District 1
District 1 currently has a clear-cut favorite in Del Norte. Del Norte has already beat #2 Sanford and #3 Sargent. Del Norte beat Sanford by 18 but must continue to play hard the rest of the way to avoid an upset. My #2 is Sanford. Sanford has played well in league this year and have a win over Center, Sargent, and Custer County. Sanford still must play South Park and of course Center, Sargent, and Del Norte again. My #3 team is Sargent. Sargent went through a rough period losing 5 straight games but have escaped out of the funk by beating Center and Crested Butte. Sargent also has a win over Custer County to give them a big head to head win over them. Sargent has a big game tomorrow 2/2 against South Park and will still have to play Del Norte, Sanford, and Center again for the second time. My #4 team may be a surprise, but I am picking Center as my #4 team. Center got into the win column on 1/20 beating Crested Butte 43-13 and then on 1/27 beat South Park 53-38 to give them a monster head to head win over South Park. Center has some very critical games coming up against Sanford and Sargent but the biggest game of all is against Custer County on 2/16. That could determine the seeding for the District Tournament. Center is hoping for the #4 seed and would love to avoid playing Sanford or Del Norte in the First Round.
District 2
District 2 has been very competitive once again. 3 teams are in the Top 10 and 5 teams are fighting for 4 spots. Currently my #1 team is Yuma. Yuma has played well all year and have wins over Wray (twice) and Holyoke. Yuma still must play Holyoke for a second time and have big games against Merino, Haxtun, and Brush on the schedule still. My #2 team is Wray. Wray has played tough against Yuma coming up 7 points short in the loss. Wray is not guaranteed the #2 spot yet with their 61-53 win over Holyoke earlier in January. Wray has a huge game against Merino next week and they end the season against Holyoke and that will be for the #2 seed. My #3 team is Holyoke. Holyoke was a big surprise this year and have played well going 12-2. Holyoke has narrow losses to Wray in OT and Yuma by 11. Holyoke has played well against the rest of the league beating Merino by 14 and Haxtun by 15. Holyoke still must face Yuma and Wray for a second time, but they must first take care of business against Wiggins tomorrow 2/2. My #4 team is Haxtun. Haxtun has played a tough schedule but still control their own seeding for the District Tournament. Haxtun faces Merino, Wiggins and Yuma to close out the year. Haxtun is hoping for the #4 seed to avoid playing Yuma or Wray. Haxtun will need to play great basketball to close the year to snag the #4 spot.
District 3
District 3 is all but decided already. Ignacio is the clear-cut favorite in the league and are a perfect 11-0. Ignacio biggest knock is their lack of strength on their schedule. District 3 has only 1 team over .500 and hopefully Ignacio will be ready for Regionals once they are here. The #2 team in District 3 is Dolores. Dolores is the closest team to .500 and are hoping to climb above that mark. They are 5-2 in league and have nearly locked up the #2 spot in the District Tournament. The #3 team is Telluride. Telluride is 4-4 in league and have played well in District play. They are hoping to lock up the #3 spot and keep winning games.
District 4
District 4 is a few leagues mixed together and always hard to get a grasp on what may happen in the District Tournament. With that said I believe there are 4 teams that have separated themselves from the rest of the District. My #1 team in District 4 is Denver Christian. Denver Christian has only 1 lose in the month of January and that was to Limon but have since dominated their opponents since that lose. Denver Christian has quality wins over Heritage Christian, Dayspring Christian, Byers, Lyons, and Longmont Christian. Denver Christian will have to avenge them lose to Limon in the District Tournament to steal the #1 spot. My #2 team is Limon. Limon was my #1 team most of the season, but their recent play has made me move them to #2. Limon picked up their first lose of the season to Simla and then had to hold off Peyton in OT. Limon hopefully can return to earlier form and secure the #1 or #2 spot. My #3 team is Burlington. Burlington has had a very interesting season with some good wins but also some very interesting losses. Burlington picked up a nice win over Byers and Calhan earlier this month but have since had a questionable lose to Genoa-Hugo and were blown off the court by Yuma. Burlington is looking for consistency and they will need it to lock up the #3 spot. My #4 team is Byers. Byers is not a complete lock for the #4 spot but with the rest of the District Struggling should be able to grab the #4 spot. Byers has some tough games to close out the season against Limon, Deer Trail, and Peyton.
District 5
District 5 gets 5 teams into the State Tournament and 6 quality teams fighting for those spots. Soroco has jumped to the Top of the Standings and are my #1 team. Soroco has wins over Rangely, Hotchkiss, Paonia, and Vail Christian that have propelled them to the top. Soroco still has two challenging games remaining against West Grand and Meeker which could be for the top seed. Soroco must continue to play consistent basketball to lock up the #1 seed in the District Tournament. My #2 team is Rangely. Rangely played well against Soroco early on losing by 12 but also have a solid win over Meeker. Rangely still must play Hotchkiss (2/2), Vail Christian (2/3), West Grand (2/10), and Paonia (2/16). Rangely #2 seed is still in jeopardy and will need to play good basketball to close out the regular season. My #3 team is Meeker. Meeker has been on a continual rise. They continue to play solid basketball and find themselves only 1 game back of Soroco. Meeker scored a huge win last week beating Vail Christian by 21 but still have games against Paonia and Soroco which will determine their seed in the District Tournament. My #4 team is Vail Christian. Vail Christian is just ahead of Paonia for the #4 spot but their recent 12-point win over Paonia is why I have them ahead. Vail Christian faced their first adversity of the season after back to back loses to Soroco and Meeker but bounced back nicely beating Paonia. Vail Christian still have Hotchkiss on the schedule, so their seed is not secure yet. My #5 team is Paonia. Paonia lost a very talented senior class and it is showing this year. They have had some tough losses this year and have two District losses to Soroco by 30+ and Vail Christian by 12. Paonia still will control their own destiny with games against West Grand, Meeker, and Rangely to close out the year. Paonia can still snag a Top 3 District seed but will need some quality wins to do so.
District 6
District 6 took an interesting turn this past week when Swink was upset by Fowler. Swink is still my #1 team despite the loss. Swink struggled the following night as well beating Hoehne by just 9 points. Swink does have a lack of depth and looks like they may have lost one of their main players as they played Fowler and Hoehne without her. If anyone has any information on the hurt player, please message me. Swink will need a next player up approach if it is long term. My #2 team is Fowler. Fowler picked up an impressive upset on Swink last week and followed that up with a 58 to 17 win over John Mall. Fowler will have to beat Rocky Ford to snag the #2 spot and their game will be a big at the end of the year. Rocky Ford is my #3 team despite the win over Fowler early on. Their game for the #2 spot will be a huge game but I expect to see these two teams play against in the District Semifinals. My #4 team is completely in the air. Las Animas currently has a two-game lead over Crowley County and a 3-game lead over John Mall and Hoehne. Las Animas has some huge games coming up against Hoehne, Swink, and John Mall and will probably need to win 2 of the 3 to snag the #4 seed.
District 7
District 7 is very similar to District 4 with the District taking teams from some other leagues. Currently I believe two teams have separated themselves from the rest of the league and the #3 and #4 spots are up for grabs. My #1 team is Clear Creek. Clear Creek plays in the 3A Frontier league and currently would be winning the league if they were 3A. They have dominated league play but with a weak Frontier league still some questions arise to how good is Clear Creek. Clear Creek does have a 4-point loss to Denver Christian and just a 5-point win over West Grand. I still believe Clear Creek will finish in the Top 2 in District. My #2 team is Highland. Highland has played very well in January and have wins over Dayspring Christian (by 4), Longmont Christian (by 9), Lyons (by 13), and Dawson School (by 16). Highland will need to keep getting better as the season goes and a couple big games remain on their schedule against Heritage Christian (1A) and Denver Christian. Highland can turn some heads with a solid win over Denver Christian. My #3 is Lyons. Lyons has improved as the year has gone on. They have back to back wins over Frontier Academy and Twins Peak Charter. Lyons also has a head to head win over Dawson School and have a huge game against Dayspring Christian tomorrow 2/2. Lyons must continue to play consistent basketball to snag the #3 spot. My #4 team is Dayspring Christian. Dayspring Christian has also improved as the year has gone on. They nearly beat Heritage Christian in OT and fell just short against Longmont Christian. Dayspring Christian will need to play their best basketball to close the year out and have some tough games to end the season. Dayspring Christian plays Lyons tomorrow 2/2 and Dawson school on 2/7 which could be for the #4 seed.
District 8
District 8 is very similar to District 4 and 7. They have teams from other leagues playing in their District. Currently there are 5 solid teams fighting for just 4 spots. My #1 team is Calhan. Calhan picked up a very impressive head to head win over Simla on 1/20. Calhan also has wins over Byers, Fowler, and Colorado Springs School. Calhan will have to battle it out though for the #1 spot and their #1 seed is not guaranteed yet. My #2 team is Simla. Simla lost the head to head to Calhan but have a shot at revenge in a week. Simla did pick up an impressive win over Limon on 1/23 and Ellicott on 1/26. Simla does have plenty of tournament experience and will look to channel that to snag the #1 or #2 spot. My #3 team is Ellicott. Ellicott has played well this season they have two losses in the month of January to Florence and Simla. Ellicott did beat Colorado Springs School by 12 and that moved them to the #3 spot. Ellicott must play Peyton, Calhan, and Simla to close out the season and will be interesting to see if they can move up or down in their seed. My #4 team was a tough choice between Peyton and Colorado Springs School. I am going with Peyton. Peyton lost the early head to head against Colorado Springs School in December. Peyton has started playing well though just losing to Limon by 2 in OT. Peyton has some monster games coming up against Calhan (2/2), Ellicott (2/9), Colorado Springs School (2/15), and Calhan to close the season on 2/16. The two big games to keep an eye on are the Ellicott game and Colorado Springs School game. Peyton will look to play consistent ball and sang the #4 spot.
MileHigh Prep Report 