The Durango High School girls track team is sending a duo of runners to compete in the college ranks, as seniors Teagan Garand and Abby Scott signed National Letters of Intent to run in college.
Garand signed with Division II Metro State University-Denver, while Scott turned down Division I programs for D-III Williams College.
The location of their respective schools played a major factor in the decision process for both Demons.
“I love Denver, especially downtown Denver, and I’ve always envisioned myself living there,” Garand said. “And the coach was really nice and willing to work with me and not make me run the 800 (meters), so that was great. I really liked the atmosphere and the campus.”
For Scott, the pull of the East Coast was always strong. She landed on Williams, a prestigious private school in Williamstown, Massachusetts, after a long process that narrowed more than a dozen schools down to Ivy League Brown University, Davidson University and Williams.
“I visited about 20 schools this summer on the East Coast. I knew I wanted to go to the East Coast, but I didn’t know where I wanted to go, so I looked at everything I might like,” Scott said. “Williams was one of the first schools I saw and my mom said, ‘This is great.’ And I said, ‘No. I’m never going here. I grew up in a small town, and this is even smaller. There’s no chance this is ever happening.’
“But I really liked the coach, so I took an unofficial recruiting visit because D-III doesn’t do official, so you have to pay for it versus the D-I schools that pay for it, and that is when I fell in love.”
Garand received a partial athletic scholarship from the Roadrunners and will run the 200-, 400- and 4x400-meter relay at Metro.
Williams doesn’t offer scholarships, but Scott was awarded a national scholarship from the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, along with some smaller scholarships, to help pay her way at Williams, where she’ll compete in cross-country and track, likely running a range from the 400 to the 5,000 meters.
Scott will major in political science with a minor in psychology and plans to attend law school for either immigration law or constitutional law after graduation, while Garand will enter the athletic training program at Metro State.
“I only have the next four years to compete in sports, and I want the rest of my life involved in sports in some way, so athletic training was my way into that,” Garand said.
The duo has brought a lot to the program at DHS, both for their athletic abilities and as leaders for the Demons, and both said the family-like aspect the Demons shared will be what they take with them to their respective schools.
“I think for me, and Teagan talked about it, everyone feeling like they’re a part of something bigger than themselves; that’s such an infectious feeling in running,” Scott said. “I think it makes you a better person and a better runner. I think that’s what I was looking for in a college because that’s what I loved about high school.”
kschneider@durangoherald.com
