Chris Riggs has made it a point to come back home.
The Colorado native and current assistant coach for the Grand Canyon University track and field team likes to return to the state that saw him become a nine-time All-Mountain West honoree at Colorado State. He says he can identify with the challenge for Colorado track athletes to get noticed, and so he came to Loveland to scout an Indian he thought might fit with his program in Phoenix.
What he found was someone else entirely.
Senior Ashley Krawczuk has been a standout for the Loveland track team and even holds the school record for long jump, which she set during state last season. She excels in hurdles and the high jump, yet never really thought of herself as a Division I athlete.
And maybe if not for a bit of luck, Krawczuk wouldn’t have been.
Riggs traveled back to Colorado in hopes of landing her friend and teammate Taylor Buschy, who would later commit to Montana State, and that’s when he found Krawczuk.
“She just seemed like more of an overall (athlete), good at a lot of things,” he said. “For us I think she’ll be a good heptathlete. I talked to her from the start that that’s kind of what I was thinking. I liked her long jump, her high jump and hurdles were spectacular.”
Krawczuk and her mom Melissa happened to talk to the Grand Canyon booth during a college fair at the school and the fit was perfect.
“It sounded so great and the school sounded so perfect, so I took a visit,” Krawczuk said. “The campus was beautiful, it’s amazing and the weather is perfect for me. For me (the recruiting process) was really confusing because I didn’t really know. I didn’t know how it all worked out . . . but it was still really exciting; it was awesome.
“I feel so honored. I didn’t expect for D-I schools to want me or anyone. I just felt so happy and felt so special. So awesome.”
So now, before her senior season has even begun, Krawczuk as her future mapped out after signing her National Letter of Intent to Grand Canyon on Thursday.
Riggs sees her as a stellar candidate for the heptathlon, which is a mixture of seven different track and field events. For women, they compete in the 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200 meters, long jump, javelin throw and finally the 800. He also said he saw her being able to contribute right away, be it the heptathlon or individual events, but her versatility is where her true value lies.
“It involves a lot of work and knowing she has that work ethic and would want to do it just kind of fit that mold of what we look for in a heptathlete,” Riggs said. “For us, it’s really attractive to get someone who can compete in multiple events and score more points at the conference level. That’s probably the most attractive thing about her.”
But the future is just that. She still has a full senior season left in the meantime and wants to enjoy every bit of that before thinking about college.
“I’m not really sure what I’m looking forward to. It’s just going to be quite the experience,” Krawczuk said. “All the other sports I’ve done I quit them to focus more on track, so I haven’t had a senior season for anything yet. I’m not really sure how it will go, but I think it will be pretty sad and really exciting all at the same time.”
Cris Tiller can be reached at 669-5050 ext. 511, tillerc@reporter-herald.com or on Twitter @cristiller and @RHpreps.
