Denver Post staff writer Jon E. Yunt takes a look ahead at the action in high school sports:
FOOTBALL
Those were the good ol’ days.
It sounds weird to refer to tonight’s Class 4A West Metro League tilt between Abraham Lincoln and West — that’s right, West Metro League. The two “former” Denver Prep League teams open league play tonight at All-City Stadium at 6 p.m.
GYMNASTICS
Head over heels.
No Hannah Bower and no Anna Simmons. So what? Saturday’s Indian/Eagle Invitational still brings together the dwindling sport’s best for a day. Bower, the three- time Class 5A all-around champion from Loveland, is recovering from a broken ankle suffered last month and is still a month away from competing. Mountain Range’s Simmons opted to compete only for her club team. But the meet remains loaded with talent, including Thompson Valley’s Gentry Knaub, Fort Collins’ Michelle Tharp and Green Mountain’s Kelly Stone.
SOFTBALL
Things are getting Erie.
The Class 3A softball powerhouse hosts its annual Festival of Champions on Friday and Saturday at Boulder’s Stazio Fields. Oklahoma big-school powerhouse Broken Arrow, which stopped in Erie a few years ago with monster player Destiny Frankenstein, returns to Colorado this year with fellow Oklahoma high school teams from Enid and Duncan. All three of last year’s Colorado state champions will be in the field: Class 5A Legacy, 4A’s Ralston Valley and 3A’s Erie. Ralston Valley and Erie meet Saturday at 4 p.m.
CROSS COUNTRY
Let’s go for a (3.1-mile) stroll.
Saturday is a big day for the runners. If you like your high-altitude jaunts, it doesn’t get any higher than Leadville, where one-time powerhouse Lake County will host its invitational at Colorado Mountain College. Other sites scheduled to host Saturday include Basalt, Bayfield, Brighton, Lamar, Lyons, Sheridan and Thomas Jefferson.
VOLLEYBALL
Bump, set . . . spike.
Tournaments galore Saturday for the most popular girls sport of the prep fall season. Bennett, Fort Morgan, Mesa Ridge, Overland and Pikes Peak Christian will all feature a bevy of teams in their respective gyms for a couple of days of action. Also on Saturday, Class 3A reigning champion Colorado Springs Christian will match up with Doherty in a battle for bragging rights in the Springs.
