Without question, the premier girls soccer program in the state belongs to Arapahoe. The Warriors own nine overall state titles and are ranked No. 4 in the latest Denver Post/9News Class 5A poll. No coach has had more success at Arapahoe than Kirk Bast. The numbers speak for themselves, and Bast could and should reach a biggie later today at Gateway. In his 17th season at the helm, Bast will go for win No. 500 at 4 p.m. against the Olympians.
Other enticing tilts this weekend include Saturday’s Class 5A nonleague affair between No. 5 Cherry Creek and No. 6 and unbeaten Chatfield at noon. And the top spot in the Skyline League is up for grabs, when Class 4A No. 10 Cherokee Trail hosts Mountain Range at 11 a.m.
BOYS SWIMMING
BoCo fun. The South Boulder Recreation Center will be rockin’ Friday and Saturday as the host site for the Boulder County Invitational. Boulder (Matt Sherrier), Fairview (Scott Rigg) and Silver Creek (Nick Koerner, pictured) will battle for county bragging rights. Also for your swimming enjoyment this weekend are the Smoky Hill Invitational and the Jeffco Invitational, which will host the coolest co-op nickname squad — Grand Junction’s District 51 Griffins. TRACK AND FIELD
Lace up your spikes. Your track meet du jour this weekend will take you to Littleton Public Schools Stadium and the Nike Invitational. It’s just one of many on the docket this weekend. If you are up for the drive and want to see the discus thrower featured to the right, drive up to Gunnison for the Cowboys’ annual invitational.
BASEBALL
Backyard brawl. The first time crosstown rivals Rocky Mountain and Fort Collins got together this season, it was a short visit . . . five innings, to be exact. The defending state champion Lobos snacked on the Lambkins 10-0 this month, and hope to do it again Saturday at 2 p.m. as the regular season, big-school baseball loop enters its penultimate weekend of games. Reigning player of the year Andy Burns popped a home run in that game and Bryan Peters silenced the Fort Collins bats with six strikeouts. Other games of interest Saturday include Cherry Creek at Mullen (11 a.m.) and, in 3A, Holy Family and Bishop Machebeuf, which will play two beginning at 9 a.m.
