Deryn Candelaria helped build the Durango High School girls lacrosse program in its first half decade of existence.
That experience will help her when she joins Tusculum College for its inaugural women’s lacrosse season.
Candelaria signed her national letter of intent to play for the Pioneers after she finished her senior season at DHS. She found Tusculum and its head coach Jenna Handshoe through the recruiting website NCSAsports.org.
“It helps coaches contact players, and players can contact coaches,” said Candelaria, daughter of Beth and Jim Candelaria.
The prospect of playing lacrosse drew Candelaria to the Greenville, Tennessee school along with the chance to major in art history. She took Advance Placement Art History at DHS and decided that’s what she wanted to pursue.
“I just loved it and thought it was super cool,” she said.
Candelaria chose Tusculum over offers from Brevard College in North Carolina and Huntington College in Alabama.
She plans to continue playing defense, with potentially some midfield mixed in.
With this upcoming season being Tusculum’s first, Candelaria is hoping to see the field a lot.
“I will definitely be playing,” she said. “I’m super honored about being a part of it.”
Former DHS head coach Jenni Darlow thinks Candelaria is exactly the kind of player a program wants on the field when it’s just starting out.
“She’s, I think, the most passionate player I’ve coached in six years,” Darlow said. “She loves the sport. She loves the team.
“She’ll create excitement and make others excited. That’s what it takes to grow the sport.”
kgrabowski@durangoherald.com
