Briefs: AHS basketball swept by Gunnison; Hamilton headed to Worlds

Aspen High basketball is swept by visiting Gunnison on Tuesday

The Aspen High School boys basketball team lost 55-42 on Tuesday night against Gunnison inside the AHS gymnasium. Skiers’ coach Alex Schrempf said the team had slow starts to both halves, but played well in the second and fourth quarters. He said they are “just working on putting a full game together.”

Aspen only scored three points in the first quarter and trailed 20-14 at halftime.

The Cowboys improved to 10-2 overall and remain undefeated in 3A Western Slope League play. The AHS boys fell to 4-8 overall and 0-2 in WSL play.

The Aspen girls also hosted Gunnison on Tuesday, losing 37-21. AHS had a disastrous first quarter, giving up 19 points, but played competitive the final three quarters. Gunnison improved to 5-7, 2-2 with the win, while AHS fell to 3-7, 0-2.

Both of Tuesday’s games had originally been scheduled for Friday, but were postponed after AHS canceled classes that day because of the weather.

The Skiers are next scheduled to host Olathe on Friday night.

ASPEN SKIER SIMI HAMILTON NAMED TO WORLDS ROSTER

Aspen native Simi Hamilton, a veteran member of the U.S. cross-country ski team, was one of 18 athletes named to its roster for the 2019 World Championships, scheduled for Feb. 20-March 3 in Seefeld, Austria.

Hamilton, 31, is headed to his fifth World Championship, which is held every two years. His first came in 2011 in Oslo, Norway. He was also part of the 2013, 2015 and 2017 U.S. teams. His best finish at worlds came in 2017, when he finished fifth in a team sprint.

Hamilton also is a three-time Olympian, having competed in the Vancouver (2010), Sochi (2014) and Pyeongchang (2018) competitions. He’s twice finished sixth in a team sprint at the Olympics.

Not named to the team for the 2019 World Championships was Basalt’s Hailey Swirbul, a rookie on the U.S. Ski Team. She is currently in Lahti, Finland, competing in the U23 World Championships.

Jansrud out after breaking hand in downhill training crash

KITZBUEHEL, Austria (AP) — Norwegian skier Kjetil Jansrud is facing an injury layoff after breaking two bones in his left hand in a downhill training crash Tuesday, two weeks before the start of the world championship in Are, Sweden.

Jansrud hurt his hand as he tried to break a fall on the icy Streif course in the first official training session for Saturday’s classic race.

Jansrud has posted a photo on his Instagram account after coming out of surgery, saying “I’ll be back in no-time.”

He wrote: “DieStreif 1-0 Jansrud. Note to self: if you lose balance, dont support yourself by throwing the hand down in the ice. Very unlucky to break two bones.”

Jansrud, a five-time Olympic medalist who won silver in downhill and bronze in super-G at the Pyeongchang Games, was the silver medalist in super-G at the worlds in 2017. He has won 22 World Cup races, including one super-G this season, in Lake Louise, Alberta, in November.

Jansrud won the prestigious downhill on the Streif in 2015, and was runner-up in the super-G on the same course last year.

A second downhill training is scheduled for Thursday, followed by the race on Saturday.

acolbert@aspentimes.com