Durango School District 9-R named Ryan Knorr its new district athletic director on Monday.
Knorr is taking over for Adam Bright, who will be serving as an assistant commissioner with the Colorado High School Activities Association less than three years after he took the 9-R job.
Knorr spent the last three years with the Cherry Creek School District as an athletic director at Overland Park High School in Aurora and took over as AD in July 2016. He also served as the dean of students and taught social studies at OPHS since 2010.
“The four areas I will address are the opportunities to support true feeder school and sport programs, enhance business partnerships, and building more meaningful relationships with the community,” Knorr said in a statement.
Knorr will be the fourth athletic director since the 2012-13 school year. Roxanne Perrin spent one year in the position during the 2013-14 school year. She was replaced by Dave Preszler for two years before he retired. Bright was hired before the 2016-17 school year.
Durango High School principal Jon Hoerl added that Knorr brings a vision for the future of DHS athletics and believes that he can keep the athletic program heading in the right direction.
“We appreciate all the great momentum that Adam has built into our programs over the past few years, bringing in critical sponsorships, new athletic options for students and creating athletic events for the entire community to enjoy,” said Hoerl.
“We are excited for Ryan to join our team. He brings with him a solid vision for where he would like to take our secondary athletic and activity programming to ensure all students can participate.”
DHS qualified for the state tournament in 16 sports during the 2018-19 school year and Knorr said he is ready to continue sustained success.
“Working within the Durango community is a dream job considering the opportunity to build programs and buy-in from such a young age,” Knorr said.
“I hope to create a culture where middle school students cannot wait to step foot into the high school and participate and excel as Durango Demons.”
bploen@durangoherald.com
