Durango High School has plenty of alumni playing college sports, and five more Demons will join that club after a spring signing ceremony on Wednesday.
Dylan Burns, Ernesto Galvan, Claire Goodwin, Aileen McManus and Jorja Thompson were celebrated at the Impact Center at Durango High School as they announced the next chapter in their lives in front of friends, family, teammates and coaches.
Burns is committed to play football at Division II Western Colorado; Galvan will play football at Division II Colorado Mesa; Goodwin is heading to Scottsdale Community College to play basketball; McManus will be on the Fort Lewis College track and field team; Thompson will compete in cheerleading at Northern Arizona University.
In October of 2024, the NCAA eliminated the National Letter of Intent, and athletes now sign written offers of athletic aid. This changed traditional signing day procedures. Division I’s early signing period started on Dec. 3 and ended on Dec. 5. All other Division I and Division II sports besides football and basketball’s signing dates started on Nov. 12.
Even though the initial signing date for most sports had passed, Durango High School still wanted to honor its athletes with a ceremonial signing event.
Durango School District Athletic Director Ryan Knorr and Durango High School principal Jonathan Hoerl spoke at the event about the student-athletes’ journeys and offered them advice. Each student-athlete had a coach speak about them, reminiscing about favorite memories with the student-athlete and what makes them special.
Burns is known for his powerful leg as a kicker and punter, and had serious Division I prospects before committing to Western Colorado. He was first-team all-state as a senior, finishing with five field goals made. Durango’s offense was proficient enough for him to finish eighth in 4A with 46 PATs, and he finished sixth in 4A with 61 points. Burns made at least two extra points in 11 of 12 games this season, and he made a field goal in five games this season.
“It's so much of a relief,” Burns said. “I obviously waited a little longer. It's just so much weight off my shoulders, and it's just fun to have my mind set on one spot and have my place.”
Burns decided on Western Colorado about three weeks ago while on the phone with the coaching staff. He’ll be competing against two college kickers for the starting job, but he’s at Western because he believes he can win the job. The coaching staff has told him his consistency will be the key for him as a college kicker.
Durango made the playoffs every year Burns was on varsity, and those playoff experiences are some of Burns’ fondest memories. His 51-yard field goal against Piedra Vista in 2024 was another highlight for him.
The former dual-sport star with soccer and football will be majoring in finance at Western Colorado.
Galvan was a key member of Durango’s offensive line, protecting quarterback Grady Feeney long enough for Feeney to use his legs or throw to his talented receivers. Galvan also opened up holes for Durango’s running backs.
After speaking with the Colorado Mesa coaches late in his senior high school football season, Galvan felt like the Mavericks would be his home away from home. He knows he’s an underdog as a college lineman with his size, but Galvan is embracing his underdog role and vows that nothing will stop him.
Galvan played tackle for the Demons, but the Colorado Mesa coaching staff plans to move him to center, a position he doesn’t have a ton of experience at. Galvan has to put on some weight to have a chance at competing in his freshman year.
“It's going to be a dog fight,” Galvan said. “They have a lot of offensive linemen ready to show up and do their work, so I don't have anything guaranteed as a starting spot or high on the depth chart … I’m going to have to show up and show my skills.”
Some of Galvan’s favorite memories competing for the Demons were in the preseason team camp in June. He had his birthday during camp. Galvan enjoyed being with his brothers and competing.
After college, Galvan hopes to work for the Air Force as a combat medic, using his nursing degree and paramedic background.
Goodwin visited Palm Beach State in Florida and South Mountain Community College in Phoenix. However, when she went to Scottsdale Community College late in 2025, all the indecisiveness she had on the other visits went away. She knew that’s where she wanted to be, and Goodwin committed on New Year’s.
“It's a huge blessing, and I'm just so thankful for everyone that's been part of this journey,” Goodwin said. “I'm so excited to start this new journey, too, with my new coaches. They're just so amazing, and I'm just so blessed to have them by my side.”
Goodwin went from being primarily a scorer in her junior year for Durango girls basketball to the primary creator her senior year. Goodwin has a great shooting stroke from 3-point range, can get to the basket and has active hands on defense.
After starting her career at Mancos, Goodwin averaged 12.9 points per game in her two years with the Demons. Durango went to the Elite 8 of the 5A state playoffs her junior year and lost in the second round her senior year. Goodwin is proud of how she made the culture her own during her senior year.
Goodwin had a lot of responsibilities during her senior year. But at Scottsdale, she’s expected to be the team’s shooter. Goodwin is excited to go into nursing at Scottsdale before hopefully continuing her basketball career once those two years are up.
“My coaches, they want every single one of their girls to move on to the next level, and they’ve made it that way,” Goodwin said.
McManus has been one of Durango track and field’s top competitors and has state aspirations as a senior. She is a winning long jumper and triple jumper for the Demons, who expects to compete in those events for the Skyhawks. She’s also a very good hurdler for Durango.
After considering other Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference schools like Colorado Mesa, Western Colorado and MSU Denver, McManus realized she didn’t want to move to a new city. She loves the mountains, and she’s comfortable in Durango.
“Being able to compete in sports with my teammates and friends was a super fun experience,” McManus said. “To get to go to all the meets, I really love track, especially.”
McManus will major in elementary education with the hopes of being an elementary school teacher.
Thompson cheered all throughout high school, with experience in cheer competitions around the country and abroad. She’s been cheering since seventh grade, and she’s known she’s wanted to cheer in college since the beginning of high school.
Her favorite memories of cheering at Durango involve cheering with her older sister, Jocilen, who’s now cheering at Colorado Mesa and inspired Thompson to cheer.
She chose NAU because of her love of Flagstaff, Arizona, which reminds her of Durango. She also felt comfortable with the team during tryouts. As part of the NAU cheer team, Thompson will cheer at the football and basketball games, and she will go cheer at national tournaments in Florida and California.
Thompson hopes to fly search and rescue for the Air Force after NAU.
“I’m feeling super excited,” Thompson said. “I’m a little nervous, for sure. How could you not be nervous? I’m super excited to be a part of the NAU cheer team.”
bkelly@durangoherald.com
