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Drumroll, please, for your Huskies senior athletes

Battle Mountain's Wyatt Harwood (33) runs to daylight during the season opener against Middle Park. Little did he know then that he would win his school's Senior Award on Wednesday.
Rex Keep | Daily file photo |

EDWARDS — The paparazzi were not out, asking, “What are you wearing,” but it was, nonetheless, awards night for Battle Mountain on Wednesday.

And the Huskies’ Senior Athletes for 2015-16 are Wyatt Harwood and Emily Cope, gratifying choices among a bevy of qualified candidates.

School of hard knocks



Harwood has been a three-sport athlete (football, wrestling and baseball) at a school where that’s a rarity more than the norm.

Yes, he was most accomplished in wrestling, winning a fourth-place medal at 170 pounds, but there is one simple sentence with regard to him that I like.

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Harwood has played football at Battle Mountain for four years.

(Yes, along with Chase Keep, Demetrius Parrish and Noah Shamis.)

Huskies’ football has really never been a glamorous thing, and it certainly wasn’t during Harwood’s freshman and sophomore years, when Battle Mountain didn’t sniff a win.

You’ve gotta love football to keep going through that.

“The very first thing I will say is that Wyatt is a quality person, first of all,” current Huskies football coach Cliff Lohrey said. “He cares about his teammates, wants to be coached and is not afraid to put in the hard work to become a great player.”

With Harwood at running back and linebackers, the Huskies went 10-8 the past two seasons.

Wrestling isn’t a glamour sport, either, but Harwood capped his career with an outstanding season. Since Battle Mountain didn’t have anyone near 170 pounds, Harwood ended up getting to wrestle his own bigger coaches in practice.

Not only did he make state, but he upset the No. 2 seed in the tournament and ended up finishing fourth.

Harwood completed his busy year with the baseball team, and will be attending Indiana State University to play football with the Sycamores.

Harwood’s biggest fan is his mom, Betty, who will now incessantly follow Sycamores football.

A Town Talk item

So I’m three months into my tenure here in 1997, and at a basketball game at the old high school in Eagle-Vail, when the soccer coach stuffs a piece of paper in my hand for Town Talk.

That was Emily Cope’s birth announcement, in which I just jokingly wrote that things were looking up for Battle Mountain soccer because a good player was coming down the pike in 14 or so years.

Upon further review, Miss Cope turned into a darn good soccer player.

“She’s the hardest working kid we’ve had — boy or girls,” soccer coach David Cope said. “She overcame distinct genetic and coaching disadvantages and still earned a scholarship.”

Yes, the coach is Dad as well, but apparently Southern Methodist University in Dallas thinks highly of Emily, regardless of her familial connection. She’s headed to SMU to play Division I soccer on a full ride.

All she did at Battle Mountain was lead the Huskies to four playoff appearances, three league titles and rack up 43 goals and 40 assists, the first player in a very good program to achieve the 40-40.

And, yes, when she’s not been playing soccer, Cope has also qualified for state in Nordic skiing.

Cope’s proud family includes, of course, David, her mother, Kathleen, and her younger brother, Casey.

Sports Editor Chris Freud can be reached at 970-748-2934, cfreud@vaildaily.com and @cfreud.


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