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Huskies’ grapplers fall to Panthers, Sailors

Ian Cropp
BMW Salazar, Chris PU 1-12
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EAGLE-VAIL – They could have kept their heads down, but that’s not what Battle Mountain wrestlers do.After the Huskies fell to Delta, 71-0, they came back and won four out of five matches against Steamboat Springs Thursday night. But because the Huskies had to forfeit five weight classes against the Sailors, they lost their second match of the night, 36-22.”You’ve gotta clear your head, especially after you get beaten good,” Battle Mountain coach Mike Anderson said of losing to Delta.While the Huskies entered the match against Steamboat with a fresh outlook, they used Delta’s shutout as motivation against the Sailors.

“I was ticked off because I should have won my first match,” said Battle Mountain’s Levi Horn. “I had to finish off (the Steamboat) kid quickly.”Horn didn’t waste any time against Steamboat’s Luke Rummel at the 140 pounds. Five seconds into the match, Horn had Rummel on the mat, in position for a pin. By the 20-second mark, Horn had earned six team points with a fall.”Whatever he did, I countered,” said Horn, who transferred to Battle Mountain from Nebraska this year. “I had a pretty good lock on him. If I wasn’t going to pin him, I would have rearranged and put him in a different move.”Against Delta’s Ty Tatman, Horn fell victim to a pin 43 seconds into the final period. At the time, Tatman held a 6-5 lead, although Horn led for most of the match.At 160, the Huskies’ Sergio Sandoval bounced back from a technical fall against Delta’s Ricky Campos to pin Steamboat’s Skylar Hughes at 3:09.

Earning another pin for the Huskies was Billy Shue at 215. Shue started out his match against the Sailors’ Alex Centner with two takedowns and a near fall of five seconds to amass a 7-1 lead. After Centner closed the gap to 7-3 with a reversal and a takedown, Shue escaped and took down Centner before pinning him at 5:05.”He tried to work my upper body a lot,” Shue said of Centner. “I knew how to counter, though. He almost had me once, but I got my head out, and thought about my favorite moves, and it worked out. I just had my mind on pinning him.”Shue had the closest match on his team against Delta, losing 6-3 to Randy Fantin.



Full timeThe only match to go the distance for Battle Mountain against Steamboat was at 171 weight. Battle Mountain’s Chris Salazar dominated Steamboat’s Tyler Harris, 11-1.Both Salazar and Harris were pinned by Delta’s Ty Korthuis.Battle Mountain’s Chase Olle lost both his matches at 152.After shutting out the Huskies, Delta rolled through Steamboat, losing only one match in a 63-12 victory.

In Thursday’s meet, Battle Mountain only had five wrestlers competing with three others academically ineligible.”There is a lot of rebuilding right now,” Anderson said. “This is my first season, so we are trying to all get on the same page.”But with only one senior on the team, Anderson is hopeful that this year’s squad will gain experience for years ahead.Sports Writer Ian Cropp can be reached at 949-0555, ext. 14631, or icropp@vaildaily.com.Vail, Colorado


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