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School record shattered, first-career shutout highlights Pueblo's top players of the week

chris abdelmalek, pueblo chieftain
·6 min read

As the winter season is back in full swing, it signals the return of the top Players of the Week from around Pueblo’s prep sports teams.

This week’s edition will include games from the beginning of the year until Jan. 11, 2024.

The athletes selected this week include some major performers on the basketball court including a school record in points, a nearly 20-20 game in girls’ basketball, some big performances in the pool and the wrestling mat, as well as some hockey goals.

Each week, the Chieftain recognizes the top student-athletes from area schools to highlight those who have performed at a high level. The Chieftain sports staff selects them. Coaches can nominate players by emailing cabdelmalek@gannett.com before Thursday night.

Boys basketball

Artrell Mccullar, Dolores Huerta Prep 

Mccullar helped the Scorpions to their first victory of the season with a win over Walsenburg this past week 59-54. Mccullar dropped 22 points to go along with three rebounds, two assists and three steals. The Scorpions are now 1-6 on the season and Mccullar is leading the way with 14.4 points per game.

Pueblo Centennial's Shon West dribbles the ball down the court as he runs the offense in a game against Florence at Pueblo Centennial High School on Dec. 5, 2023.
Pueblo Centennial's Shon West dribbles the ball down the court as he runs the offense in a game against Florence at Pueblo Centennial High School on Dec. 5, 2023.

Shon West, Pueblo Centennial 

West dropped 17 points and added 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals in the Bulldog's recent 47-41 victory over Manitou Springs. The Bulldogs are 5-5 on the season so far and West is currently second on the team in scoring with 13.6 points per game.

Pueblo Central's Luke Beltran dribbles across midcourt during the Great 8 round of the CHSAA 4A state boys basketball tournament at the Denver Coliseum on Friday, March 3, 2023.
Pueblo Central's Luke Beltran dribbles across midcourt during the Great 8 round of the CHSAA 4A state boys basketball tournament at the Denver Coliseum on Friday, March 3, 2023.

Luke Beltran, Pueblo Central 

Beltran had 14 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals in a 56-47 victory for the Wildcats over Fountain-Fort Carson this past week. The team is currently 5-5 on the season; Beltran is second on the team in scoring with 8.9 points per game.

Johnathan Gonzales, Pueblo County 

Gonzales scored a season-high 28 points to go along with eight rebounds, seven steals and a blocked shot to boot in a Hornets 53-51 victory over Fountain-Fort Carson last week. The Hornets are currently 8-3 on the season and Gonzales is averaging 12.8 points per game to lead the team in that category.

Pueblo South's Maurice Austin dribbles past an Air Academy defender during the Great 8 round of the CHSAA 5A state boys basketball tournament at the Denver Coliseum on Thursday, March 2, 2023.
Pueblo South's Maurice Austin dribbles past an Air Academy defender during the Great 8 round of the CHSAA 5A state boys basketball tournament at the Denver Coliseum on Thursday, March 2, 2023.

Maurice Austin, Pueblo South 

Austin scored a career-high and broke the school record for most points in a game when he dropped 56 points in a Colts 74-68 victory over Air Academy. He also added six rebounds, four assists, eight steals and one blocked shot. He is currently ranked No. 7 in the nation in scoring at 35.7 points per game this season.

Malachi Stump, Pueblo West 

Stump had 21 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals in the Cyclones' 60-50 victory over the Evergreen Cougars this past week. Pueblo West sits at 8-4 on the season. Stump is leading the team in scoring so far this season with a 13.1 points per game clip.

Girls basketball

Lenae Guerra, Dolores Huerta Prep 

Guerra scored 22 points and added in four rebounds, four steals and a block in the Scorpion's recent 47-25 victory over Walsenburg. The team sits at 2-5 overall on the season and Guerra is leading the team in scoring with 15.4 points per game.

Pueblo County's Zoey Stupnik dribbles toward the basket in a game against Cheyenne Mountain on Friday, Dec. 9, 2022
Pueblo County's Zoey Stupnik dribbles toward the basket in a game against Cheyenne Mountain on Friday, Dec. 9, 2022

Zoey Stupnik, Pueblo County 

Stupnik scored 12 points and added 11 rebounds, three assists, four steals and a block in the Hornet's recent 35-22 victory over Alamosa. The Hornets are now 7-3 on the season with league play about to begin in the coming weeks.

Myah Abeyta of Pueblo East drives past her defender from Lewis-Palmer in a match up at Pueblo East High School on Jan. 7, 2023.
Myah Abeyta of Pueblo East drives past her defender from Lewis-Palmer in a match up at Pueblo East High School on Jan. 7, 2023.

Myah Abeyta, Pueblo East 

Abeyta had a big game for the Eagles. In a 64-36 victory over Sierra, Abeyta dropped 25 points to go along with four rebounds, four assists and a steal to help the Eagles improve to 4-8 on the season. Abeyta currently leads the team in scoring with 13.5 points per game.

Pueblo West's Trynity Martin goes in for a layup with pressure coming from a Northridge defender on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023.
Pueblo West's Trynity Martin goes in for a layup with pressure coming from a Northridge defender on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023.

Trynity Martin, Pueblo West 

Martin scored 18 points and recorded 19 rebounds to go along with four steals and two blocks in the Cyclone's recent 59-27 victory over Cheyenne Mountain. Pueblo West is 7-4 in the season, and Martin is averaging 11.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.

More: 'He fought off the mat, I could fight on the mat for him': Duran wrestles for her brother

Girls wrestling

Lillianna Lopez, Pueblo Central 

Lopez took home first place in the recent Lamar Lady Thunder Invite at 130 pounds by defeating Margarita Guzman of Garden City High School by pinfall. Lopez is currently 11-5 on the season.

Pueblo Central's Kenna Pino earns backpoints on Aryah Quintanilla of Fountain-Fort Carson during their 135-pound first round matchup in the girls wrestling state tournament at Ball Arena on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023.
Pueblo Central's Kenna Pino earns backpoints on Aryah Quintanilla of Fountain-Fort Carson during their 135-pound first round matchup in the girls wrestling state tournament at Ball Arena on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023.

Kenna Pino, Pueblo Central 

Pino also took home a first-place finish this past week at the Lamar Lady Thunder Invite at 135 pounds. Pino defeated Jaslene Moncada of Garden City High School by way of pinfall. Pino is 14-4 this season.

More: 'Fell in love with the culture': Tyler Lundquist takes over as Pueblo East wrestling coach

Boys wrestling

Miguel Franco of Dolores Huerta Prep gains top control over Aiden Trujillo from John Mall in the CHSAA Class 2A state tournament first round held at Ball Arena on Feb. 16, 2023.
Miguel Franco of Dolores Huerta Prep gains top control over Aiden Trujillo from John Mall in the CHSAA Class 2A state tournament first round held at Ball Arena on Feb. 16, 2023.

Miguel Franco, Dolores Huerta Prep 

Franco went a perfect 5-0 in a recent tournament at Bennett High School. The 106-pound wrestler is currently 22-1 on the season and has the Scorpions ranked in the top ten in the state for Class 2A.

Pueblo South's JJ Griego has a good body position against his opponent from Dolores Huerta during a dual at Dolores Huerta Preparatory High School on Dec. 7, 2022.
Pueblo South's JJ Griego has a good body position against his opponent from Dolores Huerta during a dual at Dolores Huerta Preparatory High School on Dec. 7, 2022.

Jerry Griego, Pueblo South 

Griego is 13-7 on the season and in the recent Colt Classic, he took home first place in the 150 pound division with a clean 3-0 sweep of his opponents.

Pueblo Centennial's Blake Roberts, left, and Pueblo East's Justus Freeman clinch during their 165-pound first round matchup in the Class 4A state tournament at Ball Arena on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023.
Pueblo Centennial's Blake Roberts, left, and Pueblo East's Justus Freeman clinch during their 165-pound first round matchup in the Class 4A state tournament at Ball Arena on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023.

Justus Freeman, Pueblo East 

Freeman earned a pinfall victory in a recent dual against Pueblo South this past week. Freeman is now 24-7 overall this season and has helped the Eagles to the no. 3 ranking in the state currently.

Pueblo West High School’s Logan Thompson earns back points against Pueblo County’s Vincent Sanchez-Vasquez during their 160-pound matchup at Jerry Kersey Gymnasium on Wednesday, January 5, 2022.
Pueblo West High School’s Logan Thompson earns back points against Pueblo County’s Vincent Sanchez-Vasquez during their 160-pound matchup at Jerry Kersey Gymnasium on Wednesday, January 5, 2022.

Logan Thompson, Pueblo West 

Thompson defeated Pueblo County’s Marcus Lucero by major decision 10-2 during a recent dual between the Cyclones and the Hornets. With the victory, Thompson improved to 16-7 on the season.

More: Pueblo South's new wrestling coach Travis Medina looks to put Colts back on the map

Girls Swimming and Diving

Pueblo South's Layla Sisneros competes in the 200 freestyle during a dual with Pueblo Centennial on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022.
Pueblo South's Layla Sisneros competes in the 200 freestyle during a dual with Pueblo Centennial on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022.

Layla Sisneros, Pueblo South 

Sisneros took home first place in several different events in a recent dual against Pueblo Central this past week. Along with the 200-yard Medley relay and 200-yard freestyle relay, Sisneros also took home first place in the 200-yard individual medley and the 100-yard backstroke.

Autumn Zumpf of Pueblo Central enters the water on her dive during the South-Central League finals held at Pueblo County High School on Feb. 4, 2023.
Autumn Zumpf of Pueblo Central enters the water on her dive during the South-Central League finals held at Pueblo County High School on Feb. 4, 2023.

Autumn Zumpf, Pueblo Central 

Zumpf dominated the dive portion of the recent dual between Pueblo South. She scored 162.50 on her dives, beating out Catlin Bonicelli of Pueblo South who scored 98.2.

Amand Alfonso, Pueblo County 

Alfonso earned three first-place finishes in a recent dual against Pueblo West. Along with earning first in the 400-freestyle relay, Alfonso won the 50-meter freestyle and the 100-meter butterfly and in both, she narrowly edged out Hailey Maurer of Pueblo West including a .5 of-a-second victory in the 100-meter butterfly.

Taylor Jones, Pueblo West 

Jones earned three victories in a recent dual against Pueblo County. She took home first place in the 100-meter freestyle and also helped the team win in the 200-meter freestyle relay and the 200-meter medley relay.

Ice Hockey

Pueblo County's Anthony Berumen Jr. clears the puck during a game against Crested Butte at the Pueblo Ice Arena on Friday, December 8, 2023.
Pueblo County's Anthony Berumen Jr. clears the puck during a game against Crested Butte at the Pueblo Ice Arena on Friday, December 8, 2023.

AJ Berumen, Pueblo County 

Berumen was stellar for the Pueblo County Hornets as they opened the 2024 year with a victory over Rampart 5-0. Berumen stopped all 12 shots he faced in this game to earn the shutout. This was his first shutout of the season and of his career.

Holdenn Saiz, Pueblo County 

Saiz is a freshman on the team and has finally tallied himself not one, but two goals on the season in the Hornet's 5-0 victory over Rampart. Saiz along with his linemate Ben Payne were responsible for three of the five goals in this game.

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

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: School record shattered, first-career shutout highlights Pueblo's best