Marcos Romero works his way along the perimeter against Sangre de Cristo on Dec. 1  during the Thunderbird Shootout. Romero and the Miners are currently undefeated and hold the number one spot in 1A Boys Basketball.

VALLEY — CHSAA has released another ranking based on the votes of coaches and media officials. There is still a week before the official rating percentage index scores begin to go up.

Boys Basketball
Previously number three the Creede Miners boys basketball team leapfrogged two other unbeaten teams- Holly and Peetz to the number one spot in the rankings of 1A Basketball.  Creede dethroned defending state champions Holly by one first place vote. The Miners returned from the break to earn their eighth straight win against 2-5 Crested Butte.

To begin the season Creede was in attendance at the Thunderbird Shoot out in Mosca. Eventually winning the tournament the Miners had to go through the number 5 scorer in the state, Arthur Rodriguez and his Sierra Grande Panthers. Creede is also responsible for the lone blemishes on Sangre de Cristo and Cotopaxi’s records.

This week the Sangre de Cristo Thunderbirds were added to the top ten of 1A Basketball breaking the rankings at number eight. The Thunderbirds have been on a similar tear having gone 6-1. Sangre de Cristo earned nearly took their home tournament only falling in the championship game to aforementioned Creede.

Since then the Thunderbirds have stayed perfect and will look to continue their winning ways against the likes of Sargent and Cotopaxi in their next games.

In 2A Basketball the Del Norte Tigers house talent in the form of Carlos Parra and Kade Glover. Parra holds the number two spot in state scoring averaging 31 points per game while Glover is fifth in the state in assists per game with 6. As a team the Tigers have climbed the rankings to number 3, up from number 4 last week.

The Sanford Indians seem to be struggling in the rankings and have fallen to number ten in the 2A rankings down from last week’s number 6. The Indians are currently sitting at .500 with a 3-3 record.

Sanford has suffered three straight losses in games against La Junta Monte Vista and Centauri. The Indians likely have a January 27 matchup with Del Norte circled on their calender.

In 3A Alamosa continues their march to the post season. The Mean Moose have gone 6-1 thus far this season and have faced two fellow ranked teams in Faith Christian and Kent Denver and went 1-1.

The Moose will begin IML play tonight when Pagosa Springs comes to town.

Alyssa Gomez brings the ball up court and sets up the offense against Del Norte during the Mountain Top Tournament on Dec. 2. Gomez and the Falcons own the number one spot for girls 3A basketball.

Girls Basketball
In 1A Antonito climbed the rankings with a loss from seventh to number five. Which makes perfect sense considering the team they fell to was fourth ranked 9-0 Kim/ Branson. The Trojans are anchored by Erykah Tallman, who is fourth in the state in rebounds with 14.8 per game.

Sangre de Cristo was ranked fifth last week when they were 6-0. After a week that the Thunderbirds defeated Rocky Ford inexplicably Sangre de Cristo fell five spots.

Junior Jessica Slane posts 20.5 points per game, good enough for the number 10 spot in the state. The Thunderbirds currently occupy tenth place in the rankings and despite not having faced any of the ranked talent have still put together a seven game winning streak.

Del Norte remains listed on the 2A rankings where they have stayed steadily ranked at number 7 since last week. Among the Tigers is Kendra Parra number 14 on the state top shooters list with 19.3 points per game. Winners of their last two, the Tigers will look to make it a hat trick this weekend when they host South Park.

The Centauri Falcons preside upon the number one spot in 3A girls basketball with a perfect 9-0 record and 7 first place votes. The Falcons have Ember Canty.

Canty hunkers in down low and is a nightmare for teams who make hay by feeding the post with her eighth in the state 3.7 blocks per game. The Falcons play a defensive game and allow an average 29 points per game to their opponents.

Rankings are based on votes cast by coaches and media members around the state. These rankings have no bearing on postseason seeding.