Then-freshman Jack Belo and the Aspen Skiers, pictured in a Feb. 21 file photo, started the 2024-25 season ahead of the holiday break with a 6-1 record.
High school students are on vacation, greeting Santa and going on family vacations, so there is a temporary lull in sports preparations. There will be no practices or games until the new year.
As we head into pause, we’ll bring you the latest information on local winter high school sports.
boy basketball
The Aspen Skiers are looking strong once again, off to a 6-1 start. They will enter 2025 with six straight wins.
The only loss in the two tournaments was in the season opener against Middle Park, which ended 72-64 in overtime. They then defeated Western Slope League rivals Rifle and Middle Park. Aspen concluded its December schedule with a dominant 60-19 victory over Florence in its home opener on Dec. 19. After being ranked No. 6 in 4A in the preseason coaches poll, Aspen is ranked No. 5 in the viewership index. Their next game will be against No. 1 Peak to Peak on Jan. 3 in a tournament at Holy Family High School in Bloomfield.
Roaring Fork entered the break with a three-game winning streak and a 5-2 record starting in the tournament at Weld Central in Keansburg. The Rams opened the season in third place at home in the Brenda Patch Tournament, which included a victory over eventual tournament champion Banning Lewis Academy. The Rams are currently ranked 14th in 3A. They will play rival Basalt on the road Jan. 4.
The Longhorns will enter this game looking to get back to .500 after going 3-4 through the first month of the season. They finished runner-up at Brenda Patch with an early-round win over Roaring Fork, but faltered in the next tournament, falling to 5A Wheat Ridge, 3A 10th place Forge Christian, and the aforementioned 4A first place. Peak to peak.
Glenwood Springs had two wins over Pueblo Central and Pagosa Springs in the weekend tournament before the suspension, and entered the suspension with a 3-6 record. The Demons will resume competition on January 7th when they host Grand Junction.
women’s basketball
Roaring Fork continued its perfect December cruise. After a dramatic home tournament win in the first week of the month, they entered the Weld Central tournament and defeated host Regis Groff and Brush to improve to 7-0. In the second tournament, Blasch’s 12-point margin was the closest to the final score among his three opponents.
Because of their efforts, the Rams are currently ranked No. 6 in 3A basketball. They will choose to compete again on January 4th in Basalt.
Glenwood Springs will look to get back to .500 in its return game Jan. 7 against Grand Junction. The Demons were 4-5 through December play, dropping their last two games before the hiatus.
Basalt started the year with a five-game losing streak and won its final two games, heading into the holiday season with a 2-5 record. They host Grand Junction on Jan. 3 and play Roaring Fork the next day.
Aspen is off to an 0-2 start to the year, including kicking off 3A WSL competition against Cedar Ridge on Dec. 10. The Skiers will resume play Jan. 10 in Olathe.
hockey
Glenwood Springs went undefeated through December with a record of 6-0-1. The only blemish was a 1-1 tie with Cheyenne Mountain at Ed Robson Arena in Colorado Springs. Otherwise, the Demons have outscored their opponents 35-9 and only allowed more than one point twice. Two or more can only be used once. They fell slightly in the rankings to No. 4 in 4A despite being the only team in the classification yet to record a loss.
Glenwood returns to work on Jan. 3 with the first of a home back-to-back against No. 5 Durango, the defending state champion.
Aspen started the year 0-4 and is looking for its first win since returning to the national team. The Skiers lost to Glenwood on Dec. 13 in their first home varsity game in two seasons, followed by a loss to Pueblo County on Dec. 14. They will travel to Durango on January 10th and 11th.
girl swimming
Glenwood Springs placed first at the home meet on Dec. 6 and second at the Southwest Conference Relay meet in Grand Junction on Dec. 7.
Aspen did not show any competitors in the results for either game, despite both games being on the team’s calendar.
wrestling
Basalt’s Emeli Mejia Garcia was the 100-pound champion at the Western Slope Showdown on Dec. 14 and won Saturday’s Warrior Classic, joining Rosliny Bernal Rodriguez in the podium at 155 pounds. I stood at the top.
At the Warrior Classic, Carlos Landeros of Glenwood Springs finished second in the 106 race.
