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Boys Basketball: Senior Night Honors Six Players

By Kassandra Espinoza & Jose Jovel

Pueblo High School boys’ basketball team held their Senior Night on Jan. 29 against Salpointe High School—honoring six senior players and two managers.

Head Coach Daryl Jones has been coaching at Pueblo for three years, so this group of seniors have been with him the longest.

Jones said, “I will for sure miss this year’s seniors! This is the most I’ve gotten to see my players grow due to me only having been here for three years.”

Unfortunately, Pueblo fell short against Salpointe (56-49), but that did not change the celebration held after the game in honor of the seniors.

Senior basketball Captain, Jorge Franco said, “Even though I was stressed out at times during the game and throughout the season, it was also very exciting and an honor to be captain of the team.”

With plans to play basketball year-round with their own club team, Pueblo’s boys’ basketball team plans to grow during this time to have a thrilling season next year.

Senior Co-Captain Jacob Maya said, “I will most definitely miss playing games at Pueblo, as well as playing with my teammates. They’re like another family to me.”

In addition to the six players congratulated during senior night, two managers, seniors Emely Villanueva and Alexis Vargas, also got to be a part of the commemoration.

“As the season progressed, I learned more about the sport,” said Villanueva, “and I am going to miss the team more than anything because they always had such great morale. Even after losing a game, they would still be happy about being able to play basketball as a team.”

‘Time To Start Fresh’

(Campus Monitor Receives Home Through HFH)

By Aubrey Medina & Rihana Medrano-Thompson

Campus Monitor Ms. Crystal Alvarado and her two sons moved into their new home during the holiday season, courtesy of Habitat for Humanity.

Alvarado, who joined Pueblo’s security team last February, remained patient throughout the long process of qualifying for a new home.

“Once I was accepted [just nine out of 300 applicants], I actually worked 250 hours with the construction of the home,” Alvarado said. “My sons [Jacob and Estevan—a sophomore at Pueblo] weren’t eligible to help because they’re both younger than 16. They weren’t even allowed on the construction site.”

After all the sweat and body aches, Alvarado said the effort was “beyond worthwhile”.

“I have a home near Sentinel Peak [‘A’ Mountain] with a gorgeous view of the city,” she said. “Christmas this year was a little different—as we were moving and settling in.”

Alvarado finished her application to the Habitat for Humanity program a year ago, and “graduated” in July 2023 after meeting numerous qualifications. She found time on weekends and weekday evenings to meet the mandatory 250 hours of labor.

“There were a lot of times I just wanted to give up,” Alvarado said. “I didn’t, though. Working on the construction of my own home ended up being an accomplishment I’ll never regret.”

One of the many benefits of being a HFH recipient is not paying interest on a mortgage payment, saving the family tens of thousands of dollars over the life of the mortgage.

The Alvarado’s said they plan to start off “fresh”—no old furniture, dishes, and other household items.

“We are starting off with just our clothes, a few television sets and my sons’ game consoles,” Alvarado said.

[Habitat for Humanity, founded in 1976 by married couple Millard and Linda Fuller, is a partnership, not a giveaway program. Habitat’s homeowner families buy the houses that Habitat builds and renovates. Habitat homeowners also invest hundreds of hours of their own labor working alongside volunteers. As a result, Habitat for Humanity houses are affordable to low-income families around the world. The organization operates with financial support from national governments, philanthropic foundations, corporations and mass media companies. foundations.

Habitat directly helps more than four million people each year secure decent, affordable housing, and an additional eight million people now have the potential to improve their housing conditions through a range of indirect services. Our annual report provides full details.

Habitat for Humanity continues to build and renovate decent, affordable housing in all 50 U.S. states and more than 70 other countries.]

‘TRIO-EST’: Another Tool for Academic Success

by Alyvette Moreno & Jenna Twaje

TRIO Educational Search, or “EST” for short, is one of the many programs here at Pueblo High School dedicated to supporting students and helping them succeed in their education.

While the commitment is lower than Upward Bound where students meet three times a week, TRIO-EST still offers students many opportunities such as workshops, tutoring, campus tours and more. Instead, students in EST are required to meet two times during the school year, although members can meet whenever they work.

Currently, students are not required to have a specific GPA to join ETS. The only requirement to join is to be a U.S citizen or U.S resident. Students can join at any grade, but students cannot be in both ETS and Upward Bound simultaneously.

“Our main goal is for every student to graduate knowing what they want to do after high school,” said Ms. Grissel Bojorquez, the coordinator of TRIO-EST.

She decided to become the coordinator of the program because she felt a need to people just like her.

Paola Salazar, a senior, said, “It’s been helpful having a mentor whenever I need it.”

Since learning about TRIO in her freshman year Salazar got all sorts of help such as having her college essays proofread and reviewed—as well as financial aid and help with her applications.

Having been in ETS since his sophomore year, Nae Alba, a junior, hopes that this experience will help him get into his dream university. Finding out about ETS from his older sister gave Alba the opportunity to get help with FASFA, college applications, and tutoring.

TRIO-ETS is a resource many students use to help in their pursuit of higher education. The support given to students by TRIO-ETS empowers them and helps them achieve their full potential.

“It is a very helpful program that provides resources to help me in my college journey with FASFA and college applications,” said Alba.

Sophomore Breaks Girls’ Basketball Record

by Christopher Santa Cruz

The Pueblo Warriors girls’ basketball team recently defeated the Palo Verde Titans 101-16 with superstar player sophomore America Cazares setting a new school record with 59 points in a single game.

Cazares went 14-20 from the field with an impressive 10 of those shots being three-pointers. She was able to grab eight rebounds, one assist and nine steals during the game.

“Honestly, I didn’t know I was going to break the record,” Cazares said. “I just played my game, although I got subbed-out during the fourth quarter.”

The previous school record was held by Alicia Reyes, who scored 57 points during the 2015-16 season against the Cholla Chargers under the current head coach Ismael “Izzy” Galindo.

This season’s Warriors scored another 100+ points during a game against the Empire Ravens on Dec. 17; the final score: 101-32.

“Before the game, I was very relaxed and confident knowing we were facing a weaker team,” Cazares said.

Galindo said, “I didn’t know America [Cazares] was going to break the school record. I just remember she was in the high 40’s at about the end of the third quarter. Then before I could take her out during the fourth quarter, I learned that she had broken the record.”

With all these early accomplishments in Cazares’ high school career, she plans on continuing her basketball career playing at the collegiate level.

Pueblo’s Christmas 2023 Wishlist

Compiled by Ariana Garcia and Leia Ortega

Each holiday season, El Guerrero journalists ask random students/faculty and staff to answer the question: What do you want for Christmas this year? Here is the list for Christmas ’23:

Ana Cubillas, senior: “I want a car to drive every day.”

Manny Rivera, senior: “I would love a Spider Man 2 and GTA 6.”

Fabian Lopez, senior: “All I want for Christmas are my two front teeth.”

Israel Valencia, junior: “I really would like to have 3Ds with Pokemon X.”

Marc Anthony Escobedo, senior: “Love to have some Chick-Fil-A and straight A’s.”

Kendahl McCarthy, sophomore: “Some new sewing needles would be great!”

Jorge Parra, junior: “I’d love a huge hug.”

Mouse Saenz, sophomore: “I’d love to have some crochet yarn and maybe some different sized hooks.”

Marsha Jean Burrola, PHS librarian: “I would love to have those two scratches on my car to be fixed.”

Prisilla Garcia, senior: “I’d love to live in a mansion.”

Jorge Ramirez, senior: “A partridge in a pear tree.”

Azul Frias, sophomore: “I’d love to have some ‘Hello Kitty’ pajama pants.”

Antonia Calvillo, senior: “I want a blanket that can cover seven people.”

Bryan Melendez, junior: “I want a new jacket and socks.”

Mr. Rana Medhi, journalism teacher: “I want Santa Claus to shave his beard; hairy people scary me.”

Brisa Bautista, senior: “I want a hippopotamus.”

Josette Moreno, freshman: “I really want some Lego flowers or gift cards.”

Francesca Duran, senior: “For Christmas, I really want a stuffed black bear.”

Ms. Gonzalez, teacher: “I’d like any gift my partner gives me because they are always super thoughtful.”

Linkon Carillo, sophomore: “I’d love to have ‘Zelda, Tears of the Kingdom’.”

Dylan Mendez, senior: “I want a 10-piece McNuggets meal!”

Kaz Detwiler, sophomore: “I really need a new sketchbook and new art supplies.”

Daisy Talavera: “Money, clothes, a Stanley cup and a new iphone case.”

Adelina Grijalva: “I’d love to have some Legos and new airpods.”

Jazlynne Fernandez: “Levi jean—specifically 501’s—would be awesome!”

Oscar Miranda: “I’d really like to see our JV basketball team to win a game.”

Paola Salazar: “I want a Kevin Alvarez jersey.”

Frida Bustamante: “For Christmas, I’d like to have some new makeup, books and shoes.”

Xristan Berry: “I want LED light strips.”

Desiree Noriega, sophomore: “I want a new Ariat jacket.”

Gaddiel “Vez” Chavez: “I’d love some Nike red championship ‘Dunks’.”

Mr. Carpenter: ‘Building’ Relationships, Chiseling Character

By Esmeralda Almazan & Iraith Arce

For the past month, Mr. Mike Carpenter has been Pueblo’s newest campus monitor, replacing Ms. Vickie Bellay who retired at the end of August.

If he looks familiar to some students, he should—as Carpenter has been coaching Pueblo’s junior varsity football team for the past three years, although he boasts 29 years of football and baseball coaching experience. He can also boast about his JV football Warriors experiencing a very successful (6-2) season.

“I’ve been building relationships with students for a long time as a coach,” Carpenter said, “so my approach to being a security monitor is the same—we’re all like one, big team.”

He said that interacts with students to guide them to create a safer place. By focusing on an inclusive environment, Carpenter said that he can easily connect with students.

“I don’t want to blow my whistle in students’ faces,” he said. “I don’t want to interact negatively with students, and I’ve found that using words works better to motivate them to get to class.”

Carpenter said that he uses the skills he learned during his 24-year military career to become a better coach and now a monitor.

“I was a Resource Protection Officer in the military as well as a security police officer for the Arizona National Guard—and this has made me alert and observant,” he said. “I’m here [at Pueblo] to protect people and to keep everybody safe.”

He added, “My favorite part of being a monitor at Pueblo is being able to interact with students. I can easily make their days better with a simple, ‘Hey, how are you?’”

Although Carpenter did not graduate from PHS, he has family connections to Pueblo. His father graduated from PHS in 1969, and his wife was a Class of 1998 Warrior.