Pueblo West’s run to final four stopped by cancellation

Not very many people expected pueblo west to make the final four, but they did. Unfortunately their chance to complete their run came to an abrupt end when CHSAA cancelled the rest of the state hoops tournament late Thursday night.

"We were all hanging out last night. We were all just getting ready to go home and get packed and take a trip to Denver. Right when we were getting to ready to leave, getting that news… I read it over and over and over, hoping it wasn't true," said senior Nicolas Hanenberg.

"My alarm went off and initially when your alarm goes off, you're mad already. You want to sleep in," said senior Taylor Harris. "Then I figured, 'Oh it's game day.' And then the first thing I read is that there's no game anymore. I laid in bed and shed a few tears."

Pueblo West got to the final four with a win over Glenwood Springs. Little did they know, it would be the Cyclone seniors' final game. While they understand how important the response to the Coronavirus is; that doesn't make the pill any easier to swallow.

"Being in the final four is not something that happens every year; which is also why it's really heartbreaking," said senior Jimmy Wardle. "We will never get to play in a final four as seniors. We will never get to play at the Colosseum or fora state championship. But we understand that what we did was really special and it took a lot of hard work."

"I honestly, and I hate saying this, I'd almost rather end it with a loss then them telling us we can't play," Hanenberg said.

The Cyclones believe they would have won the state crown.

"I think definitely if we would've played, we would have won. No doubt," Harris said.

"We did have unfinished business," Wardle said. "Now it's just, 'What if?' It's a bunch of what-ifs in our minds. We truly could have been the best 4A team in Colorado and I think we are."