(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

MONUMENT — From his view on the bench for five games, Matthew Ragsdale watched Lewis-Palmer boys basketball act like the top team in the state.

They’ve won handedly against several good Class 4A programs this year and edged out a win over 5A’s Liberty last week.

That’s why he was excited to be involved in the Rangers 78-50 win over Pueblo East on Thursday. The senior guard was confined to the bench at the start of the year because of a lower leg injury. But on Thursday he made his debut against an always talented and physical team in the Eagles.

“I was just anxious to get out on the floor,” Ragsdale said. “I felt really good during warmups. I had a lot of nerves before the game.”

His performance was far from the deciding factor of the game, but it’s a sign that for the 4A No. 1 Rangers (6-0 overall), things are going to continue to get better.

“It was very good to see him come back,” coach Bill Benton said. “You always want all your guys. We didn’t have two guys tonight. We haven’t played a game all year with 12 guys on our varsity so on that point, yeah it’s been good. It’s been different guys stepping up every night and that’s a huge piece.”

The teams played nearly even through the first quarter, but it was Ethan Forrester who sparked L-P to a little run to grab a six-point lead after the first eight minutes.

And then the fortunes for each team went in drastically different directions. Forrester scored 14 of his game-high 22 points in the first half. Kain Medrano and Joe Padula got into foul trouble and had to come out of the game.

And the Rangers just started building on their lead.

“It’s just a confidence thing,” Forrester said. “Once one of us gets going, everyone gets going and we build off each other and we started rolling early.”

With Forrester providing the bulk of the offense, fellow senior Joel Scott played more of a supporting role offensively by adding 16 points. Eddie Speller also worked his way into double figures, finishing with 11.

Benton was quick to point out that it’s never really one play call or defensive set that gets his team into a rhythm, but rather trust.

“We trusted in our system,” Benton said. “We trusted in each other. That’s something we talked about. We knew they were a very physical team and we knew they were an athletic team. They are going to try and take you out of what you do. We have to trust what we do, knowing it will work and stay with it.”

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

Darnell Kindred tried to help the Eagles (5-5) keep pace, but overall the offense struggled with Medrano on the bench. Kindred scored all six of East’s points in the second quarter and once Medrano came back on the floor in the second half the Eagles looked more comfortable.

Medrano led all East scorers with 14. Kindred had 12 – eight of which came in the first half – and Marvin London Jr. added 10.

Ragsdale finished the night with just four points, the first of which came just over two minutes into the fourth quarter. He had one early look at a 3-pointer, but knows that he can’t simply walk onto the floor and find his shot right away.

“Once the first one goes down, it helps confidence wise,” Ragsdale said. “With that shot in the corner I had no legs and it was the first 3 I’ve shot all year so it was a little flat.”

Even with some players out, the Rangers have looked like a sound team which helps keep their spirits high.

“We’re having fun,” Forrester said. “I’d say we’re in mid-season form and we’re playing well together.”

And they have every intention of having fun all year, right up until the time they plan on returning to the state tournament at the Denver Coliseum

“It’s easier that way,” Forrester added. “Once everyone is working together it just comes naturally.”

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

EDGEWATER — A few days before the winter break beings there are three undefeated boys basketball teams remaining in Class 4A.

Not surprising, Lewis-Palmer and Longmont — ranked No. 1 and 2 in the current 4A boys CHSAANow.com poll — hold two of those undefeated spots. The third might be a bit of a surprise.

Alameda International holds an 8-0 record after Thursday’s 56-32 road victory against Jefferson.

Jefferson senior Antonio Portillo (0) goes up strong against Alameda International senior Orlondo Aguilar on Thursday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

“I never thought we would go 8-0, but I knew we had the team to do it,” Alameda senior Isiah Lawson said after the Pirates’ latest win. “The coaching and the bond the team has is the difference.”

Last season, Alameda finished above .500 in more than a decade. Second-year varsity head coach Geremey Gibson, who spent one year as an assistant coach at Alameda, has the majority of last year’s squad back and so far the Pirates are perfect.

“It feels really good, especially with the players we have,” Gibson said of the undefeated record. “They have been working hard. I’ve been with this group for three years, so I knew what they are capable of. I knew we had something special.”

Lawson was special against the Saints pouring in a game-high 15 points. The Pirates’ point guard and floor general did it on both ends of the floor. He had several strong drives to the basket that resulted in layups or trips to the free throw line.

Just before taking a seat on the bench in the fourth quarter Lawson had a monster block on the defensive end.

Alameda International senior Fernando Dominguez, far right, has his shot blocked in the first half Thursday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

“Lawson is very important,” Gibson said. “On the court he gives us that toughness that we need from a football player who transitions to a basketball player. He builds everyone else up.”

Alameda’s zone defense held Jefferson to single digits in three of the four quarters. Seniors Antonio Portillo (10 points) and Kurvonte Rice (nine points) led the Saints (2-3 record) in scoring.

Seniors Derik Gutierrez (12 points) and Orlondo Aguilar (10 points) joined Lawson in double-digit points for the Pirates. Senior Dominic Creazzo added nine points off three 3-pointers for Alameda.

“We are disciplined, especially during practice,” Lawson said. “We have to stay disciplined. With discipline comes winning games.”

Gibson has focused on the defensive end. That work paid off Thursday night with Alameda allowing a season-low 32 points.

“As the season goes on it gets long I harp that defense is going to carry us,” Gibson said.

The Pirates are right back on the court tomorrow (Friday) to finish off play before winter break. Alameda faces Pueblo Centennial at 6:30 p.m. The game will be played at Denver West High School.

“Tomorrow is a very big game,” Gibson said. “I feel if we can go to 9-0 it would be very big for the kids spirit and also for the Alameda crowds.”

After tomorrow night’s game the Pirates won’t play again until Jan. 10 when they host Denver North. The goals and expectations have definitely been raised for Alameda with the strong start.

“I don’t think we’ve been to the state tournament since 2007,” Lawson said. “We want to make the playoffs and advance to the Elite 8.”

Jefferson is back on the court Jan. 8 when it begins conference play in the 3A/2A Frontier League. The Saints host Middle Park at 7 p.m. in their league opener in a little more than two weeks.

Alameda International senior Benito Aragon (2) snags a rebound between Jefferson’s Josh Martinez (15) and Kurvonte Rice (2) during the Pirates’ 56-32 road victory. The win improved Alameda to 8-0 on the season. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

(Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)

Cherry Creek point guard Jana Van Gytenbeek didn’t have to think twice when she declared her intentions for college. Once Stanford came calling she delivered a firm yes.

Just a junior, Van Gytenbeek will play out her final two years with the Bruins then head to Palo Alto to continue her athletic career and education.

“Ever since I was little Stanford has been my dream school,” she said. “I went to camp there my fifth-grade year and again, it was just my dream school. It was always the goal for me.”

Here’s the most exciting part for her. When she gets there, she’ll have plenty of company from home. Regis Jesuit’s Fran Belibi and Discovery Canyon’s Ashten Prechtel are headed there in 2019. When it comes to finding top talent, The Setsuko Ishiyama Director of Women’s Basketball Tara VanDerveer has kept her eyes on the Rocky Mountains.

At first glance it might appear that two players from this year’s class and Van Gytenbeek for next makes for a unique praise in talent from the Division I level. But a closer look at recent years only suggest that with every season, the overall level in play from the state has been on the rise.

“The last couple of years Colorado has been up and coming,” Belibi said. “I know a lot of people don’t think about Colorado as one of the go-to states for basketball but with Kylee Shook going to Louisville and Michaela Onyenwere going to UCLA and now the three of us going to Stanford, I think it’s showing that Colorado is started to have those top athletes. The rest of the nation and a lot of the other colleges throughout the country are starting to notice that too.”

It’s not hard to notice with these three. Van Gytenbeek stood out way back when as a freshman guard. This season she’s averaging 19.4 points and 4.6 assists per game.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

The twin towers to be in Belibi and Prechtel have been equally impressive in their positions. Belibi scores almost 24 points and pulls down 13.5 rebounds per game. Prechtel is scoring 19.7 and grabbing 15.8 boards each contest. She’s also blocking five shots each game.

Where Belibi stands out is her ability to go viral on social media with her dunks. They’ve become so routine to some degree, but Colorado basketball fans never tire of them and neither does VanDerveer.

“Fran’s dunks are amazing and she’s a leaper that will be a huge help for us on the glass,” VanDerveer told GoStanford.com after Belibi signed. “Especially since we’ll lose Alanna (Smith) and Shannon (Coffee) to graduation, having someone coming in with her exceptional rebounding ability is vital.”

A few years down the road when they all find their way onto the court, the Cardinal will have a lot going for itself.

“They’re both amazing players,” Prechtel said. “They’re going to bring so much to the team for next year and for Jana the year after that. I’m excited to play with them and the rest of the team at Stanford.”

With basketball season in full swing, the trio doesn’t get to talk and hangout as much as they’d like. Van Gytenbeek and Belibi have played together outside of their high school teams and have run across Prechtel in big basketball atmospheres, such as the USA trials in Colorado Springs.

But the chemistry between them will only grow over the next year.

“Jana and I have been close the last few years because we play 3-on-3 together,” Belibi said. “We don’t get to see Ashten as much because she’s in a different group, but we have our freshman group chats. We don’t get to talk too much right now since we’re in season, but I’m excited to be able to get to know them better.”

For now, they all have their eyes on respective prizes. Currently Belibi has helped Regis Jesuit become the Class 5A No. 1-ranked team in the state. Coming off a big win over Grandview, the Raiders have their eyes on a deep playoff run.

The road might be a touch tougher for Prechtel as Discovery Canyon plays in the 4A Pikes Peak Athletic Conference where Air Academy currently reigns as the top team in the state.

Van Gytenbeek still has two years to go and, although will be behind the others by a year, is looking froward to what the rest of her high school journey will hold even if parts of her wishes she was in the same class as Belibi and Prechtel.

“In a way, yes,” she said. “But I’m also really focused on the present right now and I’m excited that I get two more years of high school to try and win a state championship.”

If Stanford (currently the No. 8 team in the nation) can maintain its high level of play, it’s not crazy to imagine three Colorado girls helping them compete for a national championship in just a few years.

These three girls have found a common motivation through basketball and academics and all agreed that Stanford was going to be the place for them. And the best part is they’ll be able to share it with each other and have a slice of home with them on what is sure to be an amazing journey.

“They’re both amazing players,” Prechtel said. “They’re going to bring so much to the team for next year and for Jana the year after that. I’m excited to play with them and the rest of the team at Stanford.”

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

(Cindy Betancourt/eStudioWest.com)

Valor Christian has named Josh Hoffman its new boys lacrosse coach.

The school announced that Hoffman would take over its program on Friday. Hoffman replaces John Grant Jr. as coach. Grant was named an assistant at Air Force in November.

“We feel truly blessed with the leadership of Coach Hoffman and look forward to the impact he will have on the Valor Christian community,” said Valor Christian athletic director Jamie Heiner said in a release.

Said Hoffman: “It’s such an incredible honor to be joining the Valor Family. I am grateful for the opportunity and am thrilled to be a part of what is already such a prestigious program.”

Valor Christian won Class 4A championships in 2017 and 2016 under Grant; the program was 60-14 in four seasons under his leadership. They will compete in 5A this season.

Hoffman most recently was an assistant coach at St. Francis High School in San Jose, Calif. He also spent four seasons as a national team coach at LAX Ministry Representative at FCA Lacrosse, and also time as an assistant coach in Baltimore.

He played college lacrosse at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

LAKEWOOD — Wheat Ridge senior Isaiah Lucero handed out maybe his most important gift of the holiday season on the basketball court Wednesday night.

Lucero snagged a rebound under the basket, but instead of forcing up a shot with a pair of Lakewood defenders hanging on him the senior had the sense to shovel the ball to teammate Julian Claussen.

“That was an amazing pass,” said Claussen, who made the only field goal during overtime off Lucero’s assist. “I didn’t even see it coming. That was a great pass by him.”

Lakewood sophomore Michael Bennett (3) tries to get past Wheat Ridge junior Ethan Sitzman during the first half Wednesday night at Lakewood High School. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

Claussen’s bucket gave the Farmers a 70-68 lead was just more than a minute to play in the first overtime period at Lakewood High School. Wheat Ridge was able to hang for a 73-69 victory thanks to a pair of free throws by Lucero and one by sophomore Dominic Cross in the final minute.

“It was perfect timing,” Lucero said of the key offensive rebound and assist. “I looked up and saw Julian.”

Lucero finished with a dozen points as Wheat Ridge (6-1 record) won its fifth straight game and reached six victories before the winter break for the first time in at least a decade.

“I thought Isaiah had a really good game. He came in there and sparked us,” Wheat Ridge coach Tommy Dowd said. “That is the nice thing about these guys. They will pass it to each other.”

Claussen led all scorers with 23 points. Senior Blair McVicker (15 points) and junior Dominic Bronk (13 points) also finished in double-digits for the Farmers.

It didn’t look good midway through the third quarter for Wheat Ridge. Lakewood (4-5) held a 51-33 lead with seniors Omar Vargas (17 points) and Pierce Holley (17 points), along with sophomore Addison Reddinger (12 points) leading the way.

Lakewood senior Pierce Holley, left, takes a jumper over Wheat Ridge senior Julian Claussen on Wednesday night at Lakewood High School. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

“We went to playing defense and stopped standing around,” Dowd said of how the Farmers turned an 18-point deficit into an eventual overtime victory. “Our guys picked it up man-to-man and got up into them. Lakewood has a couple of good players and we had to make them shoot over us.”

Vargas and Holley were limited to 10 points combined in the second half.

“At halftime we talked about those two (Vargas and Holley) were just killing us,” Lucero said. “In the second half our mindset switched and we just locked them down.”

It’s the second time early this season that Wheat Ridge has fought its way to an overtime road victory against a 5A Jeffco team. The Farmers edge Pomona 80-73 in overtime two weeks ago.

Wheat Ridge is right back on the court tomorrow (Thursday). The Farmers travel to Loveland to face Class 3A’s Resurrection Christian. The Cougars are coached by former Green Mountain High School coach Bruce Dick.

“It’s big. We are going to need it going into break,” Lucero said of the importance of Thursday’s road game against Resurrection Christian. “After break we’ll go back to work.”

Lakewood has a break with not playing until after winter break. The Tigers play three straight road games to start the new year, beginning with Vista PEAK on Jan. 8.

Wheat Ridge senior Blair McVicker (2) drives past Lakewood senior Omar Vargas (0) and sophomore Michael Bennett (3) on his way to a layup in the third quarter. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

AURORA — Kenny Foster hit a 3-point shot from the corner as time expired to lift No. 3 Smoky Hill boys basketball to a 67-65 win over Regis Jesuit on Wednesday.

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(Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)

Welcome back, folks!

Week 3 of the season was action-packed and we expect even more in Week 4 as we close in on the winter break.

Our last-second heroics along with teams competing well in- and out-of-state continues as we have No. 6 ThunderRidge and No. 7 Rock Canyon competing in the Kruel Classic (Florida) and numerous top squads battling in the Las Vegas Tarkanian Classic.

Let’s take a look:

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The Look Back

Monday, Dec. 17

• Leading scorer Chase Hettinger hit double figures with 14 again but this time his fellow senior at Castle View, Bryson Lindsey, was lead man this night with 22 points and 8 rebounds in the win over Greeley West.
• Discovery Canyon dropped from our 4A Top 10 and it will be hard to get voted back in after going down to Canon City by 7. Senior Gabe Rall was “stat-stuffin” 24 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals in the win!
• Vista Peak got 20 points from junior AJ LaCabe along with 13 from “lefty” sophomore Curtis Stovall in home win by 13 over Prairie View.
• D’Evelyn got extremely DEFENSIVE only allowing 27 points to Sky View winning by 19! Nine points was the most allowed in any quarter.
• Evergreen received 30 votes in our latest poll and senior Theo Miller scored 16 points in the 10-point win over Conifer.
• Sean Bohuslavsky is averaging 17 points per game and scored 20 this night in a surprisingly big margin Liberty put on Bear Creek winning 70-38.
• Fairview is garnering many votes to break into our 5A Top 10 and their big guns Aaron Bokol and Ty Robinson combined for 39 points but it wasn’t enough to stop Fairview from pulling the upset 69-65!

Tuesday, Dec. 18

• Tuesday starts with Widefield’s upset of No. 6 Pueblo West behind 42 combined points from Darin Spratley and Randall Days…bith scoring 21!
• Arvada West got 5 votes in the 5A poll and continue to play strong ball and this night’s 3-point win took overtime to win on the road at Fossil Ridge.
• Mead has joined the 4A Top 10 at No. 10 flexing their muscle winning by 29 over Berthoud!
• Darius Hornbuckle back in the line up for Thomas Jefferson with 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists in the Spartans 80-53 win over Elizabeth. The big Cecil “twins” combined for 19 points in the win as well.
• Rock Canyon, up to No. 7 this week, is preparing for Florida tournament play and beat Doherty by 12 at home before their travel.
• Columbine enters the 5A Top-10 for first time this year at No. 9 but Legend’s 27-20 fourth quarter advantage sealed this one for the Titans by 5. Standout Luke O’Brien scored 27 for the Rebels in the loss.

Wednesday, Dec. 19

• We have a hand full of our big school boys teams at the Tarkanian Classic Las Vegas tournament and No. 5 Grandview got the winning going with 69-65 win over Coronado (NV) and junior point guard Liam Romero dropped 23 points in the win!
• Our state’s top-ranked Chaparral squad also got the Tark Classic started with a 62-55 win with Kobe Sanders 19 leading the way partnered with Bryce Matthews 18 points. Representing CO well!
• The Fever Crew had fun covering Wyoming commit Kenny Foster’s early-season heroics and he kept it rolling for No. 3 Smoky Hill hitting a “walk off” 3-pointer to give the Buffaloes a 67-65 win over visiting Regis. Our partner Aurora Sentinel caught a sweet angle of the last second bucket!

Boys Basketball: @KennyFoster22 connects on the winning 3-pointer from the corner to lift @SmokyHillHoops over @RegisJesuitHS 67-65 @SmokySports @ClarenceBuff @CCSDATHACT1 @Bball_CO @CHSAA @SentinelColo #copreps #sentinelpreps #aurora pic.twitter.com/r6XNZChWAv

— Sentinel Prep Sports (@aurorasports) December 20, 2018

• Two in a row for Vista Peak and it’s an impressive win at Heritage by 17, 65-48!
• A-Town “braggin rights” on the line in Aurora Central vs. Hinkley and Malachi Owens 17 points helped the Trojans take the game 66-51 with his five steals turning up big.
• “Aye Bellos!” … don’t look now but our beloved Montbello (FNE) Warriors are 8-2 and simply throttled visiting Sheridan putting up 93 total points along the way!
• Our 4A No. 2 squad advances to 9-0 after a 20-point win over Discovery Canyon! The Trojans started off 16-6 first quarter and kept on truckin!
• “Gotta” love a name like River Blessing and the Boulder Panther scored 21 points in the double overtime session vs. Bear Creek but it wasn’t enough as the Bears pulled off the 7-point win.
• Valor is also on the road in the tough Tarkanian Classic and almost made it another CO win but went down late by three points to Timpanogos out of Orem, UT. Let’s bounce back Eagles!

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Mid-Week Thoughts

The Fever Crew has been blessed with the opportunity to coach some of our top players in national tournaments all over our country spring/summer and we know that our young men can compete with other states that are supposed “basketball hot beds” and we have no doubt that our CHSAA school teams could prove the same in Las Vegas, Texas, and Florida etc…

Can’t wait to jump into the end of Week 4 report and see how things play out, in and out of state, before our winter break.

Enjoy, hoop fans!

(Lance Wendt/LanceWendt.com)

Wednesday is Signing Day for Division I football recruits, marking the start of a three-day early period where they can sign with colleges.

Below is a breakdown of our state’s 2019 recruiting class so far. Find a complete database of 2019 recruits from Colorado here.

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By the numbers

* – Through Dec. 19, 2018
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2019 Division I football recruits from Colorado

Note: Not all players have signed a National Letter of Intent; some are verbal commitments.

(Ray Chen/ArrayPhoto.com)

The first girls swimming and diving team rankings of the season have been released.

These team rankings are created from the top marks of the season so far which have been entered in MaxPreps. They are compiled by PrepSwimCo.com.

In addition, the top individual marks of the season to date are compiled here.

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PrepSwimCo.com Girls Swimming & Diving Rankings

Colorado has produced 21 four-time state high school wrestling champions. Four more can accomplish that feat in 2019. But before them all, there was Bob Thompson. This is his story.