The CSU Pueblo Thunderwolves remained unbeaten on the season after grinding out their closest and dirtiest game of the year, beating Fort Lewis 28-21 on the road in Durango in a mud-soaked matchup.

With the playing surface a mess and the ball slick, the Thunderwolves abandoned their usual explosive passing attack and leaned on their ground game, rushing for about 270 yards to pull out the win.

Head coach Philip Vigil said the conditions were unlike anything his team could have prepared for.

"As a coach, you try to simulate as much as you possibly can in practice, and we did wet ball drills last week and all that kind of stuff, but I don't know if we could have ever simulated the playing surface, the mud, that we got to experience last week," Vigil said.

Watch the full interview in the video below

CSUP Walk and Talk Week 10

The defense set the tone. After Fort Lewis opened the game with a 75-yard touchdown drive, the Thunderwolves clamped down for the rest of the day. They allowed just 135 total yards of offense and 5 first downs in the game.

Backup quarterback Evan Powell proved to be the difference, carrying the ball 11 times for about 140 yards. Vigil said getting Powell into the game was a mid-game adjustment once the team saw the conditions.

Once we got out there and saw that the conditions were the way that they were, that ball was about as slick as all get out, and we knew that our passing game was going to be essentially very, very limited," Vigil said. "Evan's such a great athlete to be able to get the ball in his hands and let him run around and do what he did. It's the same thing we see him do out here at practice all the time. And so I'm really proud of him. He had a great game and we don't win that game without him.

Ball security was a challenge throughout. The Thunderwolves fumbled seven times, losing two, and also had issues with a couple of snaps on special teams. Vigil chalked the miscues up to the field conditions but said it is an area to improve.

The Thunderwolves return home this week to face Black Hills State. Vigil said the focus remains internal.

"This week we talk about earning tomorrow and finding a way for us to be who we want to be in the future. We've got to earn it today, and our guys have had a great week of practice so far and we got to continue that over the next two days," Vigil said.

The Thunderwolves will take on Black Hills State at 1PM on Saturday.

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Ashlynn Saenz has been stamping her name all over Pueblo Centrals record books.

This season, Ashlynn broke Central's school records for digs and serve receptions surpassing a player she once looked up to, Kai Arriaga. Arriaga set both records at 1,027 by the time she graduated in 2022. When Ashlynn rewrote history, Arriaga was there to congratulate her.

"I watched the girl that had the records in the first place, and I think she pushed me to do it. I was in awe that the child in me beat her," Ashlynn said.

Volleyball has always been a family affair for Ashlynn. Her grandpa played, and so did her mom and older sister. Growing up around the game, Ashlynn also had a front-row seat to some of Pueblo Central's best. Now, she's surpassed one of them.

For Ashlynn's dad and head coach, Danny, those records are only part of the player he's watched develop over four years. She arrived as a timid freshman, but by her sophomore year, her teammates had voted her captain.

"She is a tremendous competitor, but one thing that is overlooked, she has one of the biggest hearts on the team. She genuinely cares for every single one of her teammates," Danny said.

Now Ashlynn's name sits amongst the names of those that she once looked up to, but she is not hoping that her records last forever.

"It honestly means the world to me that I was able to get my name onto something and make a difference, but what I wanted to do the most is for the younger girls that watch me play like the younger sisters I want them to come and beat me that's what I want," Ashlynn said.

Ashlynn has also made two appearances at the state tournament in tennis. She's been playing since her freshman year, and with how quickly she has excelled in it, she's hoping she will be able to be a dual-sport athlete in college, playing both volleyball and tennis.

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About Athlete of the Week

News5 works to honor the high school Athlete of the Week throughout the school year in our Wednesday evening newscasts. Were looking for that special teen who is working hard and playing right all while making parents and coaches proud.

Nominate your Athlete of the Week today! See our current and past athletes of the week, click here.

The Classical Academy sits at the top of 4A Flag Football for a second consecutive year. The Titans secured their second championship in three appearances with a 34-18 win over Vista Ridge, completing their undefeated season.

Reagan Harter did most of the heavy lifting for TCA by scoring four touchdowns. Vista Ridges Kayla Dempsey found the end zone three times for all of the Wolves points.

The Titans opened the scoring in the first quarter with some trickery. CHSAAs career leader in passing yards, Kelsey Peterson recorded what goes down as a touchdown pass to herself. Peterson threw a quick pass to Ryann Ferguson who then pitched it right back to Peterson with space on the outside allowing her to cross the goal line. Peterson then found Kennedy Harter on the following extra-point attempt to put the Titans ahead 7-0.

Vista Ridge responded with chunk play after chunk play. Jocelynn Kalkman picked apart the TCA defense with precision passes down field to Arayah Johnson and Aubrey Leong. The last of those passes landed in the hands of Kayla Dempsey for a touchdown. After the failed extra-point attempt, it was a one point game.

The first half of this title game had no lack of excitement. TCA led 13-6 to end the first quarter after Peterson found her favorite target Reagan Harter who bobbled the catch in traffic but stayed with it and used a burst of speed to get to the end zone.

It was only a few minutes into the second quarter when Vista Ridge responded. Kalkman went right back to Dempsey and got the same result as before, a touchdown. Dempseys second score of the game brought her team back within a point at 13-12.

However that did not last long. TCA needed just one play to get back into the end zone. Reagan Harter caught a short pass across the middle and showed off her speed on the way to TCA extending its lead 19-12.

This is the point of the game where both defenses showed up. The Titans defense held Vista Ridges offense to short yardage and gave the ball back to their offense with a chance to go up two scores.

Kelsey Peterson had that exact thought in mind when she took a deep shot near the end zone, but instead of her receiver she found Arayah Johnson. The Wolves sophomore came away with the first turnover of the game. She returned the pick well into Titan territory but a couple of flags brought the ball backwards and the VR offense was unable to capitalize on the turnover.

That allowed Peterson and Reagan Harter to connect for their third touchdown of the first half. TCA felt confident heading into the locker room with a 25-12 lead at the half.

The Wolves were hoping to cut into that deficit with their opening drive of the second half, but TCAs Brooklyn Blair snatched that hope out the air with her second interception of the game.

Both offenses seemed to struggle in the second half with neither team pushing the ball down field until the fourth quarter. Vista Ridge had a breath of life as they found themselves within scoring distance in the final quarter of the season but a bobbled pass landed in the wrong hands.

Peterson tracked the ball down for her second interception of the year which couldnt have come at a better time for the Titans. Petersons offense took over with a two score lead and a lot of time left on the clock.

That ensuing drive would be the one to put the game away. Peterson went back to her most reliable receiver, Reagan Harter. Harter would score her fourth touchdown of the day and give the Titans a comfortable 32-12 lead.

Vista Ridge added a late touchdown by Dempsey and attempted the flag football version of an onside kick. After that failed, it began to set in for the Titans that they had secured another state championship.

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TCA and Vista Ridge will square off for the girls 4A state championship after they each picked up wins during Wednesdays semifinals.

TCA is headed back to the flag football state championship for the third consecutive season, but will be defending a title for the very first time. Vista Ridge is making its first appearance in the state championship game.

It will be the second meeting this season between the Wolves and the Titans. TCA won the previous matchup 35-20.

The state championship game will be played on October 24 at Trailblazer Stadium with a start time of 4PM.

No. 1 TCA 19, No. 4 Green Mountain 13 The Harter sisters paved the way back to the state championship for TCA. Reagan Harter caught three touchdown passes from Kelsey Peterson while Kennedy Harter added an extra point and a crucial fourth quarter interception.

Green Mountain got on the scoring started at the beginning of the second quarter with a short quarterback keeper for the touchdown. TCA responded with Petersons first touchdown pass to Reagan in the back corner of the end zone. The Titans only successful extra point attempt of the game followed that touchdown as Kennedy Harter caught a short pass and reached across the goal line to even the score at 7.

The defending champs opened the quarter with a strong offensive drive. Peterson hit Brooklyn Blair along the left sideline good enough to move the chains. Later on the drive, Peterson felt the pressure of the defense and heaved it downfield for Reagan who made a contested catch along the sideline and took off with no one to stop her from leaping into the end zone for her second touchdown of the night.

Peterson and Reagan found that same success on a shorter pass play in the fourth quarter which gave TCA a 19-7 lead. The Rams drove down the field and were knocking on the door of the end zone. That was until Kennedy Harter picked off the pass and allowed the Titans offense to drain some more clock.

Green Mountain added a touchdown with just over three minutes to play but the Titans offense possessed the ball for the remainder of the game.

No. 3 Vista Ridge 28, No. 2 Mountain View 14 Kayla Dempsey and Addison DeGennaro started for the Wolves in the upset win. DeGennaro tallied 7 sacks throughout the course of the game, while Dempsey scored three of the teams four touchdowns.

Jocelynn Kalkman fired a pass into the end zone that was caught by Dempsey to give Vista Ridge a 6-0 lead at the start of the second quarter. Mountain View then gifted the Wolves a safety after a bad snap fell dead in the end zone.

Vista Ridge regifted points to Mountain View after a deflected pass was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. The game was tied at 8 after the two-point conversion.

The score remained the same until Dempsey caught another pass from Kalkman, which should have been a short pick up but she turned it into more. Dempsey reached out to pick up extra yardage but the defense completely missed her flags and she took off for the longest touchdown of the game. Vista Ridge led 14-8 at the break.

Coming out of the locker room, Dempsey did not seem to be satisfied with her two offensive touchdowns. After a Mountain View pass bounced out the hands of their receiver, Dempsey kept her focus on the ball resulting in an interception that she returned for her third touchdown of the night.

Isabella Waters put the game away in the fourth quarter with a rushing touchdown off of a reverse play. Her score put the team ahead 28-8, a lead they would not relinquish.

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Pueblo West junior Ethan Wagner is the definition of a student-athlete. With a 4.71 GPA, Wagner dominates in both the classroom and on the pitch, earning him recognition as News 5's Athlete of the Week.

See the full story in the video below AOTW ETHAN WAGNER

Wagner has seen tremendous growth on the pitch since his freshman year not just in his physical ability, but as a leader. Before being moved to left wing during his sophomore year, he was placed at left back. But the position never mattered to Wagner. He just wanted to go out and help the team.

"I didn't really care where I was on the field as long as I was on the field playing. As long as I had a ball at my foot. I didn't really care where I played. I told my coach wherever you want to put me, put me there. I just want to be on the field," Wagner said.

Wagner scored just one goal that year, and he knew he needed to fully commit if he was going to see improvement as a sophomore.

"It's taken a lot of work. Just training on your own versus just all with the team. Going out and doing it by yourself to get consistent with it," Wagner said.

He scored a team-high 14 goals as a sophomore, and he's up to 15 so far this season to go along with a team high 9 assist.

"Every time the ball hits the back of the net it gets you really excited. Then you run to the corner and find your teammates and everything. You just get really excited when you know you can support your team like that and when you know you can keep racking up the goals like that. It boosts your confidence a lot," Wagner said.

In regard to his future, Wagner has already began thinking about his career path.

"I'm looking at mainly going to schools that have engineering programs while being able to play in college as well. So I want to be able to balance the student athlete life that I'm doing right now, in college," Wagner said.

He takes it one step further. Wagner says he would be willing to turn down an athletic scholarship if that school did not offer an engineering program. He says having that degree for a lifetime is worth far more than risking his future on just soccer.

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About Athlete of the Week

News5 works to honor the high school Athlete of the Week throughout the school year in our Wednesday evening newscasts. Were looking for that special teen who is working hard and playing right all while making parents and coaches proud.

Nominate your Athlete of the Week today! See our current and past athletes of the week, click here.

The semifinals are set for the high school flag football playoffs after some thrilling second and third round matches on Saturday. TCA and Vista Ridge are the final two Southern Colorado teams after winning both of their games on Saturday.

TCA will meet fourth seeded Green Mountain on Wednesday, while Vista Ridge is scheduled for a matchup with second seeded Mountain View.

Colorado Springs Christian, Palmer Ridge, and Doherty (class 5A) saw their hard-fought seasons come to a close in the second round. Liberty (class 5A) and Air Academy split their games on Saturday and were eliminated in the quarterfinals.

5A Second Round:

No. 1 Chaparral 59, No. 17 Doherty 0 The Spartans pulled off an upset win in the first round over Thunder Ridge but drew a tough matchup with top seeded Chaparral. Doherty finishes its season with a 9-8 record.

No. 10 Liberty 19, No. 7 Poudre School District 13 The Lancers won their first playoff game in dramatic fashion in the programs inaugural season. Trailing 13-6 in the fourth quarter, Lola Gartner evened the score with a long touchdown run and a one point conversion on a pass to Abby Stenerson.

Poudre had a chance to go ahead with just under three minutes to play but Sylvie Castonguay had other plans. Sylvie intercepted the pass attempt and ran it back more than 50-yards for the go ahead touchdown, serving as the game winner.

4A Second Round:

No. 1 TCA 39, Elizabeth 6

No. 5 Steamboat Springs 19, No. 12 CSCS 13

No. 3 Vista Ridge 27, No. 14 Palmer Ridge 0 Vista Ridge started the game with a strong defensive series that featured back-to-back sacks for a safety. The Wolves offense scored two touchdowns in the first half on passes from Aubrey Leong.

She connected with Isabella Waters in the first quarter and Arayah Johnson right before half time to give them a 14-0 lead. They opened the game with a long touchdown pass to Kayla Dempsey at the start of the third quarter.

No. 6 Air Academy 35, No. 11 Pomona 20 The Kadets have one of the best passing games in the state and that was on display early in this game. Nadia Anderson found Ayden Kissane in the end zone to open up the scoring. In the second quarter she found one of her favorite targets, Leah Dreesen, who made a contested catch through three defenders put Air Academy ahead two scores. Tess Heater was the defensive MVP as she came away with back-to-back interceptions in the first half, taking the second one back for a touchdown.

5A Quarterfinals:

No. 2 Legend 53, No. 10 Liberty 6

4A Quarterfinals:

No. 1 TCA 28, No. 8 Lutheran 24 TCAs chance at a second straight state title remains alive after surviving a close game with Lutheran. The Titans have reached the semifinals in all three years of CHSAAs flag football playoffs.

No. 3 Vista Ridge 32 , No. 6 Air Academy 6

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The nationally No. 4-ranked CSU Pueblo Thunderwolves return to action this Saturday for their homecoming game against New Mexico Highlands, looking to remain perfect on the season.

Coming off a bye week following a win at Adams State, head coach Philip Vigil said the team chose to practice and improve rather than take an extended break.

Watch Dante Williams' report in the video player below: No. 4 CSU Pueblo enters back half of the season with focus on improvement

First off, you have to lean into what got you to 6-0, and that's just focusing on every single day. So last week, yes, it was a bye week, but we practiced and we made a determination that we're going to find a way to improve and get better over the bye week, and that was really our goal, Vigil said. Give the guys a couple of days off over the weekend, and as you can see this morning they're back at it and energized and ready to rock and roll.

Vigil said physicality is the defining characteristic of this team on both sides of the ball.

"I think first and foremost it's physical, you know? I think you turn on the tape, you're going to see guys that are running to the football on defense hitting people. Then on offense, you're going to see an offensive line, a tight end group, a running back group that is physically imposing their will, Vigil said. Physical football teams win games, and that's the thing that I'm most proud about this group because I think they're very, very physical on both sides of football.

With the season at the halfway point, Vigil acknowledged there are still areas to address particularly eliminating turnovers.

There's little things that we have to fine-tune and get better at. You know, you look at our tackling on defense from the first part of the season to where it's at right now; that's an improvement, but it's always going to be better. You look at offensively, some of the procedural penalties that we're making early in the season; that has improved it tremendously. We haven't had a game yet where we haven't turned the ball over. So there's always going to be areas where we can improve and find ways to get better, and every unit, every position, every player knows what that is, and they got to attack it every day," Vigil said.

CSU Pueblo will host New Mexico Highlands in their homecoming game at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 17.

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Brooklyn has transformed the Palmer High School volleyball program from the ground up ending an eight-year postseason drought and helping propel the Terrors to a 9-1 start this season.

After the program failed to reach the postseason for eight consecutive years, Brooklyn helped lead the Terrors to a regional tournament appearance in 2025. Head coach Adrianne Dettler said she recognized Brooklyn's potential from the moment she joined the program as a freshman.

Learn More About Brookln's Story Below

"Just starting her freshman year you could tell she was a little different. Her IQ even at a young age was kind of beyond what we've had here at Palmer, so overall experience of volleyball, you could tell there was a difference," Dettler said.

Now in her second year as team captain, Brooklyn has found the balance between leading and being supportive.

"I think my teammates would describe me as like someone who's encouraging in like the tough moments but also can give tough feedback when it's needed and when it's due like, but ultimately a pretty encouraging person," Brooklyn said.

Dettler has watched that leadership continue to develop.

"Last year she's like, 'I'm ready to be a leader.' And this year she has taken that on. Not afraid to have the hard conversations, not afraid to get on her teammates if they're slacking, but they respect it because she brings it as well," Dettler said.

Brooklyn backs up her leadership with production on the court. She is top 3 on the team in every statistical category and recorded 25 kills against Elizabeth, leading the Terrors to victory after trailing by two sets.

For Brooklyn, individual numbers take a back seat to team success.

"I would love a good stat line and to show I'm a good player, but honestly our team just does such a good job that it doesn't really matter," Brooklyn said.

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About Athlete of the Week

News5 works to honor the high school Athlete of the Week throughout the school year in our Wednesday evening newscasts. Were looking for that special teen who is working hard and playing right all while making parents and coaches proud.

Nominate your Athlete of the Week today! See our current and past athletes of the week, click here.