DOLORES – It’s seldom a direct path for a track athlete to find their way to the hurdles.
For Dolores High School senior Coralea Wright, her journey required plenty of resiliency to the many different changes thrown her way. That, and plenty of flexibility – literally.
A gymnast in the early years of her life, Wright became accustomed to adjusting to the constant motion, stretching her body to its limits, and using lightning-quick reflexes to accommodate for changing circumstances. All those skills have paid off in her adopted passion, taking on the 10 barriers in the 100-meter hurdles, where Wright now sits at the top of the charts in Dolores track and field history in the event.
Not too shabby for someone who hadn’t even tried the event prior to this season.
“I had never run the event before, and in the third meet of the season, I was just like ‘I’ll give it a shot,’ and I ended up being good at it,” Wright said.
Since taking on the event, the Bears standout has done nothing but impress, dominating her way to a San Juan Basin League double victory in the 100 and 300 hurdles, and qualifying for the 2A state championships in the shorter distance.
“I think my gymnastics helps me at different levels – being flexible, explosive and knowing routines,” said Wright. Those skills manifest themselves as she has refined her three-step cadence between each hurdle – something she takes from her favorite gymnastics discipline, the uneven bars. “Both in the bars and in hurdles, I need to be able to rely on training – if you mess up one part then you mess up the whole thing,” she said.
She favors the 100 over the 300, but it was in the latter event in which she got her feet wet during her junior year that bred the idea of tackling the 100 hurdles in the first place. “There’s a sense of accomplishment after finishing a really good race – that feeling of ‘I just did that,’” said Wright.
All these records might not have happened, were it not for a couple of major life-altering events for Wright. A significant hip injury several years ago tabled her gymnastics ambitions, forcing her to reevaluate her athletic future. Then, she and her family moved to Montezuma County from California after her sophomore year of high school, so she faced the added curve ball of finding her niche in a new community.
“My coaches and teammates have been really good support systems,” said Wright. “And I’ve liked being in a small town – I’ve gotten to know everyone, and they’ve made me feel included and part of the community.”
As for her injury – it served as inspiration for her future ambitions – Wright looks to attend Arizona State University this upcoming fall with plans to pursue a degree in nursing and kinesiology, hoping to help others get back to living their lives much like her medical team helped her recover from her hip injury.
“When I broke my hip and I couldn’t walk, there was a fear that I’d lose mobility in my leg because it had stopped healing, but I got so much reassurance from my physical therapist – and seeing how much he helped me, it made me really passionate about helping others,” said Wright.
After shocking herself with an amazing time drop at the Bob Archibeque Invitational in Cortez – over a second improvement on her previous best and the first of her school-record-setting performances – Wright has continued to blister the event. She reset her own record at the SJBL meet, and then again at the Montrose Invitational, and now her mark of 17.05 seconds places her squarely in contention for a podium finish at Jefferson County Stadium this weekend.
It won’t be Wright’s first appearance on the state stage – she ran as part of the DHS barrier-breaking cross-country team in 2023 that became the first team in school history to qualify for the state cross-country championships.
“I just remember taking it all in,” said Wright. “All the nerves, all the adrenaline – then giving it my all. And that’s what I’m wanting to do with this track meet.”
It took a lot of adjustment, but her place in the community will stick with Wright wherever her next steps take her.
“Dolores has given me a lot of opportunities, and I’ve been so happy to do this my senior year – to end strong,” said Wright, as graduation looms on Friday, May 23.
Wright will compete in the 100 hurdles preliminary heats on Thursday, May 15 at 3:40 p.m., and if she finishes with one of the top nine times in the 18-athlete field, she will advance to the finals on Saturday morning at 9:50 a.m. She’ll join two other DHS individuals and four Bears relays in Lakewood over the course of the three-day meet.
