By Bobby Fernandez

bfernandez@greeleytribune.com

Each winter, the week after the state wrestling tournament feels like climbing a mountain just to run a marathon.

For those who didn’t get their fix of winter sports during the busy — at times chaotic — environment of state wrestling this past weekend, there is still plenty of drama and excitement on the horizon as the winter postseason moves off the wrestling mat and on to the basketball court.

The Class 3A Patriot League district basketball tournament — which began with preliminary rounds last Friday — features a slew of boys and girls games tonight before moving to Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion on the University of Northern Colorado campus Friday and Saturday.

In addition to the plentiful Patriot League action, Pawnee, Prairie and Briggsdale compete in 1A district tournaments. Roosevelt competes in a loaded region of the 4A girls basketball state tournament. Windsor and Fort Lupton compete in state tournament games in both girls and boys hoops.

Hopefully area sports fans took a deep breath and kicked back a little after a busy three days of wrestling down in Denver.

The Wizards wrestling team defended its 4A wrestling title at the Pepsi Center this past week. Now, Windsor’s hoops teams hope to enjoy a bit of postseason success of their own.

Both the girls and boys squads run balanced offenses while playing gritty defense. They will put their winning formulas to the test Friday on their home floor after receiving first-round byes tonight and Wednesday.

The girls (18-4) face the winner of Pueblo South (12-10) and Coronado (7-14). The boys (17-5) take on either Golden (14-9) or Fort Lupton (9-14).

Roosevelt’s girls carry a 14-game win streak into the postseason. Led by dynamic senior guard Gabby Ramirez (20.6 points, 5.8 assists, 6.4 steals per game), the two-time defending Tri-Valley Conference champion Rough Riders (18-5) will play host to either Sierra (15-8) or Fort Lupton (8-15) on Friday.

Roosevelt will compete in the loaded Tanya Haave region, which also includes Air Academy (21-2), Glenwood Springs (18-4), Valor Christian (18-4) and five-time defending 4A champion Broomfield (19-4).

Fort Lupton need not wait as long as Windsor and Roosevelt to open its postseason campaign. The Bluedevils boys are on the road against Golden at 7 tonight, while the girls (8-15) will travel to Colorado Springs on Wednesday to face Sierra.

Both Fort Lupton teams are considered underdogs in their respective matchups, but the Bluedevils have shown flashes of effectiveness at times this season.

Boys and girls teams from Pawnee, Prairie and Briggsdale will descend on Northeastern Junior College this week for the 1A District 4 tournament.

The Pawnee girls (17-1) look to bounce back from their only loss of the season against Caliche on Saturday. The Coyote boys (17-1) have won six straight games since losing to Fleming, 39-32, on Jan. 27.

At 4 p.m. today, the Pawnee girls return from a first-round bye to face either Haxtun (0-18) or Weldon Valley (0-17). At 4 p.m. Wednesday, the Coyote boys face either Weldon Valley (3-14) or Briggsdale (5-13).

The Briggsdale girls (14-4) take on Prairie (7-11) at 7 tonight. Three of the Falcons’ four losses this season came against Pawnee.

The Prairie boys (11-7) face Haxtun (11-7) at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Even with all the action throughout the county, there may be no bigger draw locally this week than the Patriot League district tournament. The Valley boys (18-1) and Eaton girls (18-1) will be favorites to win their respective tournaments but neither will find a title run to be easy.

The Vikings boys play host to Weld Central (8-12) at 7:30 tonight. The Reds girls welcome Estes Park (9-11) to Eaton at 6 tonight.

The Platte Valley boys (14-5) have won 10 straight games entering their matchup against Berthoud (10-10) at 6 tonight. The Reds boys (14-5), which play University (11-9) at 7:30 tonight, lost by just a couple of buckets, 46-40, to Valley on Jan. 20.

On the girls side, University (13-6) plays host to Berthoud (11-9) at 6 tonight. The Bulldogs present opponents with matchup nightmares with their 6-foot-1 low-post terror, senior Tori Fisher (19.5 points, 12.3 rebounds, 3.3 blocks per game).

Weld Central (11-8), which travels to Gilcrest to face Valley at 6 tonight, has a pair of 6-footers in senior Kellie Schreibvogel and sophomore Ivannie Robertson.

The Vikings girls (14-5) are young but full of energy and defensive tenacity. They will try to gain some redemption after losing to the Rebels, 41-40, in the final game of the regular season just a week ago in Keenesburg.



Bobby Fernandez covers county schools sports for The Tribune. Reach him at (970)392-4478 or by e-mail at bfernandez@greeleytribune.com.

News and notes » Lasting impression: The wrestling season may be in the rearview mirror, but the sights and sounds of state wrestling always seem to linger for at least a few days after the tournament wraps up. Windsor successfully defended its Class 4A team title, while four county wrestlers — Eaton’s Dalton Shoop (220) and Jaden Olearnick (182), Highland’s James “Bubba” Price (145) and Platte Valley’s Raul Rios (285) — took home individual titles. Each of the four champions found their own way to reflect and celebrate, overcome with emotion while sharing their thoughts after their wins. Shoop effectively summed up the mindset that lends itself to wrestling for a state title. “I had to bring my best to this match,” he said. “I just kept telling myself this is the most important match of my life. ... I laid it all out there.” » Dramatic moments: Austin Kinnison — the only two-time state champion in Highland history —provided a unique viewpoint, describing the scene from the Huskies fans section as his younger brother, Price, won his first title Saturday. Austin watched the match from the packed Pepsi Center stands, alongside his mother, stepfather and older brother, Gary Kinnison, who is also a former Highland standout wrestler. “Me and my brother (Gary) were up there wrestling; almost like we were wrestling along with what (Price) was doing down there,” Kinnison said. “My mom couldn’t stand (the drama), so she had to step out into the aisle, but me and my brother were sitting there just waiting to see what would happen. ... To see him win, it’s almost like there was a grip on your body. The excitement just overwhelms you.” » No longer teammates, still friends: No doubt Price had his fair share of supporters within his own family and team. He even had a supporter from a fellow Patriot League program. During his freshman year two years ago, Price was a teammate of Valley’s standout 170-pounder Austin Trujillo before Price transferred to Highland last school year. Even though Price is no longer a teammate of Trujillo’s, Trujillo made a point to offer his congratulations to Price, even after Trujillo suffered a bit of heartbreak in his own finals match, a 9-3 loss to Bennett’s Caleb Copeland in a battle of unbeaten wrestlers. “My best friend, Bubba Price, did an amazing job,” Trujillo said. “He earned that state title. He’s an animal. He deserves it more than anyone.” Bobby Fernandez