Eaglecrest is up to No. 3 in this week’s 5A poll. (Brock Laue)
The Centennial League is perhaps the strongest Class 5A boys basketball conference in the state. This week’s CHSAANow.com boys basketball poll continues to reflect that.
A poll-best four Centennial teams are ranked in the top-10 this week, led by Eaglecrest. The Raptors moved up to No. 3 following their fourth-consecutive win.
Cherry Creek is No. 6, Overland is No. 7 and Arapahoe is No. 8. Grandview, another Centennial team, also received votes.
"I’ve seen all of the teams in our league now," Arapahoe coach Dan Snyder said as Centennial League play was getting underway in early January, "and I can unequivocally say, without a doubt, this is the strongest the league has been — top-to-bottom — since I’ve been coaching at Arapahoe."
Still, the Continental has something to say when it comes to the strongest league this year. That league has three teams in this week’s 5A poll, led by No. 4 Mountain Vista. No. 5 Regis Jesuit and No. 10 Highlands Ranch — a newcomer this week — also hail from the Continental. So does Legend, which received votes this week.
Denver East stayed atop the 5A ranking, just ahead of No. 2 Fossil Ridge. The Angels got 12 first-place votes to Fossil’s eight.
Likewise, the other No. 1 teams also stayed put: Valor Christian in 4A, as well as Holy Family (3A), Ignacio (2A) and Caliche (1A).
Golden joined the 4A ranking at No. 10, while 3A added two new teams in No. 9 Moffat County and No. 10 St. Mary’s.
The 2A poll added Denver Christian (No. 9), and 1A added South Baca (No. 7).
Thomas Jefferson remained in the No. 3 spot in the 4A poll. (Pam Wagner)
Unbeatens Arapahoe and Grand Junction have joined this week’s CHSAANow.com boys basketball rankings in 5A.
The Warriors (3-0) are No. 9, while Grand Junction (5-0) is No. 10. Highlands Ranch, last week’s No. 5, and Chaparral, last week’s No. 10, both dropped out this week.
Elsewhere, Denver East maintained its grip on the top spot, and Fossil Ridge continued its climb up the poll. The SaberCats are No. 2 this week, moving up two spots from No. 4. Fossil Ridge went 3-0 last week, including a 66-48 win over Highlands Ranch.
Overland fell one spot to No. 3, and is followed by No. 4 Mountain Vista and No. 5 Regis Jesuit. Mountain Vista moved up from eighth; Regis up from No 6.
Eaglecrest is sixth in this week’s 5A poll, Legend is seventh and Rangeview fell five spots to eighth.
In addition to Denver East, the other four No. 1 teams remained the same this week: Valor Christian (4A), Holy Family (3A), Sanford (2A) and Caliche (1A).
The 4A poll added Air Academy at No. 10 this week. That ranking also saw Thompson Valley jump from fifth to second following wins over three 5A teams. Thomas Jefferson is third.
Falcon 35, Greeley Central 11, Lewis-Palmer 8, Mountain View 7, Frederick 6, Mesa Ridge 2, Palmer Ridge 2, Glenwood Springs 1, Ponderosa 1, Pueblo South 1.
Dropped out
Denver South (8).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Holy Family (8)
5-0
98
1
2-0
2
Colorado Academy (1)
4-0
81
3
2-0
3
Brush (1)
2-0
77
2
1-0
4
Jefferson Academy
4-0
69
9
4-0
5
Bishop Machebeuf
4-0
67
6
3-0
6
Faith Christian
4-3
36
4
3-1
7
Moffat County
3-1
29
7
3-1
8
The Pinnacle
3-1
22
–
1-0
9
Kent Denver
3-1
20
10
2-0
10
Colorado Springs Christian
1-2
19
5
1-2
Others receiving votes:
Denver Science & Tech 10, St. Mary’s 6, Valley 6, Aspen 4, Monte Vista 4, Cedaredge 2, Sterling 1.
Dropped out
Aspen (8).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Sanford (12)
4-0
155
1
4-0
2
Yuma (3)
3-0
125
2
2-0
3
Akron
2-0
110
4
1-0
4
Lutheran
2-1
106
3
1-0
5
Ignacio (1)
5-0
101
5
2-0
6
Resurrection Christian
4-2
75
6
3-0
7
Limon
3-1
39
9
2-0
8
Simla
3-1
31
10
2-0
9
Rye
4-1
30
–
1-1
10
Denver Christian
1-3
24
7
1-1
Others receiving votes:
Swink 23, Peyton 22, Haxtun 13, Alexander Dawson 11, Sedgwick County 6, Crowley County 3, Front Range Christian 3, Custer County 1, Paonia 1, Rangely 1, Sierra Grande 1.
Fossil Ridge, meanwhile, went from sixth to fourth after going 3-0 last week. The standout win was a 58-51 win over then-No. 3 Eaglecrest.
The 5A ranking continued to be led by Denver East, which has also started 3-0 at the Great Western Shootout in Utah. Overland remained in the No. 2 spot despite going 1-2 at the same tournament.
Highlands Ranch rounds out the 5A top 5.
The other No. 1 teams also stayed the same this week: Valor Christian (4A), Holy Family (3A), Sanford (2A) and Caliche (1A).
Denver East begins the season ranked atop the 5A poll. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Denver East, Valor Christian, Holy Family, Sanford and Caliche are the preseason boys basketball favorites in their respective classifications.
Those teams were the No. 1 picks in the 5A through 1A CHSAANow.com rankings released Monday morning.
Denver East received 19 of 20 first-place votes in the 5A poll. The Angels return their top five scorers from last season’s runner-up squad, including University of Colorado commit Dominique Collier and his 20.1 points per game.
Overland is No. 2 in the 5A ranking, and is following by defending champion Eaglecrest at No. 3. Highlands Ranch is fourth, and Rangeview rounds out the top 5.
Fossil Ridge is sixth in the 5A poll, Regis Jesuit is seventh, Mountain Vista is eighth, Chaparral is ninth and Legend is tenth. Monarch narrowly missed the top-10.
A total of 23 teams appeared on preseason ballots in the 5A ranking.
Valor Christian is 4A’s preseason No. 1 team. (Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
Another runner-up from a season ago, Valor Christian, heads the 4A preseason ranking. The Eagles return their top eight scorers from last season. That includes Chase Foster, who averaged 20.0 points per game last season.
Pueblo East is second in the 4A ranking, and is followed by No. 3 Cheyenne Mountain, No. 4 Denver South and No. 5 Thomas Jefferson. Two-time defending champion Lewis-Palmer is ranked 10th to begin the 2013-14 season.
Holy Family heads the 3A poll, though No. 2 Brush received an equal amount of first-place votes (five). The Tigers reached the Great 8 last season.
Defending 3A champion Pagosa Springs is unranked to begin the year.
In 2A, Sanford is the No. 1 pick. The Indians reached the Final 4 last season. Denver Christian, last season’s champion, is ranked third.
Caliche heads the preseason 1A poll. The Buffaloes were in last season’s semifinals. Defending champion McClave is ranked fifth.
Monarch 41, Chatfield 22, Fort Collins 19, Cherokee Trail 17, ThunderRidge 11, Montbello 10, Abraham Lincoln 9, Grandview 9, Fairview 7, Cherry Creek 6, Dakota Ridge 5, Grand Junction 5, Arapahoe 1.
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Valor Christian (12)
0-0
151
2
Pueblo East
0-0
101
3
Cheyenne Mountain (2)
0-0
100
4
Denver South (1)
0-0
87
5
Thomas Jefferson
0-0
84
6
D’Evelyn
0-0
63
7
Longmont
0-0
59
8
Thompson Valley
0-0
58
9
Sand Creek (1)
0-0
48
10
Lewis-Palmer
0-0
32
Others receiving votes:
Broomfield 25, Falcon 13, Ponderosa 9, Windsor 9, Mesa Ridge 8, Elizabeth 6, Sierra 5, Durango 4, Frederick 4, Pueblo West 4, Greeley Central 3, Pueblo South 3, Green Mountain 1, Kennedy 1, Palisade 1, Widefield 1.
Peyton 18, Paonia 9, Crowley County 6, Rocky Ford 6, Meeker 5, Rye 5, Byers 4, Hayden 4, Sierra Grande 4, Haxtun 3, Heritage Christian 3, Sangre de Cristo 1.
Class 1A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
1
Caliche (3)
0-0
48
2
Hi-Plains (1)
0-0
39
3
Norwood
0-0
34
4
Shining Mountain
0-0
30
5
McClave (2)
0-0
26
6
Holly
0-0
25
7
Fleming
0-0
23
8
Vail Christian
0-0
22
9
Otis
0-0
19
10
Granada
0-0
18
Others receiving votes:
Prairie 8, Denver Jewish Day 6, Pawnee 6, Elbert 5, Primero 5, Jim Elliot Christian 4, La Veta 4, Bethune 3, Stratton 3, Deer Trail 2.
Despite having one fewer first-place vote, Thompson Valley has supplanted The Classical Academy atop the Colorado Track XC/CHSAANow.com girls cross country rankings in 4A.
