Editor’s note: The Durango Herald selected Prep Players of the Year based on a vote between sports editor John Livingston and sports writer Joe Fries. Increased consideration was given to seniors who played three sports and showed exemplary leadership in their communities.
Durango High School graduate Katrina Chandler is truly one of a kind.
In a day and age when young athletes are being pushed to specialize in one sport and work year-round to perfect their craft, Chandler accomplished what has become a rare feat. The Colorado Mesa University basketball recruit was a DHS three-sport varsity letter winner in all four years of her high school career. Chandler didn’t just play softball, basketball and golf – she was a leader and one of the best participants on each team. She scored over 1,000 career points in basketball and wrapped up her career with an induction into the DHS Hall of Fame.
For these reasons, Chandler has been named The Durango Herald Female Athlete of the Year. She edged out Bayfield High School volleyball and track and field star Madeleine Foutz for the honor.
“This community as a whole gave me the tools to compete and make the most of my talents,” Chandler said. “I was pushed to work hard. So many people came together to teach me and push me to get the most out of my talents. The whole town deserves the credit, I just like to go out and compete.”
Chandler began her senior year with a softball team that had its third coach in four seasons. It didn’t hold her back, though, as the senior led the Demons with a .457 batting average, 16 runs scored, 21 hits and 10 runs batted in. She also had a team-leading five triples.
“Softball was kind of weird because we never really had a true coach,” Chandler said. “It was neat though because I learned a little bit of something from each coach we had. It definitely had a great impact on me.”
By the end of a rough 3-14 DHS softball season, Chandler was champing at the bit to get on the hardwood to play basketball for the Demons. Before the season even started, the guard committed to play college basketball at Colorado Mesa University next year in Grand Junction.
“Signing early took some pressure off and really allowed me to just enjoy my senior season,” she said. “It was awesome to finish my career with the same group of girls I had been playing with for so many years. We had a heck of a run, too.”
Chandler was the 2016-2017 5A/4A Southwestern League Player of the Year. She also made the SWL’s All-League First Team for the third consecutive season. The senior captain led the team to a 17-8 overall record and a 6-2 record in league. The Demons earned the 16-seed in the state tournament and advanced to the Sweet 16 in the CHSAA 4A state tournament before falling to state-runner up Pueblo South.
Chandler led DHS with an average of 15.4 points per game. She also averaged 4.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.5 steals per game at the point guard position. She did it all while battling through injuries and double teams all season.
“Katrina has incredible work ethic and it never wavers,” Durango High School girls basketball head coach Tim Fitzpatrick said. “Whether it’s practice or a game, she works as hard as anyone I’ve coached. Her accomplishments are ever more impressive when you take into consideration some of the things she’s played through.”
The double teams couldn’t stop her and several nagging injuries didn’t do much to slow her down either.
“She had these unreal blisters on the bottom of her feet,” Fitzpatrick said. “Like, pretty much the worst blisters I’ve ever seen. She was good for a lost toenail or two every year. She also fought through torn cartilage in her ribs but she just wanted to get out there.”
Nothing would keep Chandler off the floor, the diamond or the course – and that’s what most of the coaches will remember about her.
“I definitely never even considered not playing,” Chandler said. “The worst pain was probably my ribs. I have to thank my chiropractor Dan McClure for putting me back together time after time. Kyle Montgomery was also a big help taping me up and getting me out there. Like I said, the whole community played a role in my success and I couldn’t have done any of this without the people of Durango.”
Broken ribs and torn cartilage couldn’t keep Chandler away from the links. Even after a grueling basketball season, the competitive fire burned strong and she was the golf team’s top player for most of the season.
“She came to us this year with cracked ribs,” DHS girls golf coach Kirk Rawles said. “She’s just a pure athlete. I felt privileged to have her around because of how unique her competitive nature is. She didn’t need to play golf this year, but she showed up and had her best season. She’s such a good athlete and such a tough competitor that I truly believe she could have been an All-State golfer if she put in as much time as she did with basketball.”
Though basketball is her main love and the dream of playing at the next level has come true, Chandler’s all-around competitive nature in a variety of arenas makes her a most deserving winner of this award.
“I really think that all the sports I played helped me in some way,” she said. “Softball helped with quickness and reaction time. Golf taught me to see things at a slower pace and try to think one step ahead instead of going 100 miles per hour all the time. If kids get involved in more than one sport it’ll give them more athletic tools than just one.”
Chandler left Friday for a summer of preparation at what she calls her “new home away from home” at Colorado Mesa. Though she might not be representing Durango High School any more, Chandler will have plenty of fans in the stands at Fort Lewis College’s Whalen Gymnasium when the Mavericks come to Durango.
“I can’t wait,” she said. “I can’t even imagine what that will feel like. I’m so excited just to get started.”
jfries@durangoherald.com
