It was no easy task but No. 3 Ralston Valley boys basketball got by No. 30 Arapahoe 63-52 in the Class 5A boys basketball tournament.
Tag: Ralston Valley
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Ralston Valley girls basketball gallops into 5A Sweet 16
ARVADA — Ralston Valley junior Sydney Bevington was a bit of a decoy early on Friday night in the Class 5A girls basketball second-round state tournament game.
No. 39-seeded Pine Creek had seen Bevington and No. 7 Mustangs earlier in the season. Knowing what one of the top juniors in the state — who is averaging a double-double in scoring and rebounds — is capable of the Eagles’ defense was clearly focused on shutting Bevington down.
Ralston Valley junior Sydney Bevington (33) goes up strong during the Mustangs’ second-round state playoff victory over Pine Creek on Friday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) “My shot wasn’t really on necessarily,” Bevington said after the Mustangs advanced to the Sweet 16 with a convincing 56-28 victory over Pine Creek. “Everyone else was making a lot of 3-pointers.”
Bevington went scoreless in the first quarter. However, juniors Rachel Meeks and McKenna Nichols, along with senior Ellie Schweiker each knocked down a 3-pointer in the opening quarter to help the Mustangs get out to a 16-6 lead.
“If you do that she (Bevington) will find the open person,” Ralston Valley coach Jeff Gomer said of the first quarter with the Eagles focusing on Bevington. “And we need those kids to hit those shots for us to go further.”
Bevington did get going herself offensively. The junior poured in 11 of her game-high 16 points in the second quarter as Ralston Valley opened up a 36-12 lead by halftime.
Sophomore Saya Sabus contributed 12 points and Schweiker finished with 11 points as the Mustangs put it on cruise control in the second half. The defense stayed strong, limiting Pine Creek to single digits in all but the Eagles’ 10-point fourth quarter.
Pine Creek senior Haley Murdock finished off her prep career scoring a team-high eight points for the Eagles (10-15 record).
Ralston Valley senior Ellie Schweiker (4) goes up strong against Pine Creek senior Haley Murdock during the first quarter Friday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) “In practice a lot we focus on hard work on defense and playing hard,” Schweiker said. “If you have the right mentality the steals will come and shots will comes. It’s about playing hard on that side of the court.”
A hard non-league schedule is something Ralston Valley (19-5) hopes will benefit the Mustangs as they get deeper into the postseason. Four of Ralston Valley’s five losses this season came against the top four seeds — Valor Christian, Cherry Creek, Regis Jesuit and Grandview — in the 5A state tournament.
“I think it really prepared us,” Bevington said of playing the likes of Grandview and Cherry Creek. “They are just a different style of play then what we see in Jeffco. Playing that higher competition increases our speed of the game. That is why Gomer does it. To get us really for playoffs.”
Ralston Valley now gets ready to host a familiar foe in the next round on Tuesday night. Jeffco rival and No. 23 Columbine (15-10) went on the road against No. 10 Fountain-Fort Carson on Friday night. The Rebels won 51-39 in overtime.
“I would be excited to see Columbine again,” Bevington said before the Rebels pulled off the upset against Fountain-Fort Carson. “Their coach always makes adjustments, but we always seem to pull out the win.”
The Mustangs went 2-0 against the Rebels this season. However, both games were fairly close contests.
“They gave us two games,” Gomer said when asked about possibility of facing Columbine again. “We’ve just got to play well. If we play well we’ll move on. I don’t like playing someone three times, but it is what it is.”
Ralston Valley junior McKenna Nichols (12) soars toward the basket with Pine Creek senior Haley Murdock (55) and Madelyn Blazo (5) guard her Friday night. The Mustangs’ 56-28 victory advanced Ralston Valley into the Sweet 16 where it will host Jeffco rival Columbine on Tuesday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) -
Photos: Ralston Valley girls basketball beats Pine Creek in Round 2
Ralston Valley girls basketball beat Pine Creek 56-28 to move on to the 5A Sweet 16.
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Photos: Ralston Valley hockey tops Aspen in state tournament’s first round
Noah Grolnic and Ethan Polacsek found the net in the first period and No. 10 Ralston Valley hockey rolled to 6-1 win over No. 23 Aspen in the first round of the state hockey tournament.
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Video: Jeffco Preps With Pleuss (March)
Jeffco Preps With Pleuss is a monthly roundup of Jeffco prep highlights hosted by Dennis Pleuss, Jeffco Public Schools’ sports information director. This month’s edition features the girls swimming state championship at VMAC in Thornton. Evergreen captured another Class 3A team title. Ralston Valley diver Izzy Gregersen won the 5A diving state championship and Chatfield junior Kathryn Shanley swam to two individual titles. Ralston Valley and Columbine locked up in a big Class 5A Jeffco boys basketball game that came down to the wire. Before the postseason started, Wheat Ridge took a non-league victory over Bear Creek on the hardwood. Green Mountain’s girls basketball continued its historic season. The big National Letter of Intent Signing Day on Feb. 5 was celebrated by several Jeffco schools.
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Photos: No. 7 Ralston Valley nets two goals in the third to beat No. 5 Regis Jesuit
Joey Homer and Sam Clark scored goals in the third period to lift No. 7 Ralston Valley hockey to a 4-3 win over No. 5 Regis Jesuit.
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Photos: No. 4 Ralston Valley boys basketball beats rival Arvada West
Caleb Rillos led the way with 14 points as No. 4 Ralston Valley boys basketball beat Arvada West 60-30 on Friday.
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No. 4 Ralston Valley boys hoops gets help in its quest for 5A Jeffco title
LITTLETON — Ralston Valley’s boys basketball team got an assist from an unlikely source Wednesday night.
After taking care of its own business with a 64-48 road victory against Dakota Ridge in Class 5A Jeffco League action, the Mustangs went into the locker room and caught the tail end of rival Arvada West upsetting Columbine 70-68.
“When Columbine lost to Arvada West we were going crazy in the locker room,” Ralston Valley senior Caleb Rillos said. “We knew with A-West beating Columbine we would have a chance for league. We just have to win Friday. We have more motivation now.”
Ralston Valley senior Luke Carlston, right, works inside on Dakota Ridge junior Gino Corridori during the second half Tuesday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) Ralston Valley closes out the regular season at home against rival A-West at 7 p.m. Friday. If the Mustangs — No. 4 in the CHSAANow.com Class 5A rankings — defeat the Wildcats it would leave Ralston Valley and Valor Christian tied atop 5A Jeffco to end league play.
The Mustangs (19-3, 6-1) would be awarded the conference title over the Eagles (16-6, 7-1) because Ralston Valley defeated Valor 60-58 to take the head-to-head tiebreaker.
“We’ll be so amped up with it being Senior Night,” Ralston Valley senior Luke Carlston said of Friday’s home game against A-West. “We just need to play a complete game.”
Ralston Valley took a 69-49 non-league victory over A-West back on Jan. 13, but Mustangs’ coach Chris Braketa is going to make sure his team doesn’t take the Wildcats (10-12, 5-2) lightly.
“A-West has some good players and Coach (Jeff) Parriott always comes with a really good game plan,” Braketa said. “It’s going to be a battle again.”
Dakota Ridge (9-13, 4-3) gave Ralston Valley a battle early on. The Eagles led 9-2 midway through the first quarter. Senior Quincy Alexander and junior Hunter Hickman combined for three 3-pointers in the opening minutes.
Dakota Ridge junior Taeshaud Jackson Jr. (10) gets a shot off over Ralston Valley senior Walker Brickle in the Class 5A Jeffco League game. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) However, the Mustangs responded in the second quarter outscoring Dakota Ridge 21-12 in the quarter to grab a 29-25 lead at halftime. Rillos poured in 11 of his game-high 25 points in the second quarter.
“It was just kind of a weird first half offensively,” Braketa said. “We got going and it came from our defense which is important.”
Rillos gave a lot of credit to Carlston when it came to turning the momentum in the Mustangs’ favor. Carlston started the second half with a steal and layup on the other end to help Ralston Valley push its lead to double-digits.
“Luke has that ability to spark us,” Rillos said of Carlston, who finished with 13 points. “When he is going our whole team gets going.”
Senior Caden Gigstad got the hot hand in the third quarter for Ralston Valley. The senior guard hit a pair of 3-pointer, including one to end the third quarter to make it a 52-36 lead heading to the final quarter.
“We knew he (Gigstad) would bounce back,” Carlston said. “He is a great player. He just needs to keep shooting it.”
Hickman led Dakota Ridge with 16 points. Junior Gino Corridori returned from injury and had a nice game back with a dozen points. The Eagles wrap up conference play and tries to end its 3-game losing streak before the postseason with a league game on the road against Pomona at 7 p.m. Friday.
While a 2020 league title banner hanging at Ralston Valley High School’s gym would be nice, it’s not the ultimate goal for the Mustangs.
“(League) isn’t the end goal. It’s the process of trying to get better every day,” Braketa said. “Whatever comes in the end that is what comes. We are just working to get better.”
Ralston Valley senior Caleb Rillos had a game-high 25 points in the Mustangs’ 64-48 road victory against Dakota Ridge on Wednesday night. If Ralston Valley defeats rival Arvada West on Friday night the Mustangs will win the Class 5A Jeffco League title. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics) -
Boys basketball rankings: Kit Carson moves up to No. 1 in 1A
Kit Carson has taken over as the top-ranked team in Class 1A boys basketball this week.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. During the regular season, they are released each Monday.
Complete rankings are below.
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CHSAANow.com Boys Basketball Polls
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
First-place votes are in parentheses.
Coaches and media members looking to vote should email rcasey@chsaa.org.
Class 5A RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW 1 Rangeview (11) 21-0 128 1 3-0 2 Grandview (2) 16-5 103 2 1-1 3 Cherry Creek 17-4 88 4 3-0 4 Ralston Valley 18-3 80 5 2-0 5 Smoky Hill 17-4 79 3 3-0 6 Fairview 17-3 67 6 2-0 7 Columbine 17-3 48 7 2-0 8 Valor Christian 15-6 42 8 3-0 9 Boulder 18-3 29 9 3-0 10 Chaparral 15-6 21 10 1-0 Others receiving votes: Eaglecrest 17, Denver East 8, Pine Creek 5. Dropped out None. Class 4A RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW 1 Mead (12) 20-1 120 1 3-0 2 Longmont 18-3 91 3 3-0 3 Northfield 17-4 89 2 1-1 4 Cheyenne Mountain 20-1 83 4 3-0 5 Glenwood Springs 18-3 59 6 3-0 6 Golden 15-6 56 7 1-0 7 Harrison 15-4 55 5 1-1 8 Skyline 16-5 23 – 2-0 9 Pueblo West 15-6 18 8 2-1 10 Erie 16-4 16 9 1-0 Others receiving votes: Montrose 14, Pueblo East 12, Green Mountain 10, Thomas Jefferson 9, Silver Creek 5. Dropped out Montrose (10). Class 3A RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW 1 Resurrection Christian (15) 18-0 167 1 3-0 2 Lutheran (1) 16-2 152 2 1-0 3 Sterling 16-3 125 3 2-0 4 The Vanguard School 16-1 113 4 3-0 5 Faith Christian 15-3 107 5 2-0 6 DSST: Byers (1) 16-1 56 7 2-0 7 Alamosa 15-4 53 10 2-0 8 Manitou Springs 15-3 43 9 2-0 9 Eaton 15-3 38 8 2-0 10 Centauri 16-2 37 6 1-1 Others receiving votes: Gunnison 14, DSST: College View 6, Manual 6, DSST: Montview 5, St. Mary’s 3, University 3, Coal Ridge 2, Eagle Ridge 2, Jefferson Academy 2, DSST: Green Valley Ranch 1. Dropped out None. Class 2A RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW 1 Highland (14) 16-1 149 1 2-0 2 Yuma (1) 15-2 133 2 2-0 3 Limon 16-2 109 4 3-0 4 Fowler 16-2 94 5 2-0 5 Denver Christian 13-3 79 3 0-1 6 Ignacio 14-2 66 6 2-0 7 Mancos 14-3 55 7 2-0 8 Sedgwick County 17-1 51 8 2-0 9 Sanford 13-4 31 9 1-0 10 Crested Butte 15-2 23 – 2-0 Others receiving votes: Vail Christian 21, Holly 7, Wray 4, Dawson School 1, Heritage Christian 1, Peyton 1. Dropped out Vail Christian (10). Class 1A RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW 1 Kit Carson (5) 16-1 70 2 2-0 2 De Beque (3) 16-2 67 1 1-1 3 Sangre de Cristo 16-1 63 3 3-0 4 Walsh 15-2 57 4 2-0 5 Flatirons Academy 14-4 37 6 2-0 6 Mile High Academy 12-2 36 9 4-1 7 Briggsdale 15-2 33 7 1-0 8 Kim/Branson 14-3 30 5 1-1 9 Evangelical Christian 14-3 20 8 1-1 10 Denver Waldorf 11-4 11 – 2-0 Others receiving votes: Ouray 10, Fleming 4, Cotopaxi 2. Dropped out Ouray (10). -
Girls basketball rankings: Three new teams join the polls
(Vanessa Vandehey/vanessa-photography.net) Vista PEAK (5A), Montrose (4A) and Cotopaxi (1A) have joined this week’s girls basketball rankings.
The rankings, voted upon by coaches and select media members, are the official polls of the Association. During the regular season, they are released each Monday.
Complete rankings are below.
[divider]
CHSAANow.com Girls Basketball Polls
Voted upon by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.
First-place votes are in parentheses.
Coaches and media members looking to vote should email rcasey@chsaa.org.
Class 5A RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW 1 Grandview (9) 19-2 116 1 3-0 2 Cherry Creek (1) 18-2 103 3 3-0 3 Valor Christian (2) 20-1 97 2 3-0 4 Highlands Ranch 17-4 82 4 3-0 5 Regis Jesuit 17-4 79 5 2-0 6 Ralston Valley 16-4 57 6 3-1 7 Fossil Ridge 17-3 49 7 2-1 8 Fruita Monument 20-2 26 8 2-0 9 Vista Peak Prep 19-2 14 – 3-0 10 Cherokee Trail 13-8 11 9 1-1 Others receiving votes: Mountain Vista 9, Fountain-Fort Carson 8, Chaparral 3, Denver East 3, Doherty 1, Thornton 1, ThunderRidge 1. Dropped out Fountain-Fort Carson (10). Class 4A RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW 1 Mullen (13) 15-6 150 1 2-1 2 Pueblo West (3) 20-1 144 2 3-0 3 Sand Creek 19-1 125 3 3-0 4 Green Mountain 19-2 109 4 2-0 5 Berthoud 19-2 83 6 1-0 6 Erie 19-2 76 5 2-0 7 Holy Family 15-6 57 7 1-1 8 Thompson Valley 20-1 31 8 2-0 9 Sierra 16-4 20 10 2-0 10 Montrose 17-4 18 – 1-0 Others receiving votes: Falcon 17, George Washington 15, Air Academy 12, Ponderosa 12, Evergreen 5, Canon City 4, Cheyenne Mountain 1, Glenwood Springs 1. Dropped out Falcon (9). Class 3A RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW 1 St. Mary’s (7) 18-1 83 1 2-0 2 Lutheran 17-1 74 2 1-0 3 Centauri (2) 16-2 67 4 2-0 4 Pagosa Springs 14-3 65 3 0-1 5 Delta 14-3 54 6 1-0 6 The Vanguard 16-1 43 5 3-0 7 University 16-2 35 7 1-0 8 The Academy 18-0 29 8 3-0 9 Alamosa 15-4 28 9 2-1 10 Eaton 15-3 10 10 2-0 Others receiving votes: Jefferson Academy 3, Manitou Springs 3, Cedaredge 1. Dropped out None. Class 2A RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW 1 Limon (4) 17-1 99 1 3-0 2 Holyoke (3) 17-1 98 2 2-0 3 Rocky Ford (2) 18-0 86 3 3-0 4 Rye (1) 18-0 71 5 2-0 5 Heritage Christian 16-0 59 6 2-0 6 Meeker 16-2 43 10 3-0 7 Del Norte 14-3 39 4 1-2 8 Colorado Springs School (1) 16-1 35 7 3-0 9 Sanford 11-5 25 9 2-0 10 Simla 13-3 20 8 2-1 Others receiving votes: Ignacio 15, Wray 7, Peyton 5, Yuma 2, Swink 1. Dropped out None. Class 1A RK TEAM W-L PTS PVS LW 1 Fleming (7) 17-1 138 1 2-0 2 Briggsdale 16-1 122 2 1-0 3 Springfield (4) 15-1 115 4 2-0 4 South Baca (4) 16-2 113 3 2-1 5 Sangre de Cristo 14-3 69 5 3-1 6 Shining Mountain Waldorf 14-4 65 6 2-1 7 Genoa-Hugo/Karval 13-4 56 9 2-0 8 Lone Star 15-1 54 7 2-0 9 Kit Carson 12-5 36 8 1-1 10 Cotopaxi 15-3 13 – 2-0 Others receiving votes: Flatirons Academy 10, Merino 6, McClave 5, Wiley 5, De Beque 3, Elbert 2, Kim/Branson 2, Longmont Christian 2. Dropped out Elbert (10).