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Fore, Part I: My favorite moments in preps for 2016-17

Chris Freud
KRISTIN ANDERSON |

Yes, it’s time for everyone to go away.

The above are the words of a sports editor who’s as excited for summer as the teachers, coaches and student-athletes. The enthusiasm will be back in August. Freud just needs to go golfing now.

The reason the enthusiasm will return is every school year has its ups and downs and surprises that no one will believe because everyone knew that Battle Mountain goalie Jordan Glendining would score from the run of play to beat Steamboat Springs in overtime. (Seriously, I would have liked to have seen the odds on that prop bet.)



As we wind down the school year — read, Freud prepares to go play golf — here are a few of my favorite moments.

Huskies boys soccer in the semis

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Yes, everyone’s going to remember the D’Evylen game, the quarterfinals in which the Huskies trailed 2-0 and came back to win 3-2. (That’s another column, people.)

The 2-0 win against Pueblo West down in Parker in the nightcap of the Final Four was Battle Mountain’s finest moment. It was a testament to everything through which the Huskies had gone through during its slow start and ensuing 13-game winning streak.

Battle Mountain stuck together, persisted and found the goals in the second half — thank you, Juan Macias.

“That was an awesome overlap from our left back to score the second goal,” Huskies coach Cope said one night after Election Day. “I think that shows what we are; a well-rounded soccer team with a lot of weapons. We look like and we play like what America needs to look like, and I love it.”

It was also Michael Staughton’s birthday, which was kind of memorable.

They lost to Summit?

Yes, Battle Mountain girls soccer lost to Summit County, 2-1. That was a horrible result.

Huskies co-captain Skye Whitney said to her team, “This does not define us,” just before the postgame handshake. That was quality stuff from a player who is used to winning. She didn’t bag the season then, and neither did the Huskies.

The Huskies weren’t done with their opening skid. They bottomed out at 0-5 before winning six straight, capped off by Glendining’s ridiculous golden goal.

The character Whitney showed in that moment after Summit is the reason high school sports are so important in the educational process.

Gutsy coaching calls

Continuing in the character moments, we move west to Gypsum. Devils boys basketball coach Chris Walls benched one of his best players, and justifiably so, for a game against Glenwood Springs.

During the spring, Eagle Valley soccer coach Maggie Sherman benched most of her seniors for missing practice after spring break for the first half of a game against eventual league-champion, Palisade.

Eagle Valley basketball won, while Devils soccer lost.

That’s not the point.

It would have been easy to play the players and be done with it. Walls and Sherman put principles ahead of self-benefit. We second-guess the coaches as fans and silly newspaper people, and we’ll get to the stupid local guy soon.

But there is so much more to the job. Coaches are teachers, and they have to lay down the law in public circumstances. Walls and Sherman were simply just a few of the coaches who had to make these calls all year long.

Well done.

What are you doing, Parish?

Battle Mountain generally has a good 3,200-meter relay team. More specifically, the Huskies usually have three perfect runners for a four-person race. The key is finding that elusive fourth.

The 2008 boys title team had Tony Crisofulli, Jonny Stevens and John O’Neill. Connor Tedstrom ended up being the missing link.

This spring, three pieces were in place — Alex Raichart, and the Hardings (Lizzie to Naomi). And Huskies running coach Rob Parish was clearly making the wrong call in putting in Sofia Piliero as the opening leg of the 4-by-8 last weekend.

Run Elizabeth Constien, Parish. I don’t care if she’s coming off the open 3,200. She’s a Constien. That family produces cyborgs. Run Constien and win the 3,200, ya blooming idiot.

And so I watched on the Internet as Piliero more than capably led off the 3,200 and proved me to be a blooming idiot. My bad, Sofia and Parish. (And, really should you take running advice from a guy who’s fallen off a treadmill twice in the past year?)

Apparently, they’re twins

Truthfully, Eagle Valley volleyball was kind of boring this year in a good way. The Devils lost only one game during their 11 regular-season matches in Eagle County. So, as the Devils are cruising, I’m wondering why Garrett Martin is at every match.

Of course, the football team comes to a volleyball match in the spirit of school spirit, not to mention that the guys probably like spandex. (Just being honest.)

But why is Garrett hanging around afterward? This guy likes volleyball more than I do, and I’m paid to be at these things.

Yes, I was a little slow on the family connection there — yes, Freud, Garrett and Kylie are twins — and that became the running joke with the entire Martin family all year.

Along those lines, the Martin twins were pretty good at sports this year. Kylie helped the volleyball team to its first state appearance in six years and was all-everything in basketball. Yes, Garrett was the quarterback and also Mr. Clutch in basketball. And, every time Garrett started on the mound, Kylie seemed to be at the baseball game.

She must like baseball a lot.

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


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