Sports
Pueblo playoff picture: Soccer, lacrosse, tennis and swim teams make postseason appearances
The end of the spring season is upon us and with that comes playoffs. Teams have battled for months to reach this point and now it’s all about performing to the best of their abilities to finish out the year.
This week sees several of Pueblo’s sports teams enter the playoffs in a variety of different sports. Here is what has happened so far in the postseason:
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Girls soccer
The Pueblo County Hornets girls soccer team hosted a first-round game against Cheyenne Mountain on Tuesday night at Pueblo County High School. The game started with a bang with the Hornets freshman Jeni Hijar streaking downfield in the first two minutes to get a shot on goal to test the Red-Tail Hawks.
Shortly after that, Pierson Wiemer got the home team on the board by netting a goal after a beautiful series of passes from her teammates. About 20 minutes later in the first half, Cheyenne Mountain got on the board off a free kick that, due to some lack of communication, snuck by goalkeeper Alora Spence.
The game was tied going into the half and it wasn’t until the 29th minute of the second half that Cheyenne Mountain would break free off a misplay on the ball. Spence made a save and proceeded to roll the ball out to Wiemer, who uncharacteristically misplayed the ball allowing the Red-Tails to squeak in another goal.
The game was back and forth as the Hornets desperately tried to tie the game up but to no avail, as they were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round, 2-1.
Head coach Jamie Granato spoke about the team’s performance after the game.
“Overall, we came out with a fire, and I think the first half the girls played really well, made some great touches, worked as a team, all the good things that we’ve been working on all season,” Granato said. “Then unfortunately it just fell apart a little bit and we couldn’t quite grasp it back together. Overall, they did well. I am still very proud of them.”
The team seemed rattled after letting up the first goal. After that the second goal was let in, desperation set in, and the team couldn’t complete crisp passes anymore and ultimately were not able to get over the hump.
“We are losing seven seniors, so that’s a big foundation for us,” Granato said. “But we also have a pretty solid sophomore and junior class. I think they will fill that leadership role that’s leaving and hopefully, we will pick up the missing pieces we lost in this game and move forward.”
The other team to make it to the playoffs in girls soccer was Pueblo West. They were on the road in the first round to take on Golden. The score was tied 1-1 going into the second half but the Cyclones could not get past the Demons as they would also lose 2-1 to be knocked out of the playoffs.
Lacrosse
Both the boys and girls lacrosse teams from Pueblo West High School made it to the playoffs for the first time in program history. For the girls team, it’s their third straight playoff appearance and for the boys, their first in school history.
Both teams were on the road against Holy Family in their first-round match-up.
For the boys team, their playoff appearance was short-lived as they were knocked out after losing their match against the Tigers 12-3. Trevor Simon, Joseph Welte and Brian Mayer all scored a goal for the Cyclones, and Brayden Wilson chipped in with two assists.
The girls team’s results were closer than the boys’ but ultimately it would be the same outcome as they dropped their game 17-16. Morgan Avila scored eight goals and dropped in two assists, while Talya Wilson had four goals and an assist.
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Girls tennis
The Class 4A girls tennis state tournament kicked off Wednesday in Pueblo as the Pueblo County Hornets and the Pueblo West Cyclones were both well represented in this one.
Senior Megan Field, junior Bella Guzman, and junior Anna Kleven all made the tournament as singles for County. Emily Olonia and MaKayla Martinez, Roxie Valentine and Morgan Chavez, Amara Salazar and Aubree Romo, and Keelyn Tucker and Amara Salazar all made it as doubles teams for the Hornets, and Natalie Allen and Aria Thompson made it for the Cyclones as a doubles team.
In Class 3A, Pueblo East’s Ava Andrada and Haley Welte, both made it through to the tournament as singles. Pueblo Centennial’s Cameryn Cordova and Laurel Nunn are the lone representatives for the Bulldogs in the doubles category.
The tournament was ongoing when this article was written.
Boys swimming
The 2024 CHSAA state swimming and diving championships also began Wednesday at Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center.
Pueblo County is well represented in the championships with swimmers Benjamin Tibbitts, Orin Meyer, Elias Garcia, Chance Harberts, Duncan Balicki, Otis Shin, Christian Garcia, Bruley McCuistion, and Preston Torres all competing individually along with three relay teams competing in the 200-yard medley relay, 200-yard freestyle relay, and the 400-yard freestyle relay as well.
This championship tournament was also ongoing when this article was written.
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Christopher Abdelmalek is a sports reporter for the Pueblo Chieftain and can be reached at cabdelmalek@gannett.com or follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @chowebacca. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com
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