Prep notebook: Vail Christian volleyball competes in first tournament and Saints tennis team keeps on winning
Battle Mountain soccer defeats Summit 4-1 and Devils track competes in Grand Junction
Heidi Cofelice/Courtesy photo
In just its second season, the Vail Christian boys volleyball team — which has athletes from all four area high schools — competed in its first tournament over the weekend at Mullen. The Saints fell to Doherty in two straight sets, then defeated Denver Waldorf 25-20, 26-24. They fell to Mullen 2-0 in the third game to finish sixth out of eight teams at the event.
“The tournament gave us an opportunity to see more rapid growth as a team and get exposure to programs playing in other parts of the state and outside of our league,” head coach James Scott stated.
On Monday, Vail Christian was back in action at Aurora West. After taking the first-set win, Scott said the Saints struggled to maintain their leads in the following sets as the momentum shifted the way of the Pirates, who cruised to a 3-1 win. Scott praised the play of Juan Chaves, who had several monumental blocks throughout the match, and Luis Cervantes, who stepped in for an injured Saint and played the setter position throughout the third set.
Vail Christian is in Leadville for a rematch against Lake County, a team the Saints defeated in four sets on March 28. Scott feels the program is ahead of its performance from the inaugural 2022 season, despite only having returned two varsity players.
“We have several players that are ready to break out as serious weapons on the court and we are excited to see the pieces come together that will allow these young men to share in that success,” he stated.
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“This group of players should be proud of the hard work they have placed into building our program and excited to the results they create in the upcoming matches ahead.”
Tennis notes: Vail Christian moves to 6-0
Vail Christian/Courtesy photo
The Vail Christian girls tennis team moved to 6-0 on the year after defeating Steamboat Springs 5-2 last Friday. Annika Iverson and Summer Sveum couldn’t quite get past Steamboat’s Lucia del Haya and Grace Brice in the No. 1 and No. 2 singles matches, but the Saints swept everything else to continue their undefeated start to the season.
“The girls played awesome,” stated head coach J.D. Webster. “Steamboat is a really good team and it’s exciting to see us compete and win at a high level.”
Vail Christian, which pulls athletes from all four area high school teams, will be back at Steamboat Springs on April 7 for a rematch.
| Match | Vail Christian | Steamboat Springs | Score |
| No. 1 singles | Annika Iverson | Lucia del Haya (win) | 6-2, 6-7 (7-2) |
| No. 2 singles | Summer Sveum | Grace Brice (win) | 6-2, 6-2 |
| No. 3 singles | Jessie Allen (win) | Lyla Baker | 6-1, 6-2 |
| No. 1 doubles | Studness/Baker (win) | Quinn/Norland | 6-3, 6-3 |
| No. 2 doubles | Webster/Mitchell (win) | Dietrich/Larock | 7-5, 6-0 |
| No. 3 doubles | Elalayi/Brunner (win) | O’Brien/Jimenez | 6-1, 6-1 |
| No. 4 doubles | Iverson/Elalayi (win) | Rockford/Turscher | 7-5, 6-1 |
Girls soccer notes: Battle Mountain defeats Summit 4-1
Battle Mountain scored three first-half goals to power past Summit 4-1 in Monday’s 4A Western Slope league road contest. Cassie Ledezma secured a hat trick for the Huskies, who also got a goal from Fiona Lloyd and three assists from Monica Duran. Charlotte Thelan added an assist as well as Battle Mountain improved to 6-1 overall and 4-0 in league play.
The Huskies host Atlas Preparatory School on Thursday at 5 p.m.
Rex Keep/Courtesy photo
This week in the rankings
The Vail Mountain girls soccer team’s 4-0 start has bumped the Gore Rangers up to the No. 3 spot in the CHSAANow.com 3A polls. On Saturday, they’ll get a chance to prove their worth and more in hosting No. 2-ranked Kent Denver at noon in Vail. The Sun Devils, who went 18-1 last season and defeated Jefferson Academy 3-0 to win the state title, has started the 2023 campaign with a 2-1 record, falling to 5A Denver South 1-0 on March 16.
Meanwhile, both Eagle Valley and Battle Mountain boys lacrosse teams will face ranked opponents this week. The Huskies (3-3) will host No. 7 Steamboat Springs on Friday at 4 p.m. The Devils, sitting just outside the top-10 in 4A, are at No.10 Lutheran on Thursday, two days after facing league-rival Vail Mountain School.
Track notes: Kosper wins pole vault title at Mickey Dunn Invitational
Kenzie Cosper went 9 feet, 9 inches to win the pole vault title at last Saturday’s Mickey Dunn Invitational at Stocker Stadium in Grand Junction. The Eagle Valley sophomore helped the Devils finish seventh out of 11 teams. Other top-5 finishes on the girls side included Hayley Bates and Zakia Shreeve in fourth and fifth, respectively in the 400-meter dash.
On the boys side, distance runner Jake Drever showed off his wheels in the 800, placing second in 1:56.58. Freshmen Tyler Blair (4:44.40) and Charles Schafer (10:48.81) were each fifth in the 1600 and 3200, respectively, and Kevin Hasley placed fourth in the 300-hurdles in an impressive mark of 43.27 seconds. Zachary Bourke also nabbed a top-5 finish in the discus with a toss of 114-09 as the Devils placed sixth as a team, just 3.5 points behind Fruita Monument in fourth.
