High school sports season has arrived.
Nearly every sport kicked off its fall 2021 season. Boys tennis, volleyball, cross country, gymnastics, softball, boys golf, boys soccer and football all return to pre-COVID schedules.
Fans are back in attendance and ready to cheer on their favorite high school players.
Here’s a look at some of the highlights from mid-August to Aug. 30.
Pueblo County boys tennis starts season 3-0
The Pueblo County High School boys tennis team picked up wins over Palmer Ridge, Pueblo Centennial and Mesa Ridge to begin the season.
The Hornets have yet to drop a match, winning each contest 7-0.
Pueblo County senior Dean DeCarlo opened his season with three wins at No. 2 singles to lead the team.
Centennial, meanwhile, split its first two matches this season.
The Bulldogs beat Canon City 3-2 before losing to Pueblo County 7-0.
No. 1 singles player Jakob Welte defeated Canon City’s Bryce Morgan 6-2, 6-3 to lead the Bulldogs against the Tigers in the opening match of the season.
Pueblo West lots its first match of the season 5-2 to Liberty.
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Girls volleyball season underway in Pueblo
Pueblo East girls volleyball defeated Dolores Huerta 25-3, 25-5 and 25-7 to open its season.
Junior Grace Helzer had 10 kills, 10 aces and 2 digs to lead the Eagles.
The Scorpions are 0-4 overall and 0-1 in Class 2A Black Forest League action. DHPH lost to James Irwin, Rocky Ford and Peyton (league match).
Pueblo County is 1-0 following a 25-18, 25-11, 25-17 win over Alamosa.
Hornets junior Emily Crites had 8 kills, 2 aces and 3 blocks.
Pueblo South defeated Air Academy 14-25, 25-20, 23-25, 25-20, 15-11 to open its season at 1-0.
Senior Elizabeth Eborn had 6 kills and 2 digs to lead the Colts.
Pueblo Central lost to Lamar 25-12, 25-6, 25-9 before earning a 25-10, 25-16, 25-11 win over Kenneth (Denver).
Senior Garielle Dunich had 10 kills, 2 blocks and a dig in the win over Kenneth.
Pueblo West lost to Pine Creek 25-14, 22-25, 15-25, 25-13, 25-13, 15-13 to open its season.
Cyclones senior Gracie Bossow had 9 kills, 2 blocks and 2 digs.
Swallows Charter Academy lost to Fowler 25-14, 25-16, 25-10 in Class 2A Santa Fe League play.
The Spartans then lost to John Mall 22-25, 25-17, 25-18, 26-24 in league play as well.
Junior Kailyn Krupka had 13 kills, 5 aces and 10 digs for SCA in its loss to John Mall.
Rye lost to Hoehne 25-25, 25-18, 25-20 to open Santa Fe League play.
The Thunderbolts then played in a tournament at Buena Vista and lost to Peyton 25-21, 11-25, 16-14 before defeating Buena Vista 25-19, 25-20.
Senior Sophie Adamson had 6 kills, an ace, 2 blocks and 3 digs to lead Rye against Buena Vista.
Pueblo softball season in full swing
Pueblo Centennial girls softball began its season 3-3.
The Bulldogs defeated Liberty 11-10 and Widefield 14-6 in non-league play to open the season.
Centennial lost to Palmer Ridge 18-0, Air Academy 4-2 and Rocky Ford 10-3 in non-league play before rebounding to beat Kennedy 14-2.
Senior shortstop Kaylee Portillos leads Centennial with a .682 batting average, 14 runs scored, 7 RBI and 2 home runs.
Pueblo East opened its season with an 8-3 win over Rocky Ford in non-league action.
Sophomore Marisa Gonzales went 4-for-4 at the plate with 3 runs driven in to lead the Eagles.
Pueblo County is 4-1 to begin its season, picking up a 13-7 win over Palmer Ridge; an 18-1 win over Palmer; a 4-3 win over Falcon; and a 13-4 win over Widefield, all in non-league play.
The Hornets lost to Pueblo 10-5 to open South-Central League action on Saturday.
Pueblo County freshman Olivia Nesbit is hitting .462 with 10 runs batted in to lead the Hornets thus far.
In addition to beating Pueblo County, the Cyclones defeated Mullen 6-2; Lewis-Palmer 18-2; Canon City 7-4 and Fountain-Fort Carson 14-4 in non league play.
Pueblo West is 5-0 overall and 1-0 in the SC-L.
Junior Mattie Eischen is hitting .667 with 10 hits, 9 runs scored and 8 RBI to lead Pueblo West.
South is 8-1 to begin its season, picking up non-league wins over Widefield, Air Academy, Mountain Range, Cheyenne Mountain, Heritage, Fruita Monument, Mesa Ridge and Liberty.
The lone Colts loss came to Cherokee Trail. South lost to CT 6-5.
The Colts have scored 10 runs or more in all but two contests this season.
Emily Abraham is 8-1 in the circle pitching for South with a 1.78 earned run average. She has 5 shutouts and has struck out 65 batters thus far.
Pueblo Central is 4-1 through its five games this season.
The Wildcats beat Rocky Ford 15-0, Liberty 11-0, Monarch 7-6 and Coronado 6-5 to begin the season.
Central’s lone defeat was a 7-0 loss to Ponderosa.
Senior Savannah Autobee is 2-1 in the circle with a 2.74 E.R.A. She’s pitched one shutout and has 16 strikeouts to lead the Wildcats.
Dolores Huerta is 1-1 to begin its season.
The Scorpions defeated James Irwin 16-14 in non-league play before forfeiting its second game to Sierra.
Sophomore Emma-Lea Cabral went 2 for 3 with 4 runs scored and 3 RBI, including a home run, in the win over James Irwin.
Pueblo boys soccer teams take the pitch to start 2021 season
Pueblo Centennial opened its season 2-0-1 by beating Discovery Canyon 1-0 and Mesa Ridge 3-2 in overtime.
The Bulldogs opened league play by battling Pueblo West to a 0-0, double overtime draw.
The Cyclones are 0-1-2 overall after losing to Doherty 1-0 and drawing with Durango 1-1 in double overtime.
Sophomore Tyson Borden scored Pueblo West’s lone goal so far.
Pueblo East is 0-2 overall and 0-1 in S-CL play. The Eagles lost 10-0 to South in league play and 11-1 to Mitchell.
Eagles senior Andy Hernandez scored the team’s lone goal this season.
Pueblo County began its season 1-1 overall and 1-0 in league play.
The Hornets defeated Central 6-2 in S-CL action and lost to Roosevelt 3-2 in overtime.
Sophomore Stetson Brunick and senior Aaron Krinsky lead the Hornets with 2 goals a piece and 5 points.
The Wildcats are 0-2 overall and 0-1 in league play.
Central lost 6-3 to Lamar to open its season.
Senior Connor McDonald leads the team with 4 goals and 8 points.
South opened its season with a 4-3 win over Coronado, a 10-0 league win over Central and a 5-0 loss to Denver North.
The Colts are 2-1 overall and 1-0 in league play.
South senior Jeremiah Sanders has scored 3 goals and tallied 7 points so far this season.
Editor’s note: Results are from coaches’ emails and MaxPreps. If a coach didn’t submit results to either the Chieftain or MaxPreps, they may not be included in the roundup. Please send photos to [email protected] for use in upcoming roundups.
Luke Lyons is the news director of The Pueblo Chieftain. He can be reached via email at [email protected].
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