Dick Katte’s Denver Christian boys basketball teams set a standard for excellence that is almost unmatched in Colorado prep history. The then-Crusaders marched to multiple championship victories over his years at the helm and made DC the team everyone expected to be there at the end, every March.

Now known as the Thunder, the Denver Christian girls are hoping to join those ranks. It starts by getting title No. 1, and DC has a chance to do that in the Class 3A state tournament this week at the University of Denver.

Denver Christian (24-1) is the top seed for the eight-team bracket and will face a very good Roaring Fork team (23-2) Thursday at 4 p.m. The Thunder struck out against Simla on Dec. 12, 48-39, but has won 21 straight games since. It got a bit of a test in its regional championship last weekend against Wray, as the teams went to the fourth quarter with Denver Christian holding a slim 39-33 lead. But the fourth quarter was all Thunder, a 21-9 spurt that pushed the squad out of a situation it hadn’t been in quite some time.

Reigning 3A champ Resurrection Christian will look to bring them down, but that will only happen in a championship matchup. The 3A bracket was all chalk as the top eight seeded teams all made the Great 8.

Some other notes on each classification ahead of the championships being awarded Saturday.

Class 3A

Salida-Centauri is a rematch of a game played Dec. 11 at Centauri. The Falcons took a 50-38 win, thanks a big second half. Graysa Kindle had 11 rebounds and five blocks in the loss, and if she can couple that with a good offensive game, the Spartans might be in business on a neutral floor.

Wiggins and Resurrection Christian played each other even more recently (Jan. 20), with the Tigers pulling off a 45-40 victory at home by rallying from behind in the fourth quarter.

Class 2A

The 2A bracket is also a true 1 through 8, with no regional upsets. Top-seed and defending champ Merino outscored its two regional opponents 132-16, perhaps signifying the Rams are peaking quite nicely. No. 4 Sargent has not been talked about much despite being 21-3; its two leading scorers — Kandace Pargin and Angelise Garcia — were supported big-time by Denver Holman in regional play as she combined for 26 points in the two games.

Simla, at 25-0, has scored about three times as many points this season (1,672) as it has allowed (547). The Cubs are the No. 2 seed.

Class 1A

Only four of the eight teams involved in this week’s bracket were seeded 1 through 8 for regionals. Upsets in the lower part of the bracket were rampant, as No. 10 Springfield, No. 11 Briggsdale and No. 14 Flagler all advanced. Flagler hammered Evangel Christian Academy, 50-38, with the Panthers playing at their best in the middle quarters. Rylie Berry had her seventh 20-point game of the season to lift FHS. Briggsdale’s Bailey Loyd scored well above her average in two regional games, and she’ll look to provide support for leading scorer Claire Brown on the neutral court.

McClave’s Abrielle Gomez is one of the brightest stars in small school hoops, and it would be fitting for her to end her career — that of nearly 1,800 points over four years — with a second straight championship.