Prep notebook: Eagle Valley and Battle Mountain wrestlers bring home hardware

Battle Mountain and Eagle Valley brought home some hardware from last Saturday’s wrestling tournament in Soroco.

The Devils were coming off a successful home meet on Dec. 8 in which they dispatched Steamboat Springs 35-18 and Summit 48-18. On Saturday, Lauryn Ward placed third for girls, Bode Cobb was second and Henry Hovet was fourth at 120 pounds. Cole Good won the 126 pound tournament while Braiden Ward placed fourth. At 132 pounds, Teagin Shelley was second; Brody Nielsen was fourth at 138 pounds, Liam Loff was fourth at 144 pounds and Hondo Mendoza was thrid at 215. The Devils wound up third place in the team points.

The Huskies also were in Soroco with a small, but feisty contingent of four boys and two girls. Grady Devins and Tyson Vasquez climbed to the top of the 106 and 165-pound podiums to lead the boys to a ninth-place team finish. The Huskies were also bolstered by Nick Rainville’s pins in the first round and quarterfinals of the 120-pound division, before falling in the semifinals and consolation semifinals, and freshman Daniel Saucedo’s high school debut at 113-pounds.

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“It is always exciting as a coach and a parent to watch the progress of your kids and athletes! Only we know how hard they work and the time they put in when nobody is watching,” stated head coach Angelo Vasquez.

“Grady and Tyson have grown up in the sport of wrestling — Grady starting at age 5 and Tyson at 4 — and are both kids of BMHS coaches. Nick has been wrestling since middle school and as a sophomore he is really starting to step it up, picking up two big wins by pin and one match from the medal rounds!”

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On the girls side, Kelsey Euceda finished second in the 170-pound division, getting pinned twice by Moffat County’s Makaela Simpson in the championship, while Hillary Gutierrez was third after getting the first two pins of her wrestling career.

I am so impressed with the girls on our team,” Vasquez continued. “They work just as hard as our boys do and never complain! Watching them work hard in practice every night and giving everything they could on the mat — it was special to see them get on the podium for the first time.”

We knew something special was going to happen Saturday for our wrestlers,” the coach concluded. “They have been waiting to get on the mat with kids from different schools.”

Eagle Valley and Battle Mountain are in Grand Junction for the Warrior Classic on Friday and Saturday. Next Monday is a dual at Battle Mountain at 4 p.m.

Basketball notes: Vail Christian squads lose first game while Lady Devils collect big victory over Steamboat Springs

Vail Christian girls basketball trailed Gilpin County 24-15 at halftime, but the Eagles were dominant in the second half, cruising to a 56-19 win over the Lady Saints on Saturday. Noelle Razee and Daisy Palacio each had six points for the Saints, who fell to 2-1. Vail Christian is at South Park (1-1) on Friday at 5 p.m. and hosts Caprock Academy (5-1) on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

The Vail Christian boys lost its first game of the season on Saturday as well, falling to 3A Cedaredge 71-49. The Bruins (4-1) had a balanced scoring attack, led by Gideon Gilmore’s 21 points and 18 apiece from Jackson Cooper and Luke Maxey.

Battle Mountain girls basketball moved to 2-4 on the year with a commanding 57-38 win over Middle Park on Tuesday. The Huskies built up a 27-18 lead at halftime and never looked back. Eagle Valley girls also got a big win over the weekend, leveling Steamboat Springs 52-25 at the Steamboat Shootout on Saturday.

The Devils were led by Josie Fitzsimmons’ 19 points and 11-for-17 shooting from the free-throw line. Alyssa Jones collected seven rebounds and six steals on defense to go along with eight points to help guide the Devils as well. Cassandra Yurcak added 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists. The Devils (2-3) face Rifle on Thursday at a neutral site tournament (Basalt Middle School).

On the boys side, the Devils fell 47-41 to the Sailors in a game in which Steamboat received scoring contributions from nine players, non of which went into double-digits. Eagle Valley (2-2) will try to end its two-game losing streak on Thursday against Canon City (1-3).

Hockey notes: Huskies looking for first win on Saturday

Battle Mountain hockey will be looking for its first win of the season against Mullen (1-4) on Saturday in a road non-conference matchup. The Huskies (0-2) started the year with a 6-3 loss on Dec. 3 against No. 3 Colorado Academy and a 9-3 defeat at the hands of No. 4 Glenwood Springs last Saturday. The Demons (2-0) were lead by Ryder Rondeau’s hat trick. Sophomore Connor Wadey, junior Trevyn Delong and senior Scott Suhadolink scored goals for the Huskies in the loss, as Declan Kelly, Aiden Baker and Brock Petersmeyer added assists.