Colorado High School Activities Association transfer rules effectively erased her junior season. The cancellation of the 2020 season because of the new coronavirus pandemic outright stole her much-anticipated senior spring.
But through it all, Durango’s Aliyana White never lost hope of seeing her initial diamond-in-the-rough promise fulfilled via college recruitment. In a fashion befitting the unusual circumstances both she and successful track-and-field suitor Adams State University have seen past, White made her college plans official on May 1. She will throw for the Grizzlies next season.
“Because of the coronavirus, the coach wasn’t able to come down to Durango so I could physically sign the (National Letter of Intent) paper,” White said Monday. “So, he sent me a copy online; I had to sign on my phone.
“I’m still happy I was able to sign, but it sucked it wasn’t with my friends, my mom, my brother, everyone all together with my school, my coaches. I’d been dreaming about that day, and I wish I had everybody there that’s supported me.”
The news of her collegiate signing still brought pride to the hallways of Durango High School, though White never officially got to compete for the Demons.
“Fantastic news for her and her mom,” Durango School District 9-R athletic director Ryan Knorr said. “She put in a lot of extra time in the offseason and had a great attitude in the time leading up to spring break. She was so excited for the season.”
Several states away in Washington where he is now once again a head track and field coach at Class 4A Sammamish, White’s former coach at Ignacio High School, John Gurule, also was thrilled to hear the news.
“She’s put herself in this position; it wasn’t by luck, but by work,” Gurule said. “I always encouraged her; she always had an open door to come try track and field and decided to do it her sophomore year. She’s been hooked ever since.
“But I think the biggest improvement she’s made was actually off the field, so to speak. She became more mature as far as her work ethic, in the weight room, technique training, everything else – did everything I asked her to. The first time I saw her throw, I nearly had to check the shot, make sure she was throwing the correct weight. I was just blown away, She was something special; I knew she had the ability.”
That same attention to coaching was felt by DHS throws coach Robin Oliger, who was eager to see the potential turn into results in 2020.
“She would listen to every word you said,” Oliger said, “and so our interaction was just instantly great. It was disappointing, I know, for her to not be able to compete her junior year, but I’ll tell you, outside of those moments where she might have been a little sad because she couldn’t go to meets when we were getting ready, you’d never have known she was going through that.”
Mentioning sports psychology as an academic interest upon her eventual NCAA Division II arrival in Alamosa, White’s mentality has already served her well through a relatively-late introduction and swift development as a throws specialist in the sport on top of a change of schools. She spent her first two years of high school at Ignacio before a transfer to DHS her junior year. Because of transfer rules, she had to sit out the entire 2019 season and had only her senior year to look forward to.
“I went to every practice, workout, morning practice,” White said of her junior year. “My senior season was supposed to be phenomenal; I was supposed to break records and everything, but due to the coronavirus, that wasn’t able to happen.
“And I want to compete at a higher level. In the future, I want to be an Olympian, I want to be on Team USA. I chose Adams State because they’re a school for track and field, ranked really high. The (throws) coach – his name’s Matt Gersick – sounds like a very promising coach that could help me go all the way, compete at even higher levels than I’ve expected to. He believes in me, and I know for a fact that under his direction I could definitely be any type of champ I want.”
Almost a CHSAA Class 2A state champion shot-putter for IHS back in 2018 with a third-place 37-feet, 1.5-inch maximum (her discus peak of 86-04 ranked 18th), White estimated her range with the heavy sphere has increased enough to where she would have threatened the 4A Demons’ long-lived record.
DHS track and field head coach Johnny Bertrand confirmed the standard remains a 40-09 heave achieved in 1980 by then-senior Jackie Meador.
“My personal record is 39 feet,” White said, “but I was currently hitting, like, 43 to 44 in practice. Easily.”
Oliger noted the discus best set in 1981 when junior Jenny Clark winged a 126-10.5 whopper, was also vulnerable.
“She was blowing up the discus,” Oliger said, mentioning she’d seen White throw much farther in practice this spring. “It was like, probably, a first-meet kind of thing where she would have broken it. She has such a love of it, and she has worked so hard. She was going to break those records. Everything was aligned for Ali.”
All good news to someone such as Gersick (also Adams State’s strength and conditioning director), a 2009 ASU grad and much-decorated thrower during his own Grizzly career, and to a known program like iconic coach Damon Martin’s, slated to have hosted the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Outdoor T&F Championships late last month.
“Shot put and discus is so much fun and super relaxing, but I’m super excited for college because I get to weight-throw and do the hammer throw,” White said. “Indoor (season) is weight throw; outdoor is hammer. So excited to get my hands on the weight; it’s basically a shot put strapped down in a harness and everything. Goes farther.”
Hoping to hone her skills as sharply as possible at Adams State, White was quick to credit both Gurule and Oliger for helping her realize her ability.
“Me and (Gurule) have a really strong bond. He’s who helped me find my passion and what I really love,” White said. “Turns out he probably knew me better than I knew myself at the time. My freshman year, I decided to do soccer, and then sophomore year I was like, ‘I’ll do track and field.’ And it turned out I was really good at it.
“Coach Oliger, she’s spent two years helping me perfect my throw, helping me get my dynamics, and she also helped me be pushed to enjoy loving what I do every day. I would consider her like my second mom.”
Oliger quickly noticed some tough to master skills innate in White early on. She had quick feet and good control of her body, something Oliger said is tough to master when spinning in the little throwing circle. Combined with her strength, it was a solid combination.
“In a ring that small, it’s kind of like when you shoot a free throw: You have to be able to shoot that with your eyes closed,” Oliger said. “The great free-throw shooters, their performance is the same every single time. And that’s what you strive for in shot and disc because one little thing changes the outcome.”
White had hoped a transfer to Durango would help her get to bigger meets in Albuquerque and Denver. She said it was the kind of vibe and team she knew she would bring out the best in her. While she got that experience in practice, it never resulted in competition.
“When Ali transferred, she worked her rear end off; never missed a practice,” Oliger said. “And there wasn’t anything she wouldn’t try. We went into the season not knowing she wouldn’t be eligible, then found out, but she continued to work. Right then and there, you could see that, ‘Wow, this is a special talent.’ “I can’t tell you how excited I am that, given all the circumstances, it came through for Ali.”
White is hopeful for a few summer showcase competitions, but those, too, could succumb to COVID-19 related cancellations.
“Just being able to release my strength feels super, super good,” said White, who did manage to see limited action as a club thrower in 2019 and 2020. “I love competing.”
DID YOU KNOW: Had White been cleared to compete for Durango in CHSAA-sanctioned meets last year, a replication of her 2018 state best in the shot would have been good enough for ninth place had she qualified for her first Class 4A state championships.
