Last week, Colorado Preps dove into how the Class 3A districts were breaking down as the regular season draws to a close. Many of the teams mentioned took a step forward in cementing their places within their respective leagues — Colorado Springs Christian, Grand Valley, Peyton, Bennett, Banning Lewis, Jefferson, Strasburg, Buena Vista and Highland among them — while a couple of teams (St. Mary’s, Timnath among others) have more ground to make up after suffering losses within the past week.

This week, a synopsis of how the two lowest classifications are fairing in terms of district races.

Class 2A

District 1: Sargent leads the Southern Peaks League standings at the moment, but it’s a tough league with all six of the 2A league teams boasting winning records. It’ll amount to a fun district tournament, no doubt, with Monte Vista, Sanford and Center the most probable contenders alongside the Farmers.

District 2: As it stands right now, with Tuesday games on deck, Sedgwick County (11-1) is a half-game ahead of Merino (13-0) in the Lower Platte League standings and the teams will face off Saturday at Merino. The Cougars have a super-stacked schedule the rest of the way and while Merino doesn’t have a cake-walk either, the Rams are on a good path. Akron, Wray, Wiggins and Caliche all have high seeding index numbers — giving this district tournament some big-time eye appeal come the end of February.

District 3: Mancos is the only 2A San Juan Basin team to boast a winning record so far, at 9-3. They will get some good games in, however, as Nucla, Dove Creek and Pagosa Springs are still on the upcoming schedule.

District 4: The gigantic Mile High League gets split between two districts when the regular season is over, and in District 4 it’s Dayspring Christian forging a glorious path toward a top seed. The Eagles are 4-0 in league and have a favorable schedule to end the season. Heritage Christian plays both Gilpin County and Denver Christian — District 7 frontrunners — before the end of the season, and that might open the door for Loveland Classical (8-3) to gain a stronger foothold from out of the Foothills League.

District 5: Three teams have jumped ahead of the pack, but Rangely has a commanding lead of the Western Slope League at 6-0 so far, handing West Grand a blow last weekend and looking to do the same to Plateau Valley on Tuesday night.

District 6: Hoehne has mastered the Santa Fe League, going 7-0 so far to stretch its record to 10-2 on the season. The Farmers have outscored league foes, 394-81. Las Animas is also 10-2, and Fowler has six league wins in eight tries thus far with a trip to Hoehne slated for Feb. 8.

District 7: As mentioned above, the Thunder and Eagles are on a pretty clear path to be the top two teams in District 7 and a lot will be told about the teams Tuesday night when they meet up at DC. Gilpin County has won the past two meetings between the teams, including a 57-54 barnburner on Jan. 31, 2023.

District 8: Two pretty top-heavy leagues will merge in District 8, and while 1A Stratton might be the best team of them all, in 2A it’s Burlington out of the Union Pacific League and Evangel Christian out of the Black Forest League who appear to be the cream of the crop right now. Those two teams will play each other Feb. 10, while Burlington still has upcoming challenges against Limon (Saturday at home) and Stratton (Feb. 8). ECA still plays Simla, the only other Black Forest contender, Feb. 13.

Class 1A

District 1: Dove Creek and Nucla are challenging 2A Mancos for the San Juan Basin League title, but the Bulldogs have the upper hard with wins over both teams through the first go-round through league play (Dove Creek has defeated Nucla three times already this season, with a fourth matchup scheduled for Feb. 16). De Beque, meanwhile, has a win over Dove Creek this season (41-38 on Dec. 8) and the 9-5 Dragons should come out of the Western Slope League ready to challenge for the district title.

District 2: The High Plains League has favorable seeding index numbers across the board, and McClave along with Kit Carson and Eads have been fun to watch so far. McClave (11-1) and Eads (9-4) will clash on Friday afternoon, while the Cardinals also have Kit Carson (8-3) coming up on Feb. 8. The KC Wildcats have one of the toughest remaining schedules of the entire classification.

District 3: Springfield and South Baca are just now diving into Arkansas Valley League play, and it appears those teams are the top of the heap as they meet each other for a second time on Tuesday night. The first meeting went to Springfield, 48-34, in tournament play on Dec. 2 — South Baca has gone 8-2 since.

District 4: Briggsdale’s 10-point win against Fleming last weekend solidified the Falcons’ district standing, but the Wildcats and the Prairie Mustangs will continue to fight for positioning through very tough remaining schedules. Fleming, in fact, has McClave, Flatirons Academy, Sedgwick County and Idalia as its final four games before districts. A gauntlet, no doubt.

District 5: Stratton (9-2) will dive into Union Pacific League play soon, bolstering the team’s toughness prior to facing the likes of YWKC teams Arickaree (9-5) and Hi-Plains (6-7) in districts. The Eagles, however, will face YWKC frontrunner Idalia (10-3) on Feb. 15 in what should be a real chess match.

District 6: Creede currently leads the Southern Peaks League with a 4-0 mark, but Sangre de Cristo’s seeding index numbers indicate the Thunderbirds are ready to make their presence known. Those two teams play Friday night, followed by a Sangre-Nucla game on Saturday.

District 7: Four Black Forest teams are .500 or better at the moment, with Kiowa (10-3) leading the way. The Indians took a big step toward securing a top district seed with a win against Genoa-Hugo/Karval (44-43 in overtime) last Thursday. The Pirates do not have an easy road ahead, either, out of the Union Pacific League, which might open the door for BFL teams Hanover (6-4), Pikes Peak Christian (7-5) or Miami-Yoder (5-5) to get favorable seeding.

District 8: Flatirons Academy, the new No. 1 in the Colorado Preps Coaches and Media Poll, will play a nonleague game against Briggsdale Saturday at home. The Bison otherwise have just one true 5280 League challenge left, against Mile High Academy on Feb. 6. Rocky Mountain Lutheran has a chance to finish well, with back-to-back nonleague games against ECA and Hi-Plains being a hurdle to overcome.

Notable

    • Back to 3A for a minute, and Highland’s sneaky-good win against Timnath that might help it win the Patriot League. The Huskies won, 55-41, as they outscored THS 25-12 in the fourth quarter. Junior Briza Flores notched 22 points with five 3-pointers made, putting HHS in position to win the league with wins over 4-8 Wullington and 3-11 Brush.
    • Olathe played Grand Valley to within nine points in a low-scoring affair, but the Cardinals’ 34-25 win helped them push way ahead in the Western Slope League. Star seniors for both teams showed out — as Olathe’s Tyra Gray scored 19 points while GVHS’ Jaycee Pittman had 15 points and 10 rebounds.