12-2 Winter Roundup
Sushinsky strong in national race; boys hoops humbled by ThunderRidge; ice hockey wins a roadie; girls hoops runner-up down south.
Jacob Sushinsky finished 37th on Saturday at the Garmin RunningLane Cross Country Championships held in Huntsville, Ala.
The Mullen junior covered the 5k (3.1-mile) course in 15 minutes, 43.40 seconds.
The winning time was 15:09.30.
Sushinsky was fourth in the Colorado Class 4A Championships and set a school record during the season. He also was one of the few in-state runners to break 15 minutes in 2022.
There were 283 entrants.
Sushinsky ran in the 5,000 Gold race as did the Mustangs girls team that finished 23rd.
Mullen was led by Amy O’Connell, who ran 19:10.70 to finish in 73rd. place. Next were: Kira Van Der Steen, 175th, 20:32.80; Octavia Gomez, 215th, 21:25.00; Lizzie McGarry, 240th, 21:52.70; Emma O’Connell, 257th, 23:20.70; Maddy Sanchez, 262nd, 24:26.40; and Jacqueline Magolske, 265th, 26.03.00.
The winning time was 17:28.30.
There were 27 teams entered, 269 individuals.
Mustangs girls were 11th as a team in the Colorado Championships.
According to head coach Joe Welling, it’s the first-ever trip to a national race for the program.
Boys Basketball
The Mustangs dipped to 1-2 in dropping their home opener to defending state champion ThunderRidge 80-59 at Hutchison Fieldhouse.
“We got that one out of the way,” Mustangs head coach Roosevelt Leslie said.
Mullen trailed ony 12-11 after 8 minutes before the Grizzlies, who were superior in height and length, kicked it in gear, scoring 46 points over the middle two quarters to take command.
The Mustangs were beaten on the backboards, made only 17-of-32 free throws and got no closer than 11 points after halftime.
“We played with emotion (early), but couldn’t keep up,” Leslie said.
Jordan Leslie led Mullen with 24 points.
The Mustangs will be idle until Friday, Dec. 9, when they will host parochial rival Regis Jesuit, the first of five consecutive home games before the holiday break.
THUNDERRIDGE 80. MULLEN 59
ThunderRidge 12 23 23 22 -- 80
Mullen 11 10 21 17 -- 59
Mullen – Leslie 7 7-14 24, Brendle 2 3-5 8, Archibald 0 0-0 0, Aceves 2 5-9 9, Castillo 1 1-2 4, Diasselliss 1 0-0 4, Jerez 3 1-2 8, Steward 2 0-0 4, Jones 0 0-0 0, Lewis 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 17-32 59.
3-pt. goals – Leslie 3, Brendle, Diasselliss, Jerez
Ice Hockey
In Colorado Springs, the Mustangs, despite being shorthanded for 23 of the game’s 51 minutes, beat host Air Academy 4-3 at World Ice Arena.
Now 1-1 overall, 1-0 in the North Division, Mullen received goals from Jeff Witwer, Michael Gifford, Ciaran Dooley, Caden Clothier and Liam Finney.
The Mustangs will resume play on Tuesday, Dec. 6, against Liberty at Sertich Arena in Colorado Springs, 1 p.m., in the division.
Girls Basketball
In Castle Rock, the Mustangs finished runner-up to Cherokee Trail in the Catsle View Tournament, losing 51-43 in the finale.
Mullen is 1-2.
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