{"id":126668,"date":"2026-04-28T12:14:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T18:14:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/mancos-senior-destiny-kramer-adding-one-final-patch-to-her-letter-jacket\/"},"modified":"2026-05-10T12:35:46","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T18:35:46","slug":"mancos-senior-destiny-kramer-adding-one-final-patch-to-her-letter-jacket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/mancos-senior-destiny-kramer-adding-one-final-patch-to-her-letter-jacket\/","title":{"rendered":"Mancos senior Destiny Kramer adding one final patch to her letter jacket"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Mancos
Mancos senior Destiny Kramer clears the bar at the Bluejays Invitational on Saturday, April 25. The MHS school record holder in the high jump is seeking another trip to the state championships. Erika Alvero\/Special to The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Mancos High School senior Destiny Kramer has spent four years diving on volleyball courts and chasing loose balls on the basketball floor. In the spring, she trades hardwood for the high jump pit, where one final leap awaits and the landing is a little softer.<\/p>\n

Before the Mancos school record holder hangs up her spikes for the final time, she will get one last hurrah to cap a career as impressive for its versatility as its achievements.<\/p>\n

A three-sport varsity athlete for four years, Kramer is a member of the double-digit varsity letter club. Along the way, she has competed at the Class 2A state championships, clearing 5 feet, 1 inch in 2025 to set a new high-water mark for Mancos athletics.<\/p>\n

She also played as a key reserve on the 2023 volleyball team that advanced to the Denver Coliseum and the 2024 basketball squad that reached the Great Eight in Loveland.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always loved sports, and have always wanted to push myself in every one that I do,\u201d Kramer said.<\/p>\n

Last May, she overcame pre-state nerves to \u201clock in,\u201d as she described it, before clearing 5 feet, a personal best at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was ecstatic,\u201d she said. \u201cThen I said to myself, \u2018Let\u2019s go break the school record.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Moments later, she did exactly that, becoming one of the few field-event athletes to peak at the state championships.<\/p>\n

Over the past couple of years, Kramer has been a starter on both the volleyball and basketball teams, bringing a familiar intensity to the court. When she returned to high jumping during her junior season, she learned that same energy needed a different approach.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn basketball and volleyball, being aggressive helps \u2013 but with jumping, I\u2019ve really had to slow things down, focus on my breathing, and image my jump before I go,\u201d Kramer said.<\/p>\n

\"Destiny
Destiny Kramer leads the Bluejays on the basketball court, where her effort and intensity have defined a four-year varsity career. Erika Alvero \/ Special to The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Despite the individual nature of many track and field events, Kramer emphasized that her progress has been a team effort. She credits her growth over the past two seasons to a revised approach to the high jump, both physically and mentally.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the biggest improvements I\u2019ve had over the past couple of years, I\u2019ve worked on getting my hand back and really getting an arch, instead of just going flat over the bar,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Mancos track and field coach Brady Archer pointed to Kramer\u2019s eagerness to learn and relentless energy as the driving forces behind her success in an event she had not competed in since middle school.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s had high expectations for herself, and that carries over to her teammates,\u201d Archer said. \u201cShe\u2019s working well with her coaches on going through her progressions, and she\u2019s paying attention to all the little things that are making her better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mancos
Mancos senior Destiny Kramer brought energy and leadership to the Bluejays volleyball lineup. Erika Alvero \/ Special to The Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Kramer\u2019s midseason mark of 4 feet, 10 inches at Mancos\u2019 home invitational April 25 should be enough to earn another trip to the state meet in mid-May. There, the senior hopes to replicate her third-place finish from a year ago while helping the Bluejays chase a San Juan Basin title.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I came out for track my junior year, I wasn\u2019t half bad at the high jump, so I kept doing it \u2013 and then I learned that I was going to state,\u201d Kramer said. \u201cAnd since then, I\u2019ve just kept pushing myself to be better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Balancing three sports with different demands, she has enjoyed shifting her focus throughout the school year, noting that each season becomes her favorite once it arrives.<\/p>\n

\u201cI play all three sports at 100%. I love the atmosphere of my team sports but also enjoy the individual aspect of track and field,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

In May, Kramer will receive her final varsity letter alongside her diploma, closing out a career filled with accomplishments and memories.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a great support system behind me \u2013 my teammates, my coaches,\u201d she said. \u201cThe whole journey\u2019s been really great.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bluejays star high jumper setting sights on grand finale to well-rounded athletic career<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":126669,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6313],"tags":[38,39,28,37,36,1829],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-126668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports-2","tag-dolores-high-school","tag-dove-creek-high-school","tag-headlines","tag-mancos-high-school","tag-montezuma-cortez-high-school","tag-tcr-trueanthem"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126668"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126668\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":128383,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126668\/revisions\/128383"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126668"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=126668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}