Battle Mountain lacrosse seasons end in the playoffs
Justin Q. McCarty | Special to the Daily |
LITTLETON — Battle Mountain girls lacrosse coach Emily Jaissle called Wednesday’s game at Dakota Ridge, “a nice welcome to the playoffs.”
It was, of course, sarcasm. Dakota Ridge spoiled the Huskies’ postseason debut, 21-5. It in no way spoils the season, a tremendous one.
“I am super proud of them,” Huskies coach Emily Jaissle said. “I think they were able to set a standard for the program for players to follow.”
The Huskies finish at 13-2, easily the program’s best season by record and accomplishments. Jaissle said her favorite memory was a road win at Grand Junction. That’s a good choice among many, including beating Ralston Valley last week and the ever-popular revenge win at Aspen.
Most of all, Battle Mountain made the playoffs, no mean feat given that there is only one classification of girls lacrosse right now in Colorado. This spring was the first season that CHSAA took two teams from the Mountain Conference.
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As for the game itself, the Huskies had a rough day.
“I think we know the level of competition in Denver,” Jaislee said. “We didn’t bring our A-game and when you’re playing a tough team, you’re going to take advantage of it.”
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Cheyenne Mountain edges boys lax
It was a tough year for Battle Mountain boys lacrosse, but the future looks rosy for the program.
The Huskies ended 2016 with a respectable 15-12 loss at Cheyenne Mountain on Wednesday in the first round of the playoffs.
“The boys played well and rose to the occasion and battled the whole way,” Huskies coach Jerry Nichols said. “I’m never happy when we lose, but, on the other hand, I’m happy with the overall effort. The team executed up and down the field and that’s all, a coach can ask for.”
Battle Mountain, which finished 7-9, was a young team after last spring’s graduation. And the Huskies got younger as the season progressed and injuries took their toll. The majority of Battle Mountain’s roster is made of freshman and sophomores.
“The came onto the field against a legitimate playoff opponent, a highly ranked team and gave them everything they could handle,” Nichols said.
Sports Editor Chris Freud can be reached at 970-748-2934, cfreud@vaildaily.com and @cfreud.
