DOVE CREEK – Colten Fury launched 20 feet into a waiting sand pit during the San Juan Basin League track and field championships, a feat that would not have been possible just over a year ago.
Fury broke his tibia and tore all the ligaments in his lower leg early in his junior year during the 2022 football season. He celebrated his team’s first-ever football state title in Pueblo on crutches. He was not allowed to put pressure on his left leg.
Fury wanted to make sure that his senior track and field season would be settled on his terms.
In the winter months of his junior campaign, Fury fully committed. While he had already seen plenty of success on the gridiron and on the track, his work ethic took him to another level.
Fury raced in all four relays for the Bulldogs at the 2023 1A state championships.
“It was a lot of intense rehab at first, it took a lot for me to just back to where I was originally, then to get even better from there,” he said.
From there, Fury transformed into a dual threat quarterback on the football field, throwing for 1,017 yards and rushing for 818 yards during the Bulldogs’ 2023 season. Dove Creek went 8-3, reaching the playoffs for the fourth straight year.
With full confidence in his explosive ability, Fury turned his focus to the long jump, where his previously-injured leg served as his propulsion.
“I credit that injury – it made me work 10 times harder in the weight room. I wasn’t able to jump at all during my junior year, so it’s made me appreciate it that much more this year,” he said.
Meanwhile, Fury also took on a leadership role with the relay team, taking the spot vacated by the Bulldogs’ relay squad that placed second in the 2023 1A track and field championships. Fury hopes the relay team returns to Lakewood, and he also looks to qualify in events like the 800-meter run and the long jump.
While running and playing football for Dove Creek under his father and head coach Jason Fury, Colten added a San Juan Basin League title in the 800 relay while guiding the Bulldogs to second place in the San Juan Basin League track and field championships.
A couple more qualifying meets remain on the schedule, as Fury eyes his fourth trip to Lakewood for the 1A state championships on May 16-18.
“I’ve worked my whole life for this,” he said. “I know that I’ve got to make it happen, and I know that I’ve got to do my part to help bring the younger guys along to help them develop a love for the sport, too.”
