Wrestling’s regular season is rapidly winding down — the final day is Saturday. With regionals set for Feb. 14-15, the picture in terms of team rankings seems clear at the moment.
The latest On The Mat wrestling rankings were released this morning, with few changes. The most notable movement was Pine Creek going from No. 5 to No. 3 in 5A.
Tim Yount of On The Mat provides weekly wrestling rankings for teams and individuals in all weight classes. To see individual rankings, you can subscribe to On The Mat’s full rankings.
To subscribe via PayPal, choose your subscription option on this page click on the corresponding PayPal button. To subscribe by mail or fax and pay by personal check, click here for a printable subscription form. Email Tim Yount at tim@onthematrankings.com with questions.
To purchase individual weeks of the rankings (as opposed to the entire season), you will need to use the printable subscription form and pay by check. The season ranking subscriptions are offered at a discounted rate.
Denver East received 13 of the 20 first-place votes this week. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
Denver East’s grip on the No. 1 spot in Class 5A boys basketball continues to grow tighter.
In this week’s CHSAANow.com rankings, the Angels received 13 of the 20 first-place votes. Last week, Denver East received 12 of 20.
The Angels are now 11-0 in Colorado, and have an average margin of victory of 19.8 points in those games. That includes a 3-point win over Cherry Creek on Dec. 13 and a one-point win over Eaglecrest on Dec. 16.
Since January, Denver East is winning in-state games by an average of 24.6 points.
Still, Fossil Ridge remains ever present. The second-ranked SaberCats are now 17-0, and received the other seven first-place votes this week. They are the only other team to be ranked No. 1 this season, holding that spot for one week in mid-January.
ThunderRidge is ranked No. 5 in 5A this week. (Mark Adams)
ThunderRidge’s big win over Highlands Ranch has the Grizzlies entering the top 5 in this week’s CHSAANow.com 5A girls basketball poll.
ThunderRidge, No. 8 last week, upset then-No. 2 Highlands Ranch on Friday. Monday morning, the squad moved up three spots to No. 5. Highlands Ranch dropped two to No. 4.
Regis Jesuit extended its stay atop the 5A ranking. The other No. 1s — Broomfield (4A), Holy Family (3A), Lutheran and Caliche (1A) — also stayed put.
Newcomers this week include No. 10 Longmont in 4A, No. 7 Salida in 3A, No. 10 The Vanguard in 2A and No. 10 Gilpin County in 1A.
Rock Canyon 10, Horizon 9, Pine Creek 6, Arapahoe 4, Denver East 4, Rampart 4.
Dropped out
None.
Class 4A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Broomfield (16)
17-0
169
1
2-0
2
Mesa Ridge (1)
17-0
149
2
3-0
3
Pueblo South
17-1
140
3
3-0
4
Valor Christian
15-3
92
5
1-0
5
Sand Creek
12-3
90
6
1-0
6
Elizabeth
15-2
78
4
1-1
7
Glenwood Springs
15-0
72
7
1-0
8
D’Evelyn
13-3
62
8
2-0
9
Pueblo West
13-4
30
9
1-1
10
Longmont
13-3
20
–
2-0
Others receiving votes:
Palmer Ridge 14, Green Mountain 12, Montrose 3, Pueblo East 3, Pueblo County 1.
Dropped out
Palmer Ridge (10).
Class 3A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Holy Family (12)
15-1
154
1
2-0
2
Pagosa Springs (4)
13-0
145
2
1-0
3
Lamar
14-0
132
3
1-0
4
Sterling
12-2
107
4
1-0
5
Strasburg
13-2
57
6
2-0
6
Olathe
12-2
48
7
2-0
7
Salida
12-3
46
–
3-0
8
Eaton
10-4
44
9
1-0
9
Peak to Peak
10-4
43
5
0-1
10
Centauri
11-4
21
8
1-1
Others receiving votes:
St. Mary’s 20, Grand Valley 14, Platte Valley 12, Jefferson Academy 11, Trinidad 7, Bishop Machebeuf 5, Ellicott 5, Alamosa 3, The Classical Academy 2, Manitou Springs 2, The Academy 2.
Dropped out
Brush (10).
Class 2A
RK
TEAM
W-L
PTS
PVS
LW
1
Lutheran (13)
12-1
130
1
2-0
2
Akron
11-1
107
2
2-0
3
Peyton
12-1
101
3
0-0
4
Yuma
12-1
92
4
1-0
5
Liberty Common
13-0
78
5
1-0
6
Meeker
13-1
63
6
2-0
7
Hoehne
12-1
52
7
2-0
8
Paonia
11-3
36
8
0-0
9
Sangre de Cristo
11-3
30
9
2-0
10
The Vanguard
12-1
12
–
0-0
Others receiving votes:
Heritage Christian 11, C.S. School 1, Del Norte 1, Simla 1.
Pueblo South’s Maleek Johnson (4) guards an inbounds pass while Pueblo East’s Ryan Armijo (11) and Pueblo South’s Bryson Smith (44) stand in the background. Smith was the hero for the Colts. (Tracy Renck)
PUEBLO – Bryson Smith wasn’t lost in the euphoria of the moment.
The Pueblo South High School post player was in shock over being an unlikely hero in this key South-Central League game.
Smith caught an airball from his teammate Maleek Johnson and banked in the ball as time expired vaulting the Colts to a dramatic 76-74 overtime victory over rival East at the Southwest Motors Events Center.
“Coach (D.J. Johnson) just tells us every game and every day to crash the boards,” said the 6-foot-2, 255-pound Smith. “The shot went up and I just crashed the boards and I was just in the right place at the right time. I almost missed it. That’s first time I have made a game-winning shot in my life.”
South, ranked No. 3 in the latest CHSAANow.com Class 4A poll, ran its record to 15-2 overall with its 15th win in a row and sits alone atop the S-CL at 5-0. No. 6 East dropped to 13-4 overall and to 4-1 in league.
“I was trying to make the shot,” said the 6-foot-1 Johnson, who had 20 points. “That was all him (Smith). I knew it was off, but I’m glad he was there to clean it up. It was crazy.”
Johnson praised Smith for his court presence.
“We were just trying to set a high pick and roll for Maleek and hopefully get him something going to the basket,” Johnson said. “Jimmy (Valdez of East) did a great job of switching out and Maleek threw up that desperation shot. If Bryson doesn’t go to the boards hard that shot doesn’t happen, so I’m really happy for him.”
Trailing 74-72, Valdez tied the game when he received a pass from Dylan Gavin and made a layup with 22.6 seconds left in overtime.
That set the stage for Smith’s game-winner.
“This was a great win for us,” said Smith, who had five points. “This was team effort.”
Veteran East coach Dave Ryder wasn’t making any excuses in defeat.
“They ball screened and we didn’t rotate off it,” Ryder said.
South appeared to be in control of the game, taking its largest lead at 53-40 on Smith’s 3-pointer with 2:36 left in the third quarter.
The Eagles, however, kept battling and when Gavin converted a 3-point play the game was even at 62-62 with 3:04 showing on the fourth-quarter clock.
Neither team pulled away down the stretch. The game went into overtime tied at 66-66.
“I like the way we competed,” Ryder said. “We played with energy and executed.”
Gavin fueled East’s comeback as he had a career-high 41 points.
“It is disheartening to lose like that and I love my team,” Gavin said. “Give credit to them. They stayed with it the whole game and it came down to the last shot and they hit it. We just have to learn from this game and get better.”
Tim Yount of On The Mat provides weekly wrestling rankings for teams and individuals in all weight classes. To see individual rankings, you can subscribe to On The Mat’s full rankings.
To subscribe via PayPal, choose your subscription option on this page click on the corresponding PayPal button. To subscribe by mail or fax and pay by personal check, click here for a printable subscription form. Email Tim Yount at tim@onthematrankings.com with questions.
To purchase individual weeks of the rankings (as opposed to the entire season), you will need to use the printable subscription form and pay by check. The season ranking subscriptions are offered at a discounted rate.
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).
