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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
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. We’re 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.