{"id":43047,"date":"2021-12-22T02:13:02","date_gmt":"2021-12-22T09:13:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/montezuma-cortezs-avery-wright-opts-for-school-of-mines\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:11:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:11:23","slug":"montezuma-cortezs-avery-wright-opts-for-school-of-mines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/montezuma-cortezs-avery-wright-opts-for-school-of-mines\/","title":{"rendered":"Montezuma-Cortez\u2019s Avery Wright opts for School of Mines"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Montezuma-Cortez
Montezuma-Cortez High School senior Avery Wright signs her letter of Intent to continue her athletic and academic career at Colorado School of Mines. She is joined by her parents and coaches on her signing day. (Courtesy photo)<\/span>Courtesy photo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

There\u2019s scarcely a spot in the Montezuma-Cortez volleyball and track and field records that doesn\u2019t have Avery Wright\u2019s mark on it.<\/p>\n

The Montezuma-Cortez senior, who will cap a sensational high school athletics career with the track and field program this spring, has decided to continue her academic and athletic pursuits in Golden next year, as part of the Colorado School of Mines track and field program.<\/p>\n

A standout in the classroom and in her athletic endeavors, Wright credits much of the success in her journey to her teachers and coaches throughout her four years at M-CHS.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always had that sense of support,\u201d said Wright, \u201cwhether it be from my family, my coaches, my teachers, my teammates. I\u2019ve felt that the whole community has helped me get here.\u201d<\/p>\n

She intends to pursue a degree in computer science or engineering, but her journey wasn\u2019t always destined to go down that path.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never thought I was STEM-oriented \u2013 I really enjoyed English and history, and so I didn\u2019t think I\u2019d find myself loving math and science,\u201d Wright said. \u201cBut my junior year, I really learned how much passion I had for those subjects.\u201d<\/p>\n

Colorado School of Mines fit the bill. The Orediggers have established one of the premier athletic programs in Division II athletics, with their cross-country and track and field teams producing nationally elite competitors.<\/p>\n

Wright would know \u2013 her sister Aryelle also runs for Mines, and earned all-American status in the 800 meters.<\/p>\n

\u201cI appreciate how much respect that the coaches have for the student-athletes,\u201d added Wright, referencing the academically rigorous Mines. \u201cI loved the feeling that I got from the school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since setting foot on the M-CHS campus, Wright has raised the bar.<\/p>\n

\"Montezuma-Cortez
Montezuma-Cortez High School freshman Avery Wright celebrates her winning performance at the Colorado State High School Track and Field Championships in Lakewood in 2019.<\/span>Courtesy photo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

As a freshman, Wright dominated the track and field scene in Colorado, winning both the 100 and 200 meters dashes, and leading the 4\u00d7100 meter relay team to a runner-up finish in the 3A state championships.<\/p>\n

During the same meet, Wright teamed up with her sister on the Panthers\u2019 4\u00d7200 relay team that set a new 3A state record of 1:42.61 in their preliminary heat of the championships.<\/p>\n

Wright added a trio of individual all-state performances in 2021 as well, headlined by a second-place finish in the 100 meters.<\/p>\n

Her dominance in the local circuit made Wright into a household name in Western Slope track and field circles, much like she had become on the volleyball court.<\/p>\n

Wright landed the honor of being named player of the year in the 3A Intermountain League for her clinical precision in attack for the Panthers volleyball team, adding to an all-state recognition.<\/p>\n

\"Montezuma-Cortez\u2019s
Montezuma-Cortez\u2019s Avery Wright elevates to spike over Centauri\u2019s Camryn Jarvies (13) and Brynli Sowards (2) in 2019.<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

She played a pivotal role in producing four consecutive winning seasons during her tenure for the Panthers, including the program\u2019s masterful run to the state semifinals during the 2021 spring season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew I\u2019d want to keep competing in track and field,\u201d Wright said about her difficult decision to turn her focus on to one sport, \u201cI\u2019ve got a passion for both sports, but I knew that from a competitiveness standpoint, track and field would be a better option.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond the wins and losses, Wright\u2019s greatest enjoyment has come from the connections she has made with her teammates over their years shared together on the court and track.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I\u2019ll always remember the Senior Nights and how meaningful they were to me,\u201d said Wright, \u201cto have the entire community\u2019s support during my four years at M-CHS, it\u2019s something that I truly appreciate.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

standout in classroom, is a record holder in track and field<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43048,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,36,29,594],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-43047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-montezuma-cortez-high-school","tag-newsletter","tag-track-and-field"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43047","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=43047"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43047\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85552,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43047\/revisions\/85552"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43047"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=43047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}