are no match for most of the teams ranked in the top 10 and especially the likes of Simla, Vanguard, and ECA. Bottom-line, Vanguard and Simla won't be tested until they meet in league play and again to determine the Black Forest District Champion, perhaps that will make them ready to knock off the Defending State Champs or State Runner-up from a year-a-go. All I know, from a fan's perspective, it will be fun to watch it all unfold. Good luck to all teams the remainder of the season!
Have to agree with JAF on Akron. Can't say I follow the logic with regards to Peyton. "An OK, but still weak Peyton team"? Are you serious? Honestly, I don't think Peyton cares eitherway what anyone thinks. I've had the pleasure of watching them play and have to say they are a very exciting team and look to be having a lot of fun. If beating the likes of Tri-County co-league leader Manitou by 28, #9 Rye by 22 after being up 30 at halftime (maybe they should have kept pressing or kept their key players in the game), a 7-2 Limon team at their place by 39, who had a quality win against 7-2 Bennett, or a weak 5-5 5A Adams City team by 49. I suppose since Peyton beat the teams mentioned by so much, they just have to be weak. Funny, when any of the top 4 teams win like that it is impressive win against a quality team. Anyway, I would not totatly discount Peyton from any district, regional, or state talk, they are a very good team and I'm sure they could be a factor down the road.
We'll find out how good Peyton is on Friday when they host ECA. ECA has owned them the last couple of years. Should be a pretty entertaining game.
Rankings are fun to generate a little buzz but they mean nothing. Look at Sanford 2 years ago winning State as a 7 seed and Akron winning last year as the 3 seed. Basketball is great because there are plenty of upsets. Based off last year and the dominance of Akron's performance to date I think Akron should be #1until beaten. MaxPreps has Lutheran ranked 1 and Akron 2 and if the season ended today the seeding committee would put Lutheran as the #1 seed, I believe, because of strength of schedule. Nice thing about Colorado Preps is that Kevin has seen most teams play so we get the human element in the rankings and not just computers. So Hoopsfan if you want to see Lutheran ranked #1 simply log onto Maxpreps; me personally, I can't wait to see who prevails at state this year because there are a # of good teams out there. Paonia, Lutheran, Akron, Simla, Vanguard, Peyton, etc. I can't wait for March Madness!!
I'm glad the i don't have to defend my team because the girls do that themselves. I agree that this game vs ECA will be a good test for the Peyton. If they win it will certainly provide even more proof that they belong in the top 10 in 2a. Also if the Peyton girls don't win their district tournament i would not want to be the team to have them in their region. This is because they will be battle tested by 3 other top ten teams in their league and district, Simla, Vanguard, and ECA.
District 8 (which happens to also be the Black Forest League) in 2a will have some very hard teams to beat this year. Im excited for League play to swing into full motion this weekend.