Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — Levi Muhme started off the New Year with cruel intentions Saturday, fighting his way through the ranks and finishing No. 1 in the 135-pound class at the Eagle Valley wrestling tournament.

Muhme, who won a match against Battle Mountain Friday by way of forfeit, defeated Dave Ozuk of Denver North 4-2 at the Eagle Valley finals.

It was the first taste of action the Sailors had since they competed in Olathe Dec. 9.

At Eagle Valley, Paonia finished No. 1 out of 13 teams and Gunnison placed second.

Middle Park came in third and the host Eagle Valley Devils placed fourth.

The Sailors finished No. 13.

Jamie McKelvie, who had been sidelined for most of the season with a back injury, returned to the mat Friday and pinned his man in 54 seconds.

The Sailors lost a close contest to the Huskies, 40-30.

Steamboat's individual winners Friday were Johnny Stanko, Zach Forcum, Mike Radford, McKelvie and Muhme.

Will Zimmerer lost a close battle to the Huskies' Seth Kissinger, who was third in the state last year as a heavyweight.

The Sailors are on the road again this weekend. They will compete Friday and Saturday at the Rob Mickel Invitational at Salida beginning at 3:45 p.m. Friday. Sailors coach Chris Decker said having a four-week break before the Eagle Valley tournament was costly to his team.

The Sailors were scheduled to wrestle at Kremmling Dec. 16, but they were unable to make the trip because of a snowstorm.

"We had a four-week layoff," Decker said. "When you don't compete every week, you're losing a little edge. And it showed (at Eagle Valley)."

The Sailors have shown improvement since the beginning of the season, however, Decker said.

"It's good that they're out and they're learning and they're having fun," Decker said. "Our focus this week is going to be conditioning and hard wrestling in the room."