-
Basalt High School girls soccer practice on Tuesday, April 2, 2019, in Basalt. (Photo by Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times).
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times -
Basalt High School girls soccer coach Kate McBride looks on during practice on Tuesday, April 2, 2019, in Basalt. (Photo by Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times).
Austin Colbert/The Aspen Times -
-
Spring sports practice got underway Feb. 25. Yes, February. Considering this, it’s amazing how we’re just now getting to the first home games of the season for a few teams this week.
Next up will be the Basalt High School girls soccer team, which is scheduled to host Vail Mountain Tuesday afternoon. I stopped by their practice last week to say hi and finally meet new coach Kate McBride, who took over for Andrew Huntsman. The Longhorns had gone 12-5 and 11-5-1 the past two seasons and returned this spring with plenty of talent.
“They have this solid foundation and I’m just building up on their legacy,” McBride said of the previous coaching staff. “The girls are already a cohesive family, so it’s pretty nice.”
McBride brings in plenty of soccer experience, having played at Princeton and then in Europe. She’s also an accomplished skier.
The Longhorns started 0-3 — including a 7-0 loss to mighty Kent Denver in which they were missing most of their starters — before a 3-0 win at Roaring Fork on Saturday. Next up is a 5-4 VMS team that saw a 3-0 lead slip away against Aspen on Saturday, the Skiers eventually winning 4-3 in overtime.
It will be a good opportunity for the Longhorns to get something going, as they will host Aspen on Thursday afternoon.
“They are courageous. I ask a lot and they are all gung-ho,” McBride said of her team. “I’d rather be the underdog, come in and sneak up by surprise. I’d like to see their jaws hit the ground.”
Aspen (5-2), back up to No. 5 in the Class 3A polls this week, is off until the Basalt game.
Now, about some other teams:
LACROSSE
Despite back-to-back wins, the Aspen boys lacrosse team still finds itself out of the rankings this week. Maybe that’s a good thing for a team just now starting to find its mojo. At 3-2 overall, the Skiers play Tuesday in Grand Junction before hosting Summit on Thursday, weather permitting.
At 5-0 and No. 8 in the state this week, the AHS girls lacrosse team might finally find some competition Wednesday in Colorado Springs when it plays at Air Academy. The Kadets (5-3) are getting a couple of votes to be ranked. AHS beat Air Academy in the first round of the state playoffs last spring, 11-10.
TENNIS
The Aspen girls tennis team is scheduled to host Delta on Tuesday. The Skiers competed over the weekend against Conifer and Steamboat Springs. The Sailors still stole the show a bit, but everything is setting up for another epic showdown at regionals early in May.
The Basalt girls tennis team got its season going with four matches last week, falling to Grand Junction, Vail Mountain, Cedaredge and Delta. BHS sophomore Mari Elliott had the best results, winning twice at No. 1 singles. This is only the second season of varsity play for the young program. BHS is at Glenwood on Wednesday. You know, weather permitting (do I have to keep saying that?).
TRACK
Let’s start off where we usually do here with Basalt’s Sierra Bower. The sophomore skipped the meet on Saturday at Eagle Valley to take part in the prestigious Arcadia Invitational near Los Angeles and she had one heck of a race. Competing in the girls 3,200-meter run on Friday, she finished ninth in 10 minutes, 54.21 seconds, only 19-some seconds behind race winner Sofia Abrego, a freshman at Granada Hills in California.
Obviously we can’t count for the altitude, but by comparison last year’s Colorado 3A state champion won the 3,200-meter in 11:19.39, a race Bower finished 11th in with a time of 12:08.85. I’m thinking she will finish a touch higher on the podium this spring.
As far as that Eagle Valley meet, notable results include Basalt’s Megan Maley taking second in the 800-meter run and Katie Bohannan third in the high jump. Rulbe Alvarado was fourth in the 200-meter dash. Aspen also competed, with Paige Quist taking second in the shot put, Kendall Clark third in the 800 and Julisa Ruiz-Vega fourth in the 100-meter dash.