Here are Pueblo's top prep performers for the week of Jan. 10, 2022
As the winter high school sports season reaches the midway point, there are plenty of top high school performances to reflect on from this past week.
The Pueblo Chieftain sports staff will compile the top prep performances each week.
Coaches are asked to email either jletofsky@chieftain.com or cabdelmalek@chieftain.com with their nominees of the week and one player from reach sport will be chosen each week.
Here are this past week's top performers of the week:
Hailey Garner, Pueblo West girls swimming
The senior won the diving portion of the South-Central League meet between Central and Pueblo West high schools on Jan. 11 at Central with a six-dive score of 284.50.
Garner, who has already qualified for her third state meet, helped the Cyclones to a 107-78 victory.
Taylor Jones, Pueblo West girls swimming
The swimmer led the Cyclones to a 107-78 win over Central with four event wins on Jan. 11 at Central. She won the 200 freestyle (2:25.71) and won on three winning relay teams, the 200 medley (2:17.98), 400 free (4:51.73) and 200 free (2:01.76).
Ashley Shepperd, Pueblo Central girls swimming
Sheppard won two individual events and swam on two second-place relay teams in the loss to Pueblo West on Jan. 11 at Central.
Sheppard won the 50 freestyle (28.54), the 100 butterfly (1:23.70) and was a member of the second-place relay teams in the 200 medley and 200 freestyle.
Ray J Aragon, Pueblo South boys basketball
The junior equaled his season high of 22 points during the Colts' 109-40 nonleague road victory over Vanguard on Jan. 11. Aragon, who missed the first three games of the season coming off an injury in football is averaging 14.3 points, 4.4 assists and 3.7 steals a game.
Besides his 22 points, Aragon had five assists and three steals for the state's No. 1 team in Class 4A, which is now 10-0.
South's Aragon a two sport star: Undersized but not underappreciated, South's Ray J Aragon is becoming a two-sport star
Sophie Adamson, Rye High School girls basketball
Adamson had an impressive game against Fowler this week in which she almost completely filled in the stat sheet. She finished with 29 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, and 1 block, en route to the Thunderbolts 71-15 victory over Fowler and their tenth straight victory to open the season.
Jason Soto, Pueblo Centennial boys wrestling
Soto put on an outstanding showing this week. He took home the individual title in the Colt Classic this past weekend defeating much of the top talent in the 126 pound division and helping the Bulldogs reach fourth place in the tournament. He then followed that up with a win over a Pueblo East opponent later in the week.
L.J. Herburger, Pueblo East boys wrestling
Herburger has steadily been one of the most consistent wrestlers in all of the state at 113 pounds. This week Herburger took first in the Colt Classic in his division and helped led his team to the overall victory in the tournament. He is currently ranked third in the state among 113 pounds.
Chieftain senior sports reporter Jeff Letofsky can be reached by email at jletofsky@chieftain.com or on Twitter @jeffletofsky
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: Here are Pueblo's top prep performers for the week of Jan. 10, 2022
