Colorado Academy’s Boys Basketball team is poised to make another state title run. The team has come close in the past two years, but has fallen short by a total of 4 points. Ranked second in the 3A classification, the CA Boys are setting their goals high.

 

The CA Boys Varsity Basketball team’s first nine games were all played away in three tough 4A/5A basketball tournaments against top competition. Seniors Justin Bassey, Christian Hyatt, Will Creedon, and junior Pepijn Van Ede are the four returning starters from last season’s state finalist team. Senior Peter Vukovich Simonson is also returning.

 

Adding to the mix of last year’s team is talented freshman Hunter Shkapich, and junior Tye Thompson. Freshman Alex Mushkin, junior James Jensen, and seniors Winston Palmeri and Spencer Bittman round out the rest of the team. It should be noted that as non-starters, Palmeri and Bittman have a tremendous work ethic and attitude and are not afraid to use their full complement of 5 fouls each game! Recent home victories over top-ranked St. Mary’s-CS and the Mean Moose of Alamosa prove that this year’s CA Mustang Boys Basketball team is extremely competitive and may put themselves in contention for a strong post-season run.

 

Justin Bassey is leading this year’s team in scoring, averaging 27 ppg, and he scored a career-high 41 points versus Poudre. Christian Hyatt is second in scoring, averaging 18 ppg, and he scored a career-high 34 points versus Northridge. Freshman Hunter Shkapich is averaging 14 ppg, and he scored a career-high 24 points against Sand Creek. Senior Peter Vukovich-Simonson is averaging 10 ppg and scored a career-high 17 points versus Elizabeth and Steamboat Springs. At press time, the boys team was 7-5 with its most recent game, a loss at the hands of the Kent Denver school, 54-51.

 

Colorado Academy Girls Basketball has started the season off determined to build on the success from last season. The program is stronger than last year with the addition of JV Head Coach Connie Rains and the development of a C-level team in the program for the first time in over ten years.

 

Varsity Captain Junior Claire Wright has had three double-doubles in the first seven games and displays impressive leadership on and off the court. Senior Heather Kurtz and Junior Celia Osman round out the Varsity captains; both are incredible leaders with consistent contributions on the court. Recently, the girls knocked off 4A opponent Kennedy High School with a total team effort, capturing a final score of 45–39. Before meeting CA’s tough defense, JFK was averaging 61 points per game.

 

The girls are heading into incredibly tough Metro League competition with momentum in their favor. All three teams have started to turn the corner to cohesiveness and aggressive team play. Defense is our primary focus with the Varsity team holding our opponents to an average of 29.8 points per game. The Varsity team is also averaging 17.1 steals per game and 19.4 defensive rebounds per game, both well above the national average for girls basketball.

 

After a tough loss to an incredibly talented and top-five-ranked St. Mary’s-CS team, the girls played a determined and focused game against the Kent Denver School. The Mustangs fell to KDS by a score of 38-35. Good things are sure to come for the program through the consistent and strong leadership of head coach Meghan Peregord and assistant Cindy Gentile. A post-season berth is well within the girls’ grasp, and a title run is certainly a strong possibility with continued hard work and exceptional team effort.

 

At press time, the CA Girls Swim team is doing very well. So, far all individual swimmers have beaten their best times and continue to improve on a daily basis against some stiff competition. The CA team, always up for a challenge, primarily competes against 4A and 5A teams that have 30-60 girls on their teams and can put numerous swimmers in each event. This season, two of the CA relay teams have set school records. Additionally, new girls who have either never swum before or have not swum for many years are doing remarkably well. “This has been a very positive and fun year so far,” says head coach Beckie Mutz.

 

Regional and State championships are just around the corner, and many swimmers have already qualified with performances that will put them in championship contention.

 

As of press time, those that will compete in the post season are: the 200 Medley Relay with Anne Younger, Isabelle Fries, Arianna Goldman, Jackie Melberg, Tori Lim, and Aly Gallagher, the 200 Free Relay with Anne Younger, Jackie Melberg, Tori Lim, and Aly Gallagher and the 400 Free Relay with Anne Younger, Jackie Melberg, Tori Lim, and Aly Gallagher. For individual events, Tori Lim made the 50 Free, Jackie Melberg made the 100 Breast, Anne Younger made the 50 Free, 100 Free, and the 100 Back, and Aly Gallagher has made the 50 free, 500 free, 100 free the 200 I.M.