Taiah Wilson made an impact the first day she stepped onto the diamond for the Montezuma-Cortez Panthers softball team. Now, she'll look to do the same with her new squad, the Colorado Northwestern Community College Spartans in Rangely, Colorado.

Wilson wrapped up her decorated high school academic and athletic career with graduation in May, having enjoyed one of the best four year spans of softball in school history. The dual threat, dominant in the circle and at the plate, made the commitment to join CNCC to begin her pursuit of a postsecondary degree while bolstering the Spartans softball program.

The senior showed her versatility in the field, playing third base when she wasn't in the circle and helped the Panthers to 19 wins her senior season, including a trip to the quarterfinals of the 3A state tournament.

Hitting in the middle of the order, Wilson proved to be one of the most prolific bats in the classification. She hit at a team-leading .460 clip, while pacing the Panthers in hits and RBIs.

In the circle, she was just as fearsome, collecting a 6-1 record while striking out an average of a batter per inning.

For her efforts, Wilson earned a second team all-state selection, an honor befitting a stellar career under head coach Anthony “Hippo” Frost. M-CHS' best four-year stretch of softball in program history – four straight winning seasons and three state appearances – had a lot to do with Wilson's steady presence in the lineup.

She will join a CNCC program that plays in the Scenic West Athletic Conference of the National Junior College Athletic Association. The Spartans play in Region 18 in the NJCAA and regularly face junior college opposition from Utah, Idaho and Nevada.

Wilson enjoyed a well-rounded athletic career, which included leadership roles on both the basketball and track and field programs. Now, as she bids farewell to the orange and black to take on the red and white of CNCC, her legacy continues at the collegiate level.