CORTEZ – Over the past several years, the Montezuma-Cortez High School girls basketball program continuously transformed into a major force in the Intermountain League – thanks in large part to the steadying guidance of Class of ’26 guard Sariah Jackson.
After capping her high school career in March by guiding the team to its third straight playoff appearance, Jackson turned her focus on finding a place to continue showcasing her talent.
Just before walking across the stage to collect her diploma at Panther Stadium, Jackson secured herself a place on the collegiate level, signing with Waldorf University in Iowa to play basketball.
Part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, Waldorf plays in the Great Plains Athletic Conference against some of the top teams in the nation. Jackson hopes to bolster the Vikings backcourt in the coming years, having showcased her ability to contribute in virtually every way possible for M-CHS over her four years as a varsity player.
Jackson bounced back from injury during her junior year to once again serve as one of the team’s leaders in scoring, rebounds, and steals in her senior campaign, while demonstrating her ability to score off the dribble as well as from the perimeter. Even while missing the final two-thirds of her junior season, Jackson played in over 70 combined games for the orange-and-black, playing a prominent role in two of the program’s four double-digit win seasons over the span of the last two decades.
Based in Forest City, Iowa in the north-central part of the Hawkeye State, Waldorf is led by head coach Joel Stryker as the Vikings look to build on a two-win season from this past winter. Jackson will trade in her orange-and-black for purple as she enters a new chapter in her playing career, but will bring the same tenacity and energy that made her a dynamo for the Panthers over her four years in The Jungle.
