Craig Daily Press / High school sports

Bulldog swimmers show strong at Western Slope regional meet

Meghan Francone said the Moffat County High School girls varsity swimming team wanted to leave the Western Slope regional meet with the right mind set. The regional meet, held Friday and Saturday at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, was the Bulldogs final meet before this weekend’s 4A state competition in Thornton. The Bulldogs’ individual leaders — junior Eryn Leonard and Steamboat Springs senior Amy Brodie — showed no signs of slowing down in their events, with each swimming around their best times of the season. Brodie took first in the 100-yard freestyle and fifth in the 200-yard freestyle, while Leonard finished in third place in both the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard butterfly.

MCHS boys earn 1st home victory with 58-31 rout

Tyler Hildebrandt was called into the starting lineup for the Moffat County High School boys varsity basketball team earlier this season following an injury to senior Jacob Scroggs. On Saturday against Battle Mountain at home, Hildebrandt, an MCHS junior, got off to a hot start, scoring the game’s first seven points. Hildebrandt ended the game with a team-high 15 points in leading the Bulldogs to a 58-31 win and the team’s first home victory of the season. “It feels great,” Hildebrandt said. “We really played as a team and had a lot of trust in each other and put in a lot of effort. “It was just a good team win.”

MCHS girls overcome slow start in 56-24 home court win

The Moffat County High School girls varsity basketball team jumped to an early 6-0 lead in the first quarter Saturday against Battle Mountain at home. However, the six points were the only points the Bulldogs scored in the first quarter and MCHS only put 19 total on the board in the first half. Head coach Matt Ray said it could be hard for players to get ready for a game against a lesser opponent, such as the Huskies, who came into Saturday’s game without a league win. But, after halftime, the Bulldogs came out firing, scoring 22 points in the third quarter en route to a 56-24 victory.

Craig youth hockey player Hunter Beckett selected to skate with Colorado Avalanche

At 5, Hunter Beckett had to decide which sport to pursue — hockey or wrestling. Hunter had been competing for the Craig Bad Dogs youth wrestling program, but said he wanted to try something new. Hunter’s parents, Matt and Stephanie Beckett, had been playing hockey as he was growing up, and ultimately Hunter decided to follow his parents. Now, five years later, Hunter’s decision and hard work has paid off. The Moffat County Commission chose him to skate with the Colorado Avalanche during the team’s warm-up before a March 24 game against the Vancouver Canucks at the Pepsi Center.

MCHS girls basketball cruises to 54-27 victory at Eagle Valley

Matt Ray said the Moffat County High School girls varsity basketball team expected to get a win Friday at Eagle Valley. The Bulldogs lived up to their own expectations, riding a big first-half lead to a 54-27 victory to score a sweep over the Devils this season. But, Ray said it is the work a team puts in against a lesser opponent that can make the difference later in the season, something his team didn’t do in the second half against Eagle Valley. “In the first half, we came out and did what we needed to take a 31-10 halftime lead,” he said. “But in the second half, we were not as good as I had hoped and we let one of their girls look better than she probably should have.”

MCHS boys basketball outmatched in 71-43 loss to Eagle Valley

The game plan for the Moffat County High School boys varsity basketball team Friday at Eagle Valley was to control the tempo and slow the game down. But, no matter how hard the Bulldogs tried, head coach Eric Hamilton said Eagle Valley forced the contest into a running match, one the Devils easily controlled. Moffat County struggled early to keep Eagle Valley at bay and couldn’t keep up with the scoring pace in a 71-43 loss on the road. “We played alright at times, but (Eagle Valley) is just a great ball team who can shoot lights out,” Hamilton said. “It was senior night there so they were motivated, and were in the game and we were just outmatched.”

LSRV boys, girls hoops keep up winning streaks

With most of the season behind them, the boys and girls varsity basketball teams of Little Snake River Valley are ready to embark on the next level of play. Both the Baggs, Wyo., squads have an overall record of 17-0 and a 4-0 record in the Three Trails Conference following a string of victories in the last week.

Bulldog swimmers compete in regional meet today

The Moffat County High School girls varsity swimmers have one last opportunity to qualify for the 4A state swim meet. The Bulldogs compete today and Saturday in the Western Slope regional meet at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction. The meet is the final competition for the Bulldogs before the state meet Feb. 10 and 11 in Thornton. Junior Eryn Leonard and Steamboat Springs senior Amy Brodie, who competes for Moffat County, have qualified individually, and the 200-yard medley relay and 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays have also qualified for the state meet.

MCHS basketball teams get 2nd crack at Eagle Valley

No basketball game is a guaranteed victory. But, the Moffat County High School girls varsity basketball team’s contest today at Eagle Valley High School is the Bulldogs to lose, head coach Matt Ray said. MCHS beat the Devils, 57-27, on Jan. 13 at home, and as the Bulldogs prepare for their second trip through the Western Slope League, Ray said his players need to keep improving. “The biggest thing we need to do is play at our level and not (Eagle Valley’s),” Ray said. “We want to go in there and run our game plan.”

Craig boxer determined to rebound from recent 1st-round loss

Tyler Pogline said when Cletus Seldin knocked him down in the first round Saturday in Huntington, N.Y., he had no problem getting up. But it was the lack of pain, said Pogline, a 1998 Moffat County High School graduate, that was a key indicator of how hard Seldin hit him. “I really didn’t feel anything when I went down and I got right back up because I was in the heat of the moment,” he said. “But you know it is a hard hit when you don’t feel anything. I had never been hit that hard in my career.” Despite getting back to his feet, Pogline took two more overhand right hooks to the same spot on his jaw.

MCHS grad JT Haddan named all-region, All-American football player

Offensive linemen are often overlooked. The men in the trenches are critical to the success of every play, but skill players usually get the credit. However, with football season now over, JT Haddan, a 2008 Moffat County High School graduate, is receiving recognition for his play as an offensive guard for the Colorado State University-Pueblo football team. Haddan on Jan. 4 received first-team all-region honors from Don Hansen’s Football Gazette. The same publication named Haddan a NCAA Division II third-team All-American selection Jan. 19.

CMS girls basketball hosts Meeker in final home game

With only away games left in their season, Craig Middle School basketball coaches Alicia Townsend and Candi Hellander are confident their girls can finish strong while on the road. The seventh- and eighth-grade teams played their last home game of the season Saturday against Meeker, with some varied results. Eighth-grade coach Townsend chose to play only her B-team, which lost in a close 18-14 match-up, putting them at 2-3 for the year. “We wanted to get the B girls a few more chances to play, and I think it worked out well,” she said. “They played Meeker’s A-team and got some good playing time in.”

Sports store announces new location in Craig

A new development is on the horizon that could mean good things for local sports enthusiasts and possibly the Moffat County economy. Hibbett Sporting Goods Inc., a Birmingham, Ala.-based company, is on track to open a new store in Craig, said Jeff Gray, Hibbett Sporting Goods vice president of real estate. Although he’s unsure when construction will begin, he said he expects work to start “really soon.” The retailer would feature an array of athletic equipment, clothing and footwear, primarily for team sports like football and basketball, he said.

Moffat County hockey team struggles in Crested Butte

Rick Villa knows what the Moffat County Bulldogs club hockey team is capable of, but over the weekend, he didn’t see it. Villa, the Bulldogs head coach, said his players didn’t have the right attitude heading into Saturday and Sunday’s games against Crested Butte and Durango/Telluride, resulting in the team leaving Crested Butte with an 0-4 record. “We weren’t passing the puck and we weren’t playing aggressive,” Villa said Monday. “Crested Butte is a tough team, but we should be able to win against Durango.”

MCHS girls freshmen basketball team finishes home tournament 2-1

The Moffat County High School girls freshmen basketball team opened the Moffat County High School Tournament with two easy wins. The Bulldogs routed Battle Mountain, 57-5, before scoring a victory over Meeker, 38-18, on Saturday at MCHS. But MCHS struggled to control the ball against Uintah in their third game, and a late rally fell short in a 28-23 loss to end the tournament with a 2-1 record. “I’m really happy they got challenged in the last game,” head coach Norm Yoast said. “I think the girls can get more from a close game than they can in the first two wins.