James Shiers scored 20 points to lead Class 4A No. 1 Mead to a tough 72-67 win over Horizon on Friday night.

ARVADA — Saya Sabus, Sydney Bevington and Brooklyn Seymour had RalstonValley’s girls basketball team on pace to reach 100 points Friday night.

The trio were all in double-figures through the first half, leading the Mustangs to a 47-15 halftime lead over Legacy. Ralston Valley — No. 4 in the CHSAANow.com Class 5A girls basketball preseason rankings — eventually slowed down offensively to cruise to a 62-30 victory.

“At practice a big emphasis was ball movement,” said Bevington, who led the Mustangs with 19 points and 10 rebounds. “We worked way better tonight.”

Ralston Valley senior McKenna Nichols spots up from 3-point range during the Mustangs’ 62-30 victory Friday night against Legacy. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

While the Mustangs (1-1 record) didn’t shoot particularly well — only 33 percent from the field and 2-for-17 from 3-point range — Ralston Valley dominated the boards with 42 rebounds that resulted in a lot of easy buckets in the paint.

“We played more like a team tonight,” said Seymour, who scored all of her 12 points in the first half before the Mustangs took their foot off the gas. “It was much better than our first game of the season. That gave we were just getting the rust off.”

Ralston Valley suffered a 72-61 season-opening loss to Windsor on Monday night.

The Mustangs turned it up defensively limiting the Lightning (0-2) to single-digit points in every quarter.

“We like to think we are a lot quicker so we try to apply as much pressure as we can,” Seymour said of the Mustangs’ defense that grabbed 17 steals on the night. “I think if we speed up the game that will help us in the long run.”

Ralston Valley senior Sydney Bevington (33) pulls up for a jumper over Legacy junior Katie Paredes on Friday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

The long run will seem pretty short with the shortened 14-game regular season. The Mustangs do have an advantage with an experience senior core that has played together a lot over the years.

“Our team dynamic has always been good,” Bevington said of the experienced group. “Figuring out and navigating this season. We haven’t had a lot of practice, but we are figuring it out. Tonight felt really good.”

Longtime Ralston Valley coach Jeff Gomer sounded like a veteran coach after the game.

“We’ve got a lot of room for improvement,” Gomer said.

There isn’t nearly as much time as there is during a regular season to tune things to get ready for conference play. Figuring out and developing a bench rotation is something Gomer hasn’t been able to do with only a week of practices and two games under the Mustangs’ belt.

Ralston Valley opens 5A Jeffco League play on Monday, Feb. 1, on the road against No. 14 Lakewood (1-1). The Mustangs stay on the road to face No. 2 Valor Christian on Wednesday next week.

“My whole mindset is to get better fast and be ready for playoffs,” said Gomer, who added avoiding any kind of COVID-19 quarantine is key too. “You can’t have something happen where you miss five or six games and then you miss the playoffs. That could happen.”

Ralston Valley senior Brooklyn Seymour (14) drives through a trio of Legacy players on her way to a basket in the first half Friday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

MANITOU SPRINGS — Every game serves a different purpose for a season. Manitou Springs and Peyton both advanced in last year’s postseason, but neither team finished exactly where they wanted.

They clashed Friday night in Manitou in a makeup game of what was supposed to be each team’s season opener. The Class 3A No. 4 Mustangs rolled to a 51-26 but each team took a different lesson from the outcome.

Manitou (2-0 overall) is coming off its first outright Tri-Peaks League championship in program history. After losing two significant seniors, the team feels prime to repeat that feat from last year and try to accomplish something special in 2021.

“Last year we built a lot of really good momentum,” senior Isaiah Thomas said. “We’re coming into this season off a really heartbreaking loss and we’re coming back hungry. We lost some great seniors, but we have a lot of young kids coming up and stepping into really important roles.”

Thomas led the Manitou scoring effort with 13 in the win, but the real story is what the team did defensively. The team allowed just one field goal in the first half and gave a glimpse of their ability to limit baskets just as much as they can score them.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

“I thought they did a good job of being patient,” coach Brian Vecchio. “They didn’t try to force things on the offensive end, they stuck to just defense and rebounding which is where we want our backbone to be.”

It wasn’t an ideal start to the season for the 2A No. 7 Panthers (0-1), but coach Jedd Sims knows the value an early game against the Mustangs will bring as they try and make their way back to the Class 2A Great 8.

Sims hoped the Panthers could slow the pace and keep the game close. He felt that plan gave his guys an opportunity to make a move late.

“Our plan was to take the air out of the ball, chew up their legs if we could,” Sims said. “We were confident that if we could keep it close, we could make a run late in the game. Unfortunately, some turnovers led to some easy buckets. They’re just good. It’s hard to stall when they’re just on you defensively like that.”

Gavin Miller and Brennen Meyers each scored seven points to lead the team, all of which came in the second half for both players.

As Manitou chases its second regular season league title in as many years, it showed a versatile offensive attack when needed. Thomas’ points came from mid-range jumpers and attacking the basket while the Mustangs got plenty of points in the paint as sophomore John Maynard scored 12 and senior Lars Marquardt added six.

“Offensively, we’re a great threat,” Thomas said. “We have some big guys and some shooters, but our defense is where we want to shine. Stopping teams from being comfortable is going to be what gets us to the next level.”

Manitou begins league play on Monday with a trip to Florence.

(Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

The boys basketball season started in style for Class 5A Mountain Vista as it upset No. 4 Denver East 58-57 on Thursday.

Tay Williams led the way with 20 points as Denver South girls basketball grabbed a 53-45 win over Rock Canyon on Thursday.

Pine Creek girls basketball jumped out to an early lead and never looked back in a 71-40 win over Class 4A No. 6 Pine Creek.

(Photo courtesy of Ryan Corn)

In so many ways, the feeling of girls wrestling matches officially counting for a sanctioned high school season feels like a long time coming.

For years, girls have been advancing to the state wrestling tournament, now officially regarded as the boys state wrestling tournament, and done their best to fit in with the other competitors. Some have wrestled and lost. Others have won via forfeit after their opponents made a personal choice to not compete against a girl.

Brooke Sauer was the first girl to ever step foot on mat at Ball Arena (the former Pepsi Center). Lauryn Bruggink was the first girls to win a match, pinning her opponent in the first round of the consolation bracket. In 2019, a pair of girls placed for the first time as Jaslynn Gallegos took fifth while Angel Rios finished fourth.

In 2021, the girls are officially on their own. Among the many competitors set to make history this season, Olathe’s Nicole Koch is among them.

“It’s great,” Koch said. “In the past, [girls wrestling] has been something that’s just been on the side. It hasn’t been paid attention to as much. With it being sanctioned this year, it’ll get a lot more attention and it will be a lot more fun.”

The sanctioning of the sport continues to demonstrate the growth in participation in both wrestling as a whole and high school sports in general. As the number of female participants in the sport has gone up, the need for girls wrestling as a recognized sport has also increased.

“It’s opening up a huge amount of opportunities for more participation,” Olathe coach Ryan Corn said. “It’s a sport that a lot of people out there were kind of like me, they didn’t want the girls to wrestle with the boys. There were a lot of personal preferences in there. But now that we have the girls competing against each other, there has been a lot more interest in terms of more girls wanting to participate and get into the sport.”

Corn was happy to jump at the chance to coach the girls for what is set to be a historic year for high school sports. It helps that he has a team in Olathe that was ranked No. 8 in the preseason top 10 and he has a competitor like Koch who is ranked at the top of the 118-pound weight class.

In her sophomore year, Koch went a total of 13-0, which included an 8-0 against boys throughout the year.

Heading into her junior season with a fresh, exciting situation ahead, she’s hopeful that success continues to come her way in 2021.

“I wasn’t really ranked last year, so it doesn’t make a difference to me,” she said. “I’m going to wrestle how I normally wrestle, no matter how I’m ranked.”

She continued.

“I’ve wrestled at the [girls pilot] state tournament the last two years and I’ve had a lot of people talk to me since then. I think I’ll be more well-known this year,” she said.

And she’ll be just one of many more Colorado high school athletes with a higher profile. With a new sport comes new opportunities for the student-athletes of the state.

And if the response of girls wrestling is ay indication, kids are jumping at the chance to be involved.

LAKEWOOD — Thursday night in Lakewood High School’s gym was the first match for Columbine’s wrestling team without Ray Barron.

The legendary prep wrestling coach passed away last October after a battle with brain cancer.

“I loved having him with me. It was one of the things we did together was coach,” said Luke Barron, Ray’s son and now co-head wrestling coach with John Alley. “But he was still with me tonight. He is always with me.”

Columbine senior Zach Schraeder, left, listens to coach John Alley during a match Thursday night at Lakewood High School. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

Ray Barron finished his 50 years of coaching on top with Jack Forbes and Zach Schraeder winning individual state championship titles for the Rebels last February at Pepsi Center in Denver. Forbes took the Class 5A 182-pound state title and Schraeder won the heavyweight match.

“That always comes back to me over-and-over again in my head,” Schraeder said of being the last wrestler Ray Barron coached at the state tournament. Ray placed his own wrestling shoes at the center of the mat following Schraeder’s victory. “It’s one of those things that I really don’t have words for. I’m very honored to be one of his last wrestlers.”

Alley and Luke Barron decided to take over Columbine’s wrestling program.

“It’s been good,” Luke Barron said of him and Alley taking over the Rebels’ wrestling program as co-head coaches. “We each bring something different to the team. All the coaches bring something different. It comes together to form something that is so awesome. We have a wrestling room that has so much fun and is full of smiles.”

Both wrestled for Ray Barron and have been on the Rebels’ coaching staff.

“Ray’s legacy is amazing. It can’t be replicated really,” Alley said. “We are definitely trying to keep the values that he instilled in athletes and students. We want to keep that true to what he taught.”

Columbine — No. 8 in the preseason On The Mat rankings — returns a number of wrestlers from last year’s squad. Including, Forbes and Schraeder who hope to defend their state titles.

Columbine’s Brandon Phagan, left, battles with Chatfield’s David Wiley during the first wrestling action of the season Thursday night at Lakewood High School. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

Forbes didn’t see much action in the pair of duals against Chatfield and Lakewood. The 195-pounder got more action during warm-ups and jumping rope on the sidelines during matches.

“It would have been nice to wrestle,” said Forbes, who took a pair of forfeit victories on the night during the Rebels’ 36-21 and 54-24 dual victories over their 5A Jeffco League rivals. “It is nice to be back on the mats. It’s fun to be back out here encouraging my teammates.”

Forbes said he has worked hard on his own during the COVID-19 pandemic that has shortened the high school wrestling season in Colorado. He has also done some out-of-state club tournaments to prepare for the season.

“I’ve got to work that much harder because it’s a shorter season,” Forbes said. “I’ve got some tough guys in the bracket obviously.”

Forbes is ranked No. 2 at 195 behind last year’s state champion at 195 pounds — Pomona senior Franklin Cruz.

Schraeder took a forfeit victory against Chatfield before pinning Lakewood sophomore Andrew Martinez. Schraeder got the Rebels’ bench excited after a sprawling escape to start the second period, followed up by a takedown.

“Since we do have a shortened season it’s tough to get those matches in that are crucial to figure out what you need to work on,” said Schraeder, who is No. 1 in the heavyweight preseason rankings.

“They (Forbes and Schraeder) are working hard. They keep their noses to the grindstone,” Alley said. “Those two wrestlers have an unbelievable understanding and connection with Ray Barron. They are working just as hard as if Ray is still there.”

The for Columbine’s wrestling program … Ray Barron is still motivating all Rebel wrestlers on and off the mat.

“Ray was an amazing guy,” Forbes said. “He built this team from when we really weren’t that good. He got us to where we are right now. We all keep him in our hearts. Whenever it gets tough we think about him to push through. Ray was the foundation of this team.”

While the wrestling season looks very different in many ways, Luke Barron knows his Dad is be proud of how Columbine wrestling program performed Thursday night.

“He just loved seeing kids get a chance to compete,” Luke Barron said. “Luckily, through all the hard work of people we have been able to overcome everything to compete this year. The smile on his face getting to see kids do stuff like this was always so big. You can’t see it because of the mask, but I’m smiling pretty big to tonight. It was lots of fun.”

Columbine’s Darrell Miller works on pinning Lakewood’s Nolan Hoefner during the 170-pound match Thursday. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)

(Bethany Brookens/CHSAANow.com)

The first virtual CHSAA State Championships will be held this Friday and Saturday. The CHSAA State Speech & Debate Festival will be entirely online, and we are excited to offer this opportunity for all of our student.

This event is the state championship event in speech and debate for smaller schools.

The following schools will be battling it out during these championships:

• Alamosa
• Battle Mountain
• Dawson
• Denver Christian
• Eagle Valley
• Faith Christian
• Fowler
• Frederick
• Fort Morgan
• Hayden
• Limon
• Longmont
• Niwot
• Pagosa Springs
• Platte Canyon
• Resurrection Christian
• Silver Creek
• St. Mary’s Academy
• Stargate
• Steamboat Springs
• University

The following are the events the students will be competing in: Interpretation of Drama, Interpretation of Humor, Interpretation of Poetry, Original Oratory, Combined Extemporaneous Speaking, One-on-One Value Debate, Creative Storytelling, Congressional Debate, Public Forum Debate, Lincoln Douglas Debate, Duo Interpretation, Program Oral Interpretation, Informative Speaking, and Impromptu Speaking.

Thank you to all of the coaches and administrators for supporting Speech & Debate this year.  We are especially grateful for the hard work of Tournament Directors, Greg Hanson (Dawson) and Diane Wagener (Battle Mountain). Good luck to all teams and participants this weekend!

A quick start in the first quarter led Class 5A No. 14 Legend to a 70-45 win over Dakota Ridge on Wednesday.