Liberty’s boys basketball team needed clutch performances to outpace a hot Rampart squad in a Colorado Springs Metro League showdown. The Lancers were one of multiple schools last week to secure victories in tight contests.   Here is the week in review and some of the athletes who stood out in their respective competitions. 14ners Dylan Arocho, sr., Harrison, boys basketball – An efficient night from the Panthers senior helped lead Harrison to a 65-54 victory against Widefield last week. Arocho scored 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting and added nine rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocks against the Gladiators. Arocho is shooting 69 percent from the field and through 14 games, has seven contests where he’s shot over 60 percent. Kinley Asp, sr., Air Academy, girls basketball – Asp scorched her opponents last week in two Pikes Peak Athletic Conference matchups. The Boston College signee dropped back-to-back career highs for the Kadets in a pair of victories against Discovery Canyon and Cheyenne Mountain. Against Discovery Canyon, Asp totaled 36 points in a 64-29 victory against the Thunder and hit five 3-pointers, her third time this season with five or more makes from beyond the arc. Asp also finished the game with nine rebounds, six assists and five steals in the contest and through 13 games, the Kadets guard has at least one steal in every matchup. Asp followed with 41 points in a 64-37 win against Cheyenne Mountain and buried five triples. Sal’on Spencer, fr., Mesa Ridge, girls basketball – In a 57-32 victory against Coronado, Spencer put her stamp on the contest with a triple-double. Spencer swatted a career-high 10 shots, led the Grizzlies with 14 points, shot 7 of 14 from the field, grabbed 13 rebounds and finished with three steals. Prior to the Cougars game, Spencer had 19 blocks for the season and her career best was four blocks, which she achieved twice so far this season. Cobelyn Wisner, sr., Falcon, girls basketball – The Falcons’ scoring machine continues to torch opposing defenses and Wisner made Elizabeth feel her wrath last week. Falcon beat Elizabeth 67-16 and Wisner had 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting. Wisner’s 60% performance from the field was her most efficient night this year and her sixth 20-point game through 12 contests. Wisner has reached double figures in 18 of her last 19 matchups and ranks 30th in Colorado at 18.5 points per game. Allison McDaniel, fr., Falcon, girls wrestling – The Falcons’ 110-pounder will surely wear her tiara with an abundance of pride following a 5-0 weekend. McDaniel went undefeated at the Tiara Challenge to earn the crown at Douglas County’s annual tournament and defeated Adams City’s top-seeded Phoebe Gutierrez in the semifinals and Loveland’s 2025 5A 110 state champion Saydee Lussenhop 5-0 in the finals. Through 30 matches, McDaniel is 29-1, owns a 25-match win streak and has 21 victories by pin. Achilles Evans, sr., Sand Creek, boys wrestling – Evans made short work of his opposition at last weekend’s 41st annual Les Mattocks tournament. The Scorpions’ 190-pounder went 3-0 and capped the tournament with a 24-4 tech fall in the finals against Santana Routzen of Atrisco Heritage (N.M.) Evans has won his past 10 matches and nine of those 10 victories came by tech fall or pin. Mia Busby, so., James Irwin, girls basketball – Busby only had six points in the Jaguars’ victory against Manitou Springs, but she still dominated the game. The Jaguars sophomore finished with game highs in rebounds (22), assists (six), steals (five), and tied teammate Stella Reed with three blocked shots in a 43-40 win against the Mustangs. Busby is fifth in Colorado at 15.5 rebounds per game and has 20 or more rebounds in three contests. Saie Soto, fr., Woodland Park, boys basketball – A double-double for the freshman helped push the Panthers past Ellicott in their meeting last week. Soto scored 15 points, earned a game-high 11 steals, grabbed six rebounds and swatted two shots in the Panthers’ 60-32 win against the Thunderhawks. This was Soto’s second time this season with 11 steals. The freshman also swiped the ball 11 times against Rye on Jan. 13. Michael Reed, so., Manitou Springs, boys basketball – Coming off his second-lowest output of the season, Reed peppered James Irwin with a flurry of buckets. Reed scored a career-high 28 points in the Mustangs’ 80-47 victory against the Jaguars to help Manitou Springs earn its second consecutive win following a loss to Banning Lewis Prep on Jan. 15. This was Reed’s third 20-plus-point performance and along with his four steals against the Jaguars, gave the sophomore at least three steals in every game this season. Jacob Hunter, sr., Falcon, boys basketball – The Falcons senior has an ideal last name to describe his performance against Sierra last week. Falcon defeated Sierra 72-39 and Hunter earned five blocks along with four steals and seven rebounds. Hunter finished second on the Falcons in scoring and added 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting and matched a season best in made field goals. Mia Castro, jr., Evangel Christian Academy, girls basketball – Castro had a strong week in a pair of victories. The Eagles guard finished with 14 points, eight steals and seven assists in a 51-33 win against Prairie. In ECA’s 41-20 victory against Hi-Plains, Castro finished with 13 points, eight rebounds, five steals and five assists. In the Eagles’ season opener in December, a 48-32 win against Byers, Castro finished with a 23-point, 10-rebound, 11-steal triple-double. On Jan. 17, Castro earned her second triple-double in a 53-38 win against Las Animas with 13 points, 10 assists and 11 steals. Erica Leveille, sr., Cheyenne Mountain, girls swimming and diving – The Red-Tailed Hawks divers claimed five of the seven top spots against Air Academy last week and Leveille led the way. Leveille finished first with 301 points, which was more than 70 points better than teammate runner-up Monique Ardines. Leveille’s diving score last week against the Kadets marked the third time this year she earned 300 or more points. She had a season-best score of 471.75 on Jan. 9 at the Hornet Invite at Pueblo County. Chase Vaughn, sr., Lewis-Palmer, ice hockey – Vaughn’s clutch work between the pipes for the Rangers against Castle View helped L-P secure the win against the Sabercats. Lewis-Palmer beat Castle View 4-3 and Vaughn finished with 32 saves in 51 minutes. Vaughn and the Rangers’ defense held the Sabercats to just one goal after the first period ended with two scores apiece. Crew Miller, jr., CSD11, ice hockey – Miller found his groove in two wins for the D11 combined team. In a 9-2 victory against Mullen, Miller tallied three points with two assists and a goal in the matchup and followed with three more points in a 7-3 win against Pueblo County on Jan. 24. Miller notched two goals – his second multigoal game of the season – and added an assist for CSD11. Vista Ridge’s Ashley Guiao defends Liberty’s Karli Schoonmaker (right to left) during the first half of a game at Liberty High School on Thursday. (The Gazette, Jerilee Bennett) Close contests Boys basketball Liberty 70, Rampart 68 The Lancers spoiled a game-high 23 from Rams senior Wyatt Kirch en route to Liberty’s eighth win of the season. Five Lancers reached double figures including Zay Bradley, who led Liberty with 19 points. The Lancers also buried 12 3-pointers as juniors Cameron Cunningham and Gavyn Franz each had four. The victory pulled the teams’ all-time record to 18-18 with a chance to break the tie Feb. 5 as Liberty travels to Rampart. Coronado 59, Palmer 57 The Cougars played the role of spoilers last Tuesday when Palmer renamed their gym after legendary Terrors coach Dan McKiernan. Coronado held off a late rally by the Terrors, shot 56 percent from beyond the arc and Joseph Rodriguez and Turner Whitney knocked down a pair of triples in the Cougars’ win. Whitney added eight rebounds and six steals and Brayden Taylor scored a game-high 14 points for Coronado. Terrors freshman Deon Styles led Palmer with 13 points and finished 5 of 6 from the field.   Cheyenne Mountain 81, Lewis-Palmer 80 (OT) Alex Treglia paced the Red-Tailed Hawks to a season-high 81 points, scored 37 and finished 11 of 14 at the line to help push Cheyenne Mountain past the Rangers in overtime. Both Cheyenne Mountain and Lewis-Palmer scored 16 fourth-quarter points to tie the game at 72. The Red-Tailed Hawks outscored the Rangers 9-8 in the extra period to secure the victory. James Dalsaso finished 7 of 12 from the field and poured in 20 points for the Red-Tailed Hawks. Jonas Miller led the Rangers’ charge with 22 points and hit 8 of his 10 free throws. Devin VanderMeer scored 20 points and Ryker Odendahl went 4 of 5 from beyond the arc for 16 points for the Rangers. Prep Editor’s corner: Signing Day is coming… It’s that time of the year! National Signing Day is Feb. 6 and several area athletes will officially commit to their respective colleges. For schools and/or athletes who will host events, please reach out. For emails, contact me via email ([email protected]), reach out to The Gazette Preps’ Facebook page via messenger or tag us on your social media posts to let us know. Please let us know no later than 5 p.m. Monday, Feb. 2 so we can plan accordingly. Thank you to those who have reached out. We look forward to hearing from everyone! -Marcus Hill ...read more read less