Editor’s note: The Durango Herald selected High School Players of the Year based on a vote between sports editor John Livingston and sports writers Joe Fries and Jonathan Mentzer. Increased consideration was given to seniors who played three sports and showed exemplary leadership in their communities.By Jon Mentzer
Herald Sports Writer
You can tell a lot by a person by how much they smile. It’s their radiance shining through, a personality ready to show itself.
When selecting The Durango Herald’s Female Prep Athlete of the Year, one name kept emerging ahead of the others. Ignacio’s Chrystianne Valdez made the selection relatively easy.
“This feels really special,” Valdez said. “When my dad got the call, the look in his eyes said everything. He was so proud. My grandma came over, and we told her and she started crying. So, it means a lot to me, but it means a lot to my family, too.”
Valdez was a three-sport athlete who captained a volleyball team that went 15-9 overall and 11-1 in the Class 1A/2A San Juan Basin League. She was also a captain on the basketball team that went 17-5 and 11-1 in league. To top her season, Valdez also placed sixth in the Colorado High School Activities Association Class 2A State Track and Field Championships in pole vault after she jumped a personal record 8 feet, 2 inches.
She not only is athletically gifted, but she also defines the term “student-athlete.” Her 4.35 grade-point average propelled her to take classes at Fort Lewis College on top of her studies at Ignacio High School. She’ll walk on the Skyhawks’ volleyball team next fall, and, going into her freshman year, she has already tallied 27 credits. She plans to study psychology with a minor in French.
On the volleyball court, FLC head coach Kelly Rifilato will receive a defensive specialist who was named to the CHSAA/MaxPreps All-State Second Team after being selected to the All-San Juan Basin League’s First Team.
“Chrystianne is a local multi-sport athlete that will come in and bring excellent foot speed to the defensive specialist position,” Rifilato said in a news release.
Her 262 digs and 568 service receptions were best on the team in 2015, and, over her four years at Ignacio, Valdez has 620 digs, 1,462 service receptions and 84 service aces.
“They’re getting someone with lightning speed, and her fundamentals are amazing,” said IHS volleyball coach Thad Cano. “She’s well ahead of the game. Skill-wise, she’ll be a tremendous defensive asset for Fort Lewis.”
Cano added Valdez is an overachiever in the classroom and in the community.
“Everybody would want her as a student-athlete,” Cano said. “She’s an amazing person that is going to go extremely far in life. I see her being a leader in whatever she chooses to do.”
Growing up as a coach’s daughter comes with pressure to perform, but the daughter of Chris and Cindy Valdez learned to become a disciplined and coachable athlete. Chris is the head coach of the Ignacio boys basketball team. When Chrystianne was just an infant, at times Chris would carry her in his arms while leading practices.
She grew up destined to not only be an athlete at IHS but also at FLC. Her parents met in Ignacio and shared a passion for sports. Both Chris and Cindy moved on to Fort Lewis, where Chris excelled as a cross country runner.
Chris ingrained a competitive nature in his daughter, but it was Cano who helped her find her way on the volleyball court.
Cano demanded early morning practices, weight room sessions and visits to the athletic trainers, and his view of volleyball inspired change in Valdez.
“I’d really like to thank coach Cano,” she said. “He did a lot for me. He saw something in me. It means a lot when someone sees something in you that you don’t even see yourself. I never thought that I’d play volleyball in college. He always pushed me. I thank Thad.”
With Cano’s high demands in volleyball, Valdez was asked is she’s ever had a coach like Cano before.
“Yes,” she said with a smile. “I have my dad.”
jmentzer@durangoherald.com
