Here are the top boys swimmers and divers to watch in Pueblo this season

The 2023 boys swim and dive season is underway and there are some exciting young athletes in Pueblo to follow in the pool this year.

Last year saw both Pueblo Central and Pueblo County send nearly a dozen swimmers to compete in the Class 4A state meet, and both programs will seek similarly strong presences at state this season.

This year's list of swimmers and divers to watch consists of some familiar names, as well as athletes who've flown under the radar to this point but are ready to make waves this season.

Here are the top swimmers and divers to watch from the Pueblo area.

Pueblo Central

Ben Studen 

Studen will be a key piece for the Central squad this year as he swims the 50 freestyle and 100 backstroke. He qualified for state last year in both the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays.

Lucas Wood  

Wood is a senior and a returning state qualifying diver. He finished just outside the top 15 in the state last season with a score of 292.35 and will seek an even stronger finish in his last campaign diving for Central.

Eliazar Maldanado  

Maldanado, who attends Pueblo East, also was a state qualifier last year in the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relays. He has shown improvement in the offseason and is looking to help his team get back to state.

Aiden Johnson 

Johnson is a senior from South who also swam at the state meet last year in the 200 freestyle relay. He is returning this year with his sights set on a spot on the podium at state.

Brayden Pollock  

Pollock is a sophomore from Centennial. He, Studen, Maldanado, and Wood comprise Central's 200 medley A relay team and he's making his impact felt in the early part of the season: the relay team already notched one qualifying time for state in its first meet.

Alex Donley 

Donley may only be a sophomore but he already has some experience competing at state after qualifying last year in the 200 medley. Look for him to improve this season in a potential run back to the state finals.

Leo Styduhar  

Styduhar, a freshman, is already making a name for himself in the water. He has earned a spot on the 200 freestyle relay team and helped the team qualify for state in the first week of competition.

Theo Romero

Romero will return to the state finals this year in the unified 50 freestyle. His impressive resume at Central already includes being a homecoming king, state champion bowler and wrestler. He's also played on the football team and is on the "Mr. C" court.

Pueblo County

Otis Shin 

Shin, a junior from Salida, is a dedicated athlete and a fast swimmer in all of his events. He has already qualified for state in individual and relay events this year.

Christian Garcia 

Garcia is a freshman from Swallows. He is a hard worker and a fast swimmer. He is willing to swim every event without hesitation, including the hardest high school events. Garcia also has already qualified for state in individual and relay events.

Duncan Balicki 

Balicki is a junior from La Junta who swims for the Pueblo team. He is another returning qualifier in the 200 medley relay and will look to help the team return to state for an even better showing than last year's top-30 finish.

Jack Brown  

Brown is a junior at Pueblo County. As a sophomore last year, he was on the same state qualifying relay team as Balicki. The team will likely lean on their experience in a quest to return to state.

Tayten Fetrow  

Fetrow is another sophomore at Pueblo County. He will be seeking to qualify for state for the first time this year.

Gavin Hanson

Hanson is a sophomore from Pueblo West. As another young stud for the County squad, he too will be hoping to qualify for state for the first time.

Bruley McCuistion 

McCuistion is a freshman from Fowler who is part of the young core of talented athletes starting to find their strides for County. He is expected to qualify for state in his first year of competition.

Zach Mead

Mead is a sophomore at Pueblo County and is another young athlete who has made some noise early on this season. The team's hope and expectation is for Mead to be another first-time qualifier for the state finals.

More:Pueblo boys brace for Class 4A state swimming and diving championships

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 swimmers and divers to watch this season