Vail Christian boys basketball team rises to No. 7 spot in CHSAA rankings
Sam Bates/Courtesy photo
The Vail Christian boys basketball team started the New Year by moving into the top-10 of the CHSAA 2A rankings. The young Saints squad rose to the No. 8 spot after winning their third-straight game, a 53-44 victory over Grand Valley on Dec. 16.
“We’re off to a solid start so far with lots of work to do to improve and prepare for a challenging schedule ahead,” stated head coach Andrew Neumann in a recent email.
The Saints opened the year with a 78-76 overtime victory over Cedaredge before dropping their next three contests. Since then they’ve posted consecutive double-digit wins over Telluride and Crested Butte before taking down the Cardinals. For a team that rostered just one senior and two juniors last season — and only has one senior this year — the fast start is a testament to this group’s off-season dedication.
“We have a great group of guys very committed to the team and to improving to become the best they can be,” Neumann said. “We were able to schedule a competitive summer season as well as many workouts throughout the summer and fall and you can see it paying off in our early season.”
Returning leading scorer Oliver Neumann has poured in a team-high 15 points per game while sharpshooting guard Rayman Romanin — who hit the game-winner against Cedaredge — is also in double-digits, adding 11 points a contest. Fellow captains Jack O’Shaughnessy, the team’s leading rebounder, and lone senior Charlie Neumann, who is averaging 1.7 steals a contest, have brought energy to each practice and leadership to the locker room, the third-year coach said.
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“Overall, what will be the difference this year is the commitment and chemistry of our entire team,” stated Andrew Neumann, who went 13-9 in his first year taking over for longtime leader Sheldon Kuhns and led the Saints to a 9-11 mark last season. “We have 10 amazing guys who are working hard and who put team in front of self. We are a very deep team with all 10 players contributing in important ways to the team both in practices and in games.”
Vail Christian flips the calendar with the first of two rivalry league games against Vail Mountain School on Jan. 9 at 7 p.m. The Rangers are 2-4 after taking down Swink 61-21 on Dec. 23. Neumann anticipates both games, as well as the pair of contests against defending league champion Plateau Valley — which went 23-3 overall and made it to the state semifinals in 2025 — to be tough contests.
“We also anticipate De Beque to be one of the strongest teams in the conference this year,” the coach added. The Dragons (8-1) are No. 7 in the 1A Selection and Seeding Index.
“We’ll be hosting them at home toward the end of the season,” Neumann continued. “They’re off to a great start and are led by a veteran coach and some great players with lots of experience.”
Neumann said that even more important than his own team’s positive momentum out of the gate is how each player has continued to “grow as individuals in their faith, character and capacity to serve others as we work together both on and off the court.”
“As we continue to focus on these areas of growth,” he continued. “and on our broader theme of ‘Team Together,’ we anticipate this will be another special year of Saints basketball.”
