While some teams struggle to maintain the success of the previous season, Air Academy’s boys lacrosse team is trending in the opposite direction.

After reaching the Class 4A state title game last spring as the No. 4 seed, where the team fell to Dakota Ridge, the Kadets have rebuilt their momentum. One month into the 2026 season the fourth-ranked squad is unbeaten at 7-0, with the 4A Southern League opener set for April 7 against Ponderosa.

That’s after graduating four players that were first-team all-state, including CHSAANow.com Player of the Year Lucas Obringer.

The team’s two leading scorers this spring are sophomores EJ Hines (20 goals and 17 assists) and Chase Moody (22 goals and 14 assists). Junior Alex Sirois, who was honorable mention all-state, isn’t far behind at 21 goals and 11 assists. Air Academy has outscored opponents 112-30, and is coming off a trip to the Western Slope in which it swept Steamboat Springs and previously unbeaten Aspen.

Another 4A Southern program, Lutheran, is the current 4A No. 1 after topping ranked foes in Mullen, Smoky Hill and Golden.

In the 4A Mountain League, No. 2 Telluride and No. 5 Grand Junction have split their league contests, and the Tigers also defeated No. 6 Prairie View. The Miners are coming off a loss to Battle Mountain in which Huskies senior Carter Shonk scored six goals.

Over in 5A, Regis Jesuit is going to be a problem for the rest of the class. The top-ranked Raiders improved to 7-0 with a victory over Colorado Academy on Wednesday night and have outscored opponents 113-36. That includes a season-opening 12-7 victory over current No. 3 Arapahoe.

Defending state champion Cherry Creek (4-2) dropped two games during an out-of-state road trip. The No. 4 Bruins play their first in-state game April 7 against Poudre School District before jumping into League 4 play. Creek graduated 2025 POY Ollie Nolting but return a handful of all-state selections.

Fifth-ranked Ralston Valley improved to 6-0 with a victory over Green Mountain on Wednesday. Next up is a League #2 tilt with current No. 2 Lakewood on April 8.

Here is a quick look at games to watch in the two classifications headed into the first full week of April:

Class 5A

Lakewood at Rock Canyon, 4 p.m., Thursday, April 2
Is there a bigger upstart thus far into 2026 than the Lakewood Tigers? At 5-0, the team has outscored opponents 70-22 and is coming off two victories out of state over spring break. No. 2 Lakewood has a challenging week ahead though, with No. 9 Rock Canyon, No. 10 Grandview and No. 5 Ralston Valley waiting in the wings. Junior Jaxson Fontenot and sophomore Alex Winter lead the team with 14 goals each. … Rock Canyon (5-1) dropped its first game Tuesday to No. 7 Cherokee Trail by one goal. Freshman Brady Gallant leads the Jaguars with 19 goals. No. 8 Legend is next up April 7.

Class 4A

Golden at Prairie View, 6:30 p.m., Monday, April 6
Golden’s 3-3 record is a bit deceiving one month into the season. The Demons fell by two goals to a Battle Mountain squad that just defeated No. 2 Telluride, and followed that with a loss to current 5A No. 2 Lakewood. The team then dropped a 7-6 decision to No. 1 Lutheran on Wednesday night. Golden made the quarterfinals a year ago, and despite being hit hard by graduation is showing its balance early. Of the 40 goals the team scored in its first five games, no player has more than six. … Prairie View was the No. 23 seed last spring, but is off to a strong start at 6-2. Sophomore Russell Ross has a team-high 29 goals and junior Michael Jaramillo has 27 assists.