{"id":2454076,"date":"2020-02-03T20:32:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-04T03:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/colberts-prep-playbook-looking-at-the-playoff-possibilities-as-we-enter-final-weeks\/"},"modified":"2020-02-03T20:32:00","modified_gmt":"2020-02-04T03:32:00","slug":"colberts-prep-playbook-looking-at-playoff-hopes-as-we-enter-final-weeks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/colberts-prep-playbook-looking-at-playoff-hopes-as-we-enter-final-weeks\/","title":{"rendered":"Colbert\u2019s Prep Playbook: Looking at playoff hopes as we enter final weeks"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.3333333333333\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-320286-768\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/prepcolumn-atd-121719-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/prepcolumn-atd-121719-1-1024x732.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times | Aspen High School hockey plays against Crested Butte on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2019, at Lewis Ice Arena in Aspen. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"11\">\n<p><strong>Aspen High School hockey plays against Crested Butte on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2019, at Lewis Ice Arena in Aspen. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/prepcolumn-atd-121719-1-1024x732.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Aspen High School hockey plays against Crested Butte on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2019, at Lewis Ice Arena in Aspen. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/prepcolumn-atd-121719-1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/prepcolumn-atd-121719-1-1-681x1024.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Photo by Anna Stonehouse | Aspen Times sports editor Austin Colbert\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-2\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"7\">\n<p><strong>Aspen Times sports editor Austin Colbert<\/strong><br \/>Photo by Anna Stonehouse<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/02\/prepcolumn-atd-121719-1-1-681x1024.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Aspen Times sports editor Austin Colbert\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/colberts-prep-playbook-looking-at-the-playoff-possibilities-as-we-enter-final-weeks\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/colberts-prep-playbook-looking-at-the-playoff-possibilities-as-we-enter-final-weeks\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText DropCap\">While difficult to believe, the winter sports season is approaching its end. Regular seasons will begin to wrap up over the next couple of weeks for most teams, with postseason and state right around the corner.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">With that, let\u2019s take a peek at where teams sit in terms of playoff possibilities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Subhead\">HOCKEY<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">It\u2019s been a bit of a rough winter for Aspen hockey. The team sits at 3-8-3 overall with four games remaining. AHS is 0-5-2 going back to its last win, which came Jan. 10 over Glenwood Springs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">A trip to the state tournament is still very much possible, however. As of Monday afternoon, the Skiers had an RPI of 23, with 24 teams making the postseason field. A tough schedule is helping the team out in that regard.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Next up, AHS will host Resurrection Christian (1-9-2) on Friday, followed by a home date with Summit (9-4) on Saturday. The final home game is Feb. 14 against Mountain Vista (5-7-3) followed by the regular-season finale Feb. 22 at Glenwood Springs (8-4-1). If Aspen can go 2-2 over these final four games, they might sneak in.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Subhead\">BOYS BASKETBALL<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The Roaring Fork game over the weekend was certainly a dud Aspen will want to forget about, but otherwise it\u2019s been a strong season for the team. At 10-5 overall and 4-2 in league play, the Skiers look to be a dark horse contender once we get to district play (i.e., the league tournament). A top-six finish in league, which AHS currently would be, means they get to skip that dreaded play-in game. Gunnison, Coal Ridge and Moffat County all currently have a single league loss and are in the driver\u2019s set.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The Basalt boys got out of the cellar by beating Cedaredge last week for their first league win. But, at 2-12 overall and 1-5 in league play, the Longhorns won\u2019t be seen as much of a threat come districts. They are in good position to host that district play-in game, which would be fun.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Aspen still has five games to play, while Basalt has four. The regular-season finale for both is Feb. 21 against each other in Aspen.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Subhead\">GIRLS BASKETBALL<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The Basalt girls continue to ride the roller coaster after back-to-back losses. But at 6-6 overall and 1-4 in league play, it\u2019s still turning out to be one of the best seasons for the program in recent memory. The Longhorns certainly look capable of escaping that district play-in game, but they\u2019ll have to win a game or two over these final weeks. Right now, they\u2019d be the eight seed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The Aspen girls are 3-9 overall and 0-4 in league play, the only team without a league win. Another Basalt versus Aspen play-in game isn\u2019t out of the equation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The Longhorns are scheduled to host Rifle on Tuesday night in a girls-only game, while Aspen heads to Hotchkiss on Tuesday in another girls-only game. The AHS boys return to the court Saturday at Moffat County, while the BHS boys are off until hosting Roaring Fork on Friday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Subhead\">SKIING<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">There isn\u2019t much to say here other than, yes, Aspen should be a contender again for both the boys and girls state championships later this month. They\u2019ve finished first or second in pretty much every meet this season, and fans can catch them at home for the only time this winter when the alpine team hosts races Thursday at Aspen Highlands. The nordic team is hosting races Saturday. State is Feb. 27 and 28.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Subhead\">WRESTLING<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Basalt wrestling will hit the mat a couple more times this week before heading to regionals in Montrose next week. I\u2019d expect at least Ruben Samuelson and Ernesto Lopez to qualify for state. Samuelson, a junior who wrestles at 170 pounds, is undefeated on the season, according to coach Ryan Bradley. The program is in its eighth season since returning, and Samuelson might be having the best season of any Longhorn in that time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Subhead\">GIRLS SWIMMING<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">It\u2019s more or less go time for the Aspen girls swim team. They take their small but mighty group to the Western Slope championships later this week before it\u2019s off to the state championships next week in Thornton. The Skiers won the 2017 state championship, the first year 3A had its own classification, but might have trouble reaching that high because of team depth this winter. Then again, the talent isn\u2019t lacking, so you never know. This team, which is incredibly youthful, could win a handful of individual state titles.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><a href=\"mailto:acolbert@aspentimes.com\">acolbert@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/colberts-prep-playbook-looking-at-the-playoff-possibilities-as-we-enter-final-weeks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Aspen High School hockey plays against Crested Butte on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2019, at Lewis Ice Arena in Aspen. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times Aspen Times sports editor Austin ColbertPhoto by Anna Stonehouse Show CaptionsHide Captions While difficult to believe, the winter sports season is approaching its end. Regular seasons will [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2454076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-18 17:45:39","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2454076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2454076"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2454076\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2454076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2454076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2454076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}