NoCo Nine: Fossil Ridge wins FRL swim title, city hoops heats up and PSD skis to milestone

NoCo Nine is back with a championship preview edition as the calendar hits February.

It's city rivalry season on the hardwood, several local swimmers were tops in their conference and the PSD ski team posted another program milestone.

Plus, there's big-time wrestling action on tap and some local football recruiting heating up for the 2025 class.

Here are the best things we saw in Fort Collins-area high school sports this past week:

Note: If you have nominations for future NoCo Nine editions, please send them via email to ChrisAbshire@coloradoan.com for consideration.

Fossil Ridge, Fort Collins split city hoops rivalry

Last week on the hoops scene centered around the city rivalries, including Fossil Ridge at Fort Collins in a boy-girl doubleheader.

The Fort Collins girls continued their remarkable season, pulling away late from Fossil in a 65-50 battle. Avery Alcaraz led the way with 17 points, while Penley Park added 10 for a balanced Lambkins squad that is No. 10 in the Class 6A seeding index.

The boys followed, and it was another highly competitive game. The SaberCats held 6A leading scorer Jayce King in check, while four Fossil players (Cayden Clagett, Eli Nutting, Walker Shields and Sean Purvis) all scored in double digits for a 65-55 win.

SaberCats make big splash in the pool

The Fossil Ridge girls swimming team delivered a statement performance ahead of the state meet, winning the Front Range League title Saturday.

The SaberCats (861 points) edged out Legacy (846) to win the conference crown, spurred by three race wins.

Ella Gaca-Thiele sprinted to the 50-yard freestyle title and also swam on the 200 medley-winning unit with Grace Knight, Paige Nguyen and Gracie Thornton. Sydney Ovesen also won the one-meter diving event.

Rocky Mountain also finished fourth, as Mollie Gorman took the 100 breaststroke, narrowly edging teammate Abby Lehmkuhler by a quarter-second.

Expect our city teams to make some noise this Friday at the 5A state championships.

PSD Stars keeps shining on the slopes

The Prairie Dogs were back in the mountains and reaching another program milestone.

In snowy conditions at Maloit Park near Minturn, the PSD boys ski team took their first-ever classic title with a one-point win in the 3-kilometer classic event.

Brodie Morrison was the top finisher in fourth, while three other Stars placed inside the top-20. The boys also finished second in the 5-kilometer skate, with Cade Shortridge taking runner-up honors.

The girls squad also posted top-five finishes in both events, with Ellayna Potter skiing to a team-best top-5 spot in 5-kilometer skate.

Lobos dominate city hoops rivalry

The other rivalry basketball matchup in town last week was all about the Lobos. Rocky Mountain dominated the Impalas, earning program sweeps across all levels for the boys and girls.

The Rocky girls opened with a 55-38 varsity victory, as Sara Chicco and Morgen DeLap each posted 13 points to back up a lockdown defensive effort.

The Lobo boys followed that script, shutting Poudre down in a 64-45 win behind 21 points for Daniel Mbadinga.

PSD wrestling unveils 'State Wall'

The Stars unveiled a new addition to honor the program's burgeoning history last week with the "State Wall" in Poudre's gym.

The wall highlights the PSD girls wrestlers who qualify for state each year, with over a dozen already in the past three seasons as an officially-sanctioned CHSAA sport.

While the Stars fell to Mead in a tight 36-30 match, they'll likely have several state qualifiers at regionals this weekend with standouts like Natasha Hartman, Aubrey First, Pearl Morris, Ezry Bonomo and Mariah Gonzalez — all of whom won matches vs. Mead.

Liberty Common, Monajjem win Patriot League titles

Elsewhere in the pool, a local squad and swimmer dominated the Patriot League meet last weekend.

Liberty Common rolled to the team title by more than 200 points. The Eagles won seven of the 12 races, including a clean sweep of the three relays.

Addison Jones (100 butterfly, 500 free) and Abby Daharsh (50, 100 free) each won a pair of titles and swam on two of the three relay-wining units.

Wellington's Cody Monajjem was also a standout, earning the 100 back and 200 free league crowns for a second straight season.

Wizards keep winning

The Windsor boys basketball team is crushing everybody in its path lately.

The Wizards are now No. 4 in CHSAA's 5A seeding index and 10-0 in league play after pulling away from No. 14 Longmont by 18 on the road and beating Greeley West, 92-44, on Senior Day.

Madden Smiley had 39 points across the two wins, with major contributions from Brady Kingsley, Johnnie Reed and John Backhaus.

The Wizards have a deep roster and are in line for a return trip to the Denver Coliseum after a Final 4 run last March.

Local football standouts visit CSU, Wyoming

It's a busy time for some of our top local football recruits right now, as teams start to build their 2025 classes.

Wyoming and Colorado State each hosted Junior Days this past weekend, with several junior Fort Collins-area standouts in attendance.

Wyoming hosted players like Fossil Ridge lineman Nate Ceschin, SaberCats' wide receiver Marcus Mozer and Timnath running back/linebacker Vince Hochhalter.

Meanwhile, CSU also hosted Ceschin and Wellington running back/defensive back Cash Altschwager, among others.

Games of the Week

With championship season approaching, it's a busy slate across nearly every sport. Here are some top games and events this week:

• State swimming and diving championships (Wednesday-Saturday, Thornton): The 5A diving competition kicks things off Wednesday, with 4A swimming on Thursday, 5A in the Friday night slot and 3A competing on Saturday at the VMAC in Thornton.

• Regional wrestling tournament (Friday-Saturday, various sites): It's regional weekend for wrestling! We'll have local wrestlers from three different classifications looking to qualify for state on the mat, highlighted by Windsor (No. 1 in 4A) and Poudre (No. 5 in 5A).

• Windsor at Silver Creek boys basketball (Wednesday, 7 p.m.): It's a top-five hoops showdown in Class 5A, as the Wizards hit the road against the third-ranked Raptors.

• City basketball rivalries (Friday, 5:30 and 7 p.m.): It's another round of crosstown basketball doubleheaders for the boys and girls, with Rocky Mountain playing at Fossil Ridge and Fort Collins travelling to Poudre.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: NoCo Nine: The best of Fort Collins-area high school sports for Jan. 29-Feb. 3