{"id":93801,"date":"2019-05-26T17:13:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-26T23:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/how-cortez-freshman-avery-wright-struck-gold-in-colorado-track\/"},"modified":"2019-05-26T17:13:00","modified_gmt":"2019-05-26T23:13:00","slug":"how-cortez-freshman-avery-wright-struck-gold-in-colorado-track","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/how-cortez-freshman-avery-wright-struck-gold-in-colorado-track\/","title":{"rendered":"How Cortez freshman Avery Wright struck gold in Colorado track"},"content":{"rendered":"\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 last week.<\/span>Courtesy photo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Heading into last weekend\u2019s Colorado State High School Track and Field Championships, some hardcore track fans and a few dozen coaches and athletes on Colorado\u2019s Western Slope had heard of Montezuma-Cortez High School freshman Avery Wright.<\/p>\n

Maintaining total anonymity can be difficult for ninth graders who stand 5-foot, 10-inches tall and are capable of running 100 meters in less than 12.5 seconds, even in a town the size of Cortez, where cows outnumber condos and citizens still know their mail carrier\u2019s first name.<\/p>\n

Still, before last weekend, Wright\u2019s name had never lit up a big-city scoreboard, and her picture had not appeared on www.co.milesplit.com<\/a>, the most well-known prep track website offering coverage within the Centennial State\u2019s boarders.<\/p>\n

Wright had never competed in Colorado\u2019s premier prep track event, and before last weekend was relatively unknown. Then, the talented freshman stepped onto the track at Jeffco Stadium in Lakewood, and from that moment forward, everything changed.<\/p>\n

Blistering state title performances<\/div>\n

Upon stepping onto the track at Jeffco Stadium to warm up before the preliminary heats of the 100-meter dash on May 16, Wright noticed the packed stands around her and felt a buzz in the air.<\/p>\n

As she laced up her cleats and ran through familiar stretches, the freshman knew her next few days would be anything but ordinary, and after taking several dozen warmup strides, Wright stepped back and took everything in.<\/p>\n

\u201c(I was thinking), I\u2019m finally here,\u201d Wright said. \u201cI remember standing on the track and looking to my left and my right and seeing all of the crowd and thinking that I\u2019m going to run in front of all these people.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the time Wright stepped behind the blocks for the preliminaries of the 100-meter dash, butterflies had amassed in her stomach, and nerves were beginning to take hold. For a few moments, Wright felt like a deer in the headlights on her state\u2019s biggest prep track stage.<\/p>\n

As pressure continued to amplify, Wright was approached by her older sister, Aryelle Wright, a track star in her own right who shattered school records and captured top honors in the 400-meter dash at the state meet in 2018. A maternal figure on the M-CHS team and a role model to Avery since birth, Aryelle offered words of encouragement and then produced a phone that delivered an inspirational message.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore I got into the blocks, my sister was by me and she showed me this video of this great Olympic runner that said how you can have fear and a lot of emotions, but at the end of the day, you\u2019re there to compete,\u201d Avery Wright said. \u201cI just thought about that video and thought about my sister and everyone that was supporting me and I thought, \u2018Just go out with a bang.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

After collecting her thoughts and summoning her strength, Wright did just that, as she flew over the track to produce a time of 12.48 seconds, which stood as the top time of the preliminary round.<\/p>\n

Later in the afternoon on May 16, Wright returned to the track for the preliminary heats of the 200-meter dash and raced to a time of 25.27 seconds, which represented the best preliminary round time in the event.<\/p>\n

A day of rest and relays, which included a state-record performance in the girls 4-x-200-meter relay, followed Wright\u2019s opening performance, and on May 18, the freshman returned to the track for her individual event finals.<\/p>\n

Opening the day with the 100-meter dash, Wright exited the blocks well and led from start to finish while posting a personal best time of 12.36 seconds and earning the first individual state championship of her high school career.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt like a really good start and it felt like I was out from the beginning,\u201d Wright said of her performance in the 100-meter dash. \u201cRight after my race, when I crossed the finish line, there was a giant scoreboard that had the places and the time. I remember looking up there and realizing (that I won), and I smiled and I was so happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oozing with confidence after her championship performance, Wright returned to the track for the 200-meter dash, ran a time of 25.23 seconds and bested a talented field that included her sister and senior teammate Morgan Short to again win gold.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had my sister and Morgan Short in that race,\u201d Wright said. \u201cThat race was different because I had those two girls by my side. Knowing that they were there helping me and supporting me made it even more special.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Montezuma-Cortez
Montezuma-Cortez High School freshman Avery Wright crosses the finish line in first place at the Colorado State High School Track and Field Championships in Lakewood last week.<\/span>Courtesy photo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The road to goldWhile Wright\u2019s titles in the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash served as a defining moment in her life and in her track career, the seeds for gold were neither planted overnight nor sewn without sacrifice.<\/p>\n

The product of a track family that included her mother, Amber Cunningham, who was a state champion and a school record-holder in the 400-meter dash, her sister, Olivia Wright, who was a state qualifier, and her sister, Aryelle, who won the 400-meter dash at last year\u2019s state track meet, Avery Wright was never a stranger to her sport.<\/p>\n

Shortly after she learned to walk, Wright was already running, and by the time she hit elementary school, she had already won numerous races with her peers and attended high school state meets as a fan.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrack is a big thing in my family. We are competitive, but blood always comes first,\u201d Wright said. \u201cI\u2019ve been going to state since I was in second grade to watch my older sister run. We\u2019ve learned to love and support one another and to be competitors at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the time Wright arrived in middle school in 2015, her talent was obvious, and by the time she arrived at M-CHS for the 2018-19 school year, coaches realized they had a pupil with rare talent.<\/p>\n

Among those aware of Wright\u2019s ability was M-CHS track coach Bob Archibeque, who coached Wright\u2019s mother and has overseen several other state champions during his 43-year coaching career.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew watching Avery in middle school that she would be an awesome kid in any program, especially ours,\u201d Archibeque said. \u201cWe knew that when she came from Dolores, we had hit gold. She was going to bring a tradition and possibly even a dynasty to our program.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Archibeque eagerly awaited his new star\u2019s arrival at the track, Wright adjusted to a high school life that included several challenging classes, increased homework, and new and unfamiliar social structures.<\/p>\n

Acclimation did not prove to be especially difficult for Wright, however, as she bonded with supportive teammates, excelled in the classroom and starred as an outside hitter for her school\u2019s volleyball team.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Coming to high school) was definitely something new,\u201d Wright said. \u201cEighth grade year, you\u2019re the top dog, and coming into high school, you\u2019re a freshman. Luckily, I had my sister, and since I\u2019m an athlete, I had so many other teammates that welcomed me in.\u201d<\/p>\n

After lifting weights throughout the fall and winter and competing in a few indoor track meets between Thanksgiving and the start of the outdoor track season, Wright arrived at Panther Stadium for her first outdoor track practice, which took place on her birthday.<\/p>\n

In a moment that Wright later described as surreal, teammates welcomed her by singing \u201cHappy Birthday\u201d and Archibeque subsequently delivered an inspiring speech that described his expectations and the team\u2019s goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt all felt very welcoming. I remember Coach Archibeque giving this great talk about being a high school athlete,\u201d Wright said. \u201cIt was amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI tell our athletes to always work hard,\u201d said Archibeque when asked about the speech. \u201cI think that\u2019s the key ingredient in all athletics. If you\u2019re working hard, the rewards will come.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the opening weeks and months of the outdoor track season came and went, Archibeque\u2019s words continually struck a chord with Wright, as she and her teammates shared laughs and pushed one another to improve.<\/p>\n

As meet titles piled up for the freshman, her confidence grew, yet her commitment to good sportsmanship and hard work never wavered. Time and time again, she offered support to teammates while offering kind words to vanquished opponents.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like (the regular season) was almost kind of a dream,\u201d Wright said. \u201cSeeing my name at the top of the results for part of the season, it was like, \u2018I\u2019m actually here, and I\u2019m showing people what I can do.\u2019 I had amazing coaches that supported me through the whole thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that Avery was winning a lot was real important, but the thing that I liked the most was that she stayed humble as well,\u201d Archibeque said. \u201cIt is special when an athlete is talented and they bring that humility with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the regular season wound down and the state meet drew nearer, Wright focused on maintaining her healthy diet and getting adequate sleep while reducing the overall distance of her workouts and focusing on speed.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom was an athlete, and it\u2019s all healthy food at home, so I don\u2019t really have to worry about diet,\u201d Wright said. \u201cI made sure to take a lot of time for myself to mentally prepare for the state competition.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of (Wright\u2019s) success had to do with how she took care of herself off the field,\u201d Archibeque said. \u201cWe\u2019re real fortunate that she comes from a background where Mom and Dad and Grandpa know a little bit about that and they\u2019re going to emphasize that to their kid. Success does not come without sacrifice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"From
From left, Elena Short, Aryelle Wright, Morgan Short and Avery Wright explode from the blocks during a practice at Panther Stadium on May 8.<\/span>Ian MacLaren\/For the Journal<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

A bright futureNow roughly a week removed from her state triumphs, Wright is still in the process of letting it all sink in. Seven days ago, she was a relative unknown, but now she is a household name among coaches, athletes and even casual track fans.<\/p>\n

Looking at pictures of herself that were recently posted on www.co.milesplit.com and thinking of the fact that her name has now appeared in The Denver Post and several other statewide articles, Wright cannot help but smile.<\/p>\n

Ever humble and not necessarily eager to laud her own accomplishments, however, Wright kept things close to the cuff when asked about what her future holds.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this point, I\u2019m just letting God handle that,\u201d she said. \u201cI didn\u2019t know what to expect coming out for the outdoor track season, and I\u2019m walking away with two good metals, which is amazing. I\u2019ll see what my future holds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regardless of what the coming weeks and months bring, however, one thing can be sure. Avery Wright, the most decorated freshman athlete in M-CHS school history, has already forged a legacy that will never be forgotten.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Talented runner wins 100-meter, 200-meter dashes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":93802,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5770],"tags":[36,346,594],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-93801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-high-school-sports","tag-montezuma-cortez-high-school","tag-sports","tag-track-and-field"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93801","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=93801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93801\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93801"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=93801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}