Standing on the mound prior to the start of the Montezuma-Cortez High School baseball team’s season-opening win over Hotchkiss on March 6, starting pitcher Konnar McGee’s shadow appeared imposing.
So, too, was the 6-foot-4 senior’s fastball, which helped limit Hotchkiss to just two runs over the game’s first four innings and deliver the Panthers an 8-7 victory.
“We definitely would like to be very competitive in our league and win a lot more games than we have in the past,” said McGee. “We have a senior class that has been playing together since we were five years old, so there is some really good chemistry on this team.”
In addition to serving as one of M-CHS’s ace pitchers, McGee plays third base and ranks as one of the Panthers top hitters. As a junior last season, he led the team with a .373 batting average and finished second on the team with 15 RBIs.
“One of my personal goals is to make the all-conference team this year, but more than anything else, I just want to win games,” McGee said.
Along with his contributions on the baseball diamond, McGee has played key minutes for the M-CHS varsity basketball team over the last three seasons. One of the team’s top long-range shooters, McGee scored a career-high 22 points during M-CHS’s 80-65 loss to Grand Junction on Jan. 24.
“Basketball is more of a fun thing for me, whereas baseball is my passion,” said McGee. “I’ll always remember the Durango game this season. That was a good time.”
As for his future plans, McGee said that he would like to play college baseball, but remains undecided as to where. Even if college baseball does not work out, McGee, who owns a 3.8 GPA, said that he would attend college and pursue a degree in physical therapy.
“My mom is a teacher and education has been stressed my whole life,” McGee said. “Education is definitely important to me.”
Asked what he will remember most about his time at M-CHS, McGee thought for a moment before saying that he will never forget the friendships that he has made.
“I’ve been fortunate to be in a very high level class as far as athletics and academics go,” said the senior. This class has been really fun and I’ve made some amazing friends.”