AURORA | A look back at the most important games, tournaments and events in Aurora prep sports from August 20-26, 2024:

Courtney Oakes is the sports editor for the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at [email protected]. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports

PAST WEEK AT AURORA PREP SPORTS, 8/20-8/26/24

MONDAY, AUGUST 26: Amara Herrera allowed just one hit and struck out seven times in six innings as the Vista PEAK Prep softball team earned a 12-0 win at Overland. Herrera also hit a triple and scored twice, while Nayely Duran and Nia Mathis (with two RBIs) each had two of the Bisons’ nine hits. Kourtnie Batcho had the lone hit for the Trailblazers. …Kendalyn Craven and Elsa Pedersen each hit home runs for the Regis Jesuit softball team, but the Raiders couldn’t overcome six errors in a 15-10 loss to Cherry Creek at Village Green Park. Craven scored three runs and Pedersen joined Jill Samaras with two RBIs and Alex Tavlarides had three hits for the Raiders. …Boys golfers from Cherokee Trail, Eaglecrest, Grandview, Regis Jesuit and Smoky Hill competed in the Bruin Invitational at Overland Park GC, which featured a total of 25 teams. The top Cherokee Trail team finished fifth, one stroke ahead of Grandview, to lead the local teams. The top 10 individual finishers included a trio from the area: Gregory White of Eaglecrest and Dalton Sisneros of Cherokee Trail (who both shot 70, 2 under par) tied for fifth, while Andrew Sinar of Grandview shot even par and tied for tenth.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 24: Briahna Gallegos hit a game-winning home run in the fifth inning and then pitched a scoreless inning to earn a save in the Eaglecrest softball team’s 14-4 victory over Legacy. Zaya Elliott allowed four runs in five innings and also scored two runs for the Raptors, who exploded for eight runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Kaitlyn Hendrian, Chessa Reid and Callie Johnson joined Elliott with two hits and Jordyn Stilley had three RBIs. …Brooklyn Heil finished 4-for-7 with four RBIs for the Grandview softball team, which split two games in the FAN Tournament in Fort Collins. The Wolves defeated Arapahoe 6-3. The win went to Kamaya Soniea-Harris, who also scored a run, as did Sasha Kennedy and Maddie and Monroe Donaldson in a 10-8 loss to Papillion La Vista South of Nebraska. …The Grandview girls flag football team scored two touchdowns by Tierra Goodgain and interceptions by Ivy Daniel and Brooke Sullivan in the final minutes of a 25-14 victory over Rock Canyon at Legacy Stadium. …The Smoky Hill field hockey team lost 2-0 to Cherry Creek at the Stutler Bowl.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 23: The Grandview girls volleyball team won the opening set in a showdown with Mountain Vista, but the Golden Eagles fought back to win 23-25, 25-20, 25-17 and 25-16 over the host Wolves. …Elliott Kaganar scored twice and Bryan Ramirez and Alexis Rojas also scored for the Smoky Hill boys soccer team, which defeated Hinkley 4-2 in a heated contest between Aurora teams that was postponed from the previous day. Chris Leon scored a first-half goal for the Thunder. …The Aurora Central boys soccer team opened the new season with a 1-0 home win over Grand Junction. …The Cherokee Trail and Grandview softball teams split two games at the FAN Tournament in Fort Collins. The Cougars defeated Grand Junction 13-5 and lost to Windsor 7-6, while the Wolves narrowly beat Fort Collins 7-6 and lost to Northside (Georgia) 10-1. …The Eaglecrest Tom Moore Invitational boys tennis tournament was held at multiple sites and half the field came from the Aurora area. Grandview provided the tournament singles winners, Kahaan and Krish Wani, and finished second to Denver East, one point behind, in the race for the team title. Fourth-place Cherokee Trail provided the No. 2 and No. 4 doubles winners. Host Eaglecrest finished sixth and Rangeview eighth. …The Regis Jesuit boys cross country team competed in the Cheyenne Mountain Stampede on the course that also hosts the state championships, finishing eighth of 19 in the championship race. Braeden Focht crossed the finish line at the Norris Penrose Event Center in a time of 15 minutes, 36.90 seconds, placing fourth out of 184 competitors. The Raiders’ next best finish was Caleb Aex, who ran 16:54.40 to finish 35th. The Smoky Hill boys finished 10th in the large schools race, while the Buffs finished 16th in the girls race. In the small schools race, Lotus School For Excellence finished 14th as a team, but managed to earn fifth place individually with Biruk Begashaw (18:14.60).

THURSDAY, AUGUST 22: The Cherokee Trail girls volleyball team opened the season with a fighting 25-27, 25-19, 25-20, 21-25, 16-14 road win at Ralston Valley. …The Grandview girls volleyball team traveled to Ponderosa and won the season 25-22, 25-17, 19-25, 25-22. …The Regis Jesuit girls volleyball team earned a 25-22, 25-12, 25-16 opening win at Eaglecrest thanks to strong serving. …The Hinkley girls volleyball team started off victorious with a 25-18, 25-22, 25-20 win over Aurora West College Prep. …Maddie Kilmer had 11 kills, 13 digs and 14 assists and Anika Davison added 12 kills and 13 digs for the Rangeview girls volleyball team in an 18-25, 18-25, 25-16, 27-25, 15-11 loss to Douglas County. …Alex Kedzierski scored the game’s only goal late in the second half as the Grandview boys soccer team defeated Lewis-Palmer, 1-0. Abner Valdelemar Jiminez only had to save two possessions to earn the shutout. …The Cherokee Trail boys soccer team opened the season with a 4-1 home win over ThunderRidge, with goals from Aiden Petty, Caleb Burgess and Vincent Tchoumba. …Vista PEAK Prep’s boys soccer team got goals from Azael Macias, Cristian Rosas and Garrett Summey to defeat Eaglecrest 3-1 in a local game at the Stutler Bowl. Jareth Almaraz Muro, Angelo Flores and Damian Rios added assists for the Bison, while Adam Keresemo scored in the first half for the Raptors. …Gateway’s boys soccer team played its first high school game at the newly renovated Aurora Public Schools Stadium, but lost to Westminster 3-0. …Overland’s softball team rode a strong performance from Michaela Halton on the mound and at the plate to beat Rangeview 12-7. Halton had three hits and scored four runs while allowing five hits in five innings, while Kourtnie Batcho scored one run and scored three runs for the Trailblazers. Devyn Davenport had a home run and joined Anabelle Velasco and Shannon Henry with two hits, while Mackenzie Moyer had two RBIs for the Raiders. …The Smoky Hill field hockey team faced Mountain Vista in a rematch of a play-in game from last season, losing 2-0 in the Stutler Bowl.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 21: Kendalyn Craven, Jill Samaras and Elsa Pedersen each had three hits and Alexis Colvin scored two runs, but six errors plagued the Regis Jesuit softball team in a 13-3 six-inning home loss to Arapahoe. …The Regis Jesuit girls flag football team had a low-scoring season opener but bounced back with a 41-7 road win over Highlands Ranch. Naala Barnes threw for 168 yards and four touchdowns, while Alexiah Toval scored a passing touchdown and was among six players to catch scores as the Raiders moved within 2-0. …The Cherokee Trail girls flag football team lost its season opener 36-0 to Chaparral in a game that was stopped at halftime due to lightning in the zone. …No. No. 2 singles player Trevor O’Shea and the No. 4 doubles team of Kyle Jansen and Emmanuel Opoku won in straight sets for the Overland boys tennis team in a 5-2 doubles loss to the visiting Riverdale Ridge. …Cole Dossey of the Gateway boys golf team earned a six-stroke victory in a Colorado League minor tournament held at Legacy Ridge GC. Dossey shot a plus-40 112 to finish atop a field of eight players, while Aurora Central’s Titus Morris (134) edged out Gateway’s Malaki Yurich (136) for fourth place by two strokes. …Vista PEAK Prep’s Casey Nesbitt shot a plus-19 91 to finish 17th, leading the way among locals in the City League boys golf tournament at Overland Park GC. Preston Siefert shot 97 (97) to finish 22nd for the Bison, who finished sixth as a team, while Rangeview in eighth place was led by Gabriel Naranjo (102) in 26th place.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 20: The Eaglecrest softball team won a close game by eight runs in the seventh inning of a 13-4 season-opening win at Chaparral. Kaitlyn Hendrian hit a home run and joined Sybella Trevino with four RBIs for the Raptors to back up Briahna Gallegos, who scattered nine hits in a complete game victory. …The Grandview softball team scored two or more runs in five of its six at-bats in a 13-3 season-opening home win over Highlands Ranch. Leah Graves pitched nine strikeouts and allowed five hits and three runs, but got plenty of help from an offense that featured Macy Hemstreet, Maddie Heirich and Sasha Kennedy each with two hits. Madison Jaramillo hit a home run and scored three runs, while Peyton Rasmussen joined Heinrich with two RBIs for the Wolves. …Vista PEAK Prep’s softball team scored 12 runs in the third inning to beat Skyview 16-1 in a game shortened to three innings. Nayely Duran went 3-for-3 and scored twice, while Bella Renzi scored four runs and Jaya Gray struck out three for the Bison and assisted Lauren Reed, who was on the mound scattering three hits over three innings. …Regis Jesuit’s boys golf team finished in a three-way tie for second place in the third Continental League tournament of the season, played at Meadow Hills GC. The Raiders did not play with their full lineup due to an upcoming out-of-state trip, but posted the same score of 225 as Castle View and Heritage, putting the teams five strokes behind ThunderRidge. Roland Thornton posted a plus-3 to finish in sixth place, and Owen Casey hit a 75 to finish eighth for Regis Jesuit.

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