YOUR AD HERE »

Stretch drive beins for high-school teams

Chris Freud

Believe it or not, spring-sports practices begin in a little more than three weeks. But, in the meantime, there’s plenty of work to be done for the Devils, Gore Rangers, Huskies and Saints.

Battle Mountain hockey has a pair of games this weekend, starting with a trip to Pueblo Friday night. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m., and the Huskies faithful can listen in on KZYR 97.7 FM.

“Pueblo is tough opponent. They always play a physical game,” Huskies head man Jade Kersey said. “It’s going to be a physical contest, which doesn’t play to our biggest attribute. Where we exceed them is speed and special teams. So we need to make sure we’re doing the things we’re good at.”



Battle Mountain beat Pueblo 4-1 on Jan. 11 at Dobson, thanks in large part to a hat trick from Jason Chase. After Pueblo, the Huskies (12-1 overall and 7-0 in the Metro Conference) host Mitchell in the home finale at Dobson. Before the game, the team will honor its two seniors, Paul Agneberg and Steve Reid.

The local wrestling scene has some high-profile matches. The Huskies are at Moffat County, the top-ranked 4A team in the state, tonight. Moving downvalley, Eagle Valley hosts Basalt, Cedaredge and Gunnison in a key 3A Slope triangular on Saturday.

Support Local Journalism



In hoops, the Vail Christian girls team (5-6) boasts the best record in the county. The Lady Saints host Crested Butte at St. Clare of Assisi Friday night at 5:30, followed by Lutheran of the Rockies on Saturday. Sheldon Kuhns’ boys’ team follows the girls’ game on both dates.

Both Eagle Valley teams are coming off big wins over Battle Mountain Tuesday night. The Devils are down in Gunnison Friday night, before hosting Cedaredge Saturday. Tip-times are 4 and 5:30 p.m.

“Friday at Gunnison is a key game,” Devils’ girls coach Mike Vidakovich said. “(Tuesday) was a big confidence booster and we want to get up there and play well. We want the rest of the season to be focused on improvement.”

Battle Mountain basketball returns to league play as well with a road date at Palisade and home tilts with Delta on Saturday at 3 and 4:30 p.m.

On the snow, it’s a really busy weekend. The Battle Mountain, Vail Mountain and Eagle Valley alpine teams are at Howelsen Hill on Friday. Then it’s Nordic at the Breckenridge Golf Club Saturday at 1 p.m. In a schedule change, the Nordic meet, scheduled for Feb. 10 up at the Leadville Colorado Mountain College, has been moved forward to Monday.

Vail Daily sports writer Ryan Slabaugh contributed to this report.

Chris Freud is the sports editor for the Vail Daily. Contact him at (970) 949-0555, ext. 614 or by e-mail at cfreud@vaildaily.com.


Support Local Journalism