Over the past month, we have looked back at some recent graduates from Pueblo-area high schools who have gone on to college and continued their athletic careers.
In this final edition of our Where Are They Now series, we look back at 10 more athletes who have graduated in recent years and carved out a place on a team at the next level.
Check out this week's featured athletes as we wrap up this series for the summer.
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Delaney Barela, Pueblo East, Colorado State University, Pueblo
Barela graduated from Pueblo East High School and was a standout softball player for the Eagles. In her senior season, she batted .333 with 12 RBIs and a home run to boot. Over the last four seasons, she has played for the ThunderWolves of CSU Pueblo. She has a career .235 batting average with 34 RBIs and three home runs.
Abby Raio, Pueblo South, Western Colorado
Raio is a defender for the Western Colorado Mountaineers and has played for the team since she graduated from Pueblo South. As a Colt, Raio was a two-time all-state honorable mention and led the South-Central League in assists in her junior season. In college, Raio has played in 53 games primarily as a defender. She recorded an assist during her last season playing for the team.
Amaya Valdilles, Pueblo County, Trinidad State University
Valdilles was a pivotal component to the Pueblo County Hornets' recent success on the softball diamond. After graduation, she went on to attend Trinidad State University. In her first year as a Trojan, she appeared in 19 games and had four hits including two home runs, and drove in four RBIs as well.
Mikayla Cruz, Pueblo Central, Trinidad State University
Another Trojan makes the list in Cruz. She graduated from Pueblo Central High School and also joined Trinidad State after graduation. While with the Wildcats, Cruz put up a career average of .291 at the plate with 13 RBIs. In limited action with the Trojans, she has scored four runs and has earned a walk in eight plate appearances.
Allyson Sparks, Pueblo Centennial, Colorado State University, Pueblo
Sparks was a three-time first-team all-conference selection and two-time defensive MVP in the South-Central League while playing for the Bulldogs of Pueblo Centennial. She went on to continue her soccer career at CSU Pueblo. For the ThunderWolves she has appeared in 38 games so far and has earned two assists from her defensive position.
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Cole Hernandez, Pueblo Centennial, Western Colorado
Hernandez was a four-sport athlete between wrestling, cross country, track and baseball. He was a three-time state qualifier with a top finish of runner-up at the state championships. In his high school career, he had 134 career wins. In college for the Mountaineers, he has a career record of 19-17 and finished in the top 10 in the NCAA Division II championships the past two years.
Gavin Howes, Pueblo County, Avila University
Howes was one of the top wrestlers coming out of Pueblo County at the time of his graduation. He was 17-6 in his senior season and helped the Hornets earn second place in the team standings that year. He went on to attend Otero College before transferring to Avila University. He has since competed in the USA Wrestling U23 World Team Trials and has been ranked in the top 25 in Avila's conference.
Kyle Bigley, Pueblo Central, Colorado State University Rams
Bigley was a multi-sport athlete for the Wildcats but specialized in discus and shot put for the track and field team. His final appearance for Central at the state tournament saw him take home first place in the shot put and single-handedly put Pueblo Central in the top 10 in the team standings. In his time with the Rams, Bigley has already had several great performances including a top-five finish in the Mountain West Indoor Track and Field Finals.
Remington Peterson, Rye, University of Northern Colorado
Peterson was a standout wrestler for the Thunderbolts. During his four years at Rye, he won two individual Class 2A state wrestling titles. He went on to graduate and attend the University of Northern Colorado. Last year he saw a total of nine matches and went 4-5 in those bouts.
Jaxson Herring, Pueblo East, Cornell College
Herring graduated from Pueblo East after leading the basketball team in scoring his senior year. He averaged 15.3 points per game along with 10.9 rebounds. He now attends Cornell College where he was named the team's Defensive MVP this past year. He started in 13 games last year and had 11 blocks and 13 steals on the season.
More:Here are 10 more notable former Pueblo high school athletes. See where they are today
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
