Pueblo Central strikes gold, wins unified bowling state championship

For the third straight year, Colorado has a new unified bowling champion hailing from Pueblo.

The Pueblo Central Wildcats recently took home the 2022-23 Colorado High School Activities Association unified bowling state championship, and Pueblo's impressive showing at state didn't end there: it was a podium sweep for the Home of Heroes as Pueblo South took second place and Centennial took third.

Pueblo has dominated the sport of unified bowling since it was first introduced by CHSAA. Two years ago, when the sport became an official CHSAA offering, Pueblo East took home the first-ever title.

Last year, Pueblo again produced the state's best team as South returned home with state hardware and Central furthered the city's statewide dominance this year.

In total, four Pueblo-area schools competed in this year's finals, as Rye High School also made it to state alongside South, Central and Centennial.

“It was pretty crazy," Pueblo Central head coach Darrion Hatchett said. “It's awesome just bringing it back to Pueblo for us. All the time we spent with each other was great, and we got to face some pretty tough schools out there too, so that's pretty awesome and pretty cool to see.”

Unified bowling offers a unique opportunity for all students to participate in athletics.

As the name "unified bowling" implies, the sport tends to spark a sense of unity in those who participate, even amongst those competing for different teams. The Wildcats, Colts and Bulldogs all drove up to this year's state competition together and cheered each other on throughout the tournament.

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“The kids were excited,” Hatchett said. “They were showing up super excited an hour before the bus ... it's an experience for them and that's why I love unified bowling — it brought a group of students together that wouldn't normally be playing any kind of sport and to see them actually dedicate so many weeks to preparation and practice and enjoying it and actually wanting to play and get involved, it's good to see."

The trip back to Pueblo after winning was even more exciting for the kids who got to participate this year. One of the unique things about the sport of unified bowling is even though it’s a competition, the athletes all cheer each other on and help each other out.

“We've had three years of being able to just experience that ride home with (Pueblo) East being champions and then South being champions and now us being champions,” Hatchett said. “Whether we won it or, the first two years when we lost it, my kids were singing ... we were going crazy on the bus on the way home.”

Hatchett said it really didn't matter to the kids who really won, the most important thing was everyone having a good time.

Hatchett said one particular point of pride at this year's competition was watching his team extend a helping hand to Pueblo Centennial, a newcomer at the state finals for unified bowling.

“This year joining us was Centennial,” Hatchett said. “And what I loved the most on the ride over there was the kids were talking about the state finals to Centennial and telling them what it was like and all that, and then the kids just having a good old time on the way back.

"That’s what I love about all the Pueblo teams and the coaches and everyone involved — it doesn't matter who wins it because the kids have a good time no matter what happens up there.”

Unified bowling is a sport unlike any other offered in schools. It gives a unique opportunity for students who wouldn’t normally be allowed to participate in sports due to physical or other limitations to socialize outside of their comfort zones and explore new friendships and opportunities.

“It's for everybody,” Hatchett said. “Unified bowling is something more than a sport to these kids. It's something to get the kids out and see what they can get more of from school. School is more than just academics. Academics is huge for us but (it's also about) being able to be social ... and to essentially find something that they belong to.”

Pueblo Central Wildcat championship team roster: 

• Steve Decker

• Avery Taylor

• Theo Romero

• Jordan Aguilar

• Desire Lopez

• Trinity Baker

• Terra Salazar

• Isaiah Bibby

• Chidozie Onwuka

• Jacob Ruybal

• Xavier Salazar

Final Scores

• 1st place: Pueblo Central 594

• 2nd: Pueblo South 579

• 3rd: Pueblo Centennial 568

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Christopher Abdelmalek is a sports reporter for the Pueblo Chieftain and can be reached at cabdelmalek@gannett.com or on Twitter: @chowebacca.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo Central strikes gold, wins unified bowling state championship