CHEYENNE – Taliah Morris tried to eat before her first high school indoor track and field meet, but couldn’t.
As annoying as it was, it wasn’t unusual for the Cheyenne East freshman. Her nerves also got the best of her and kept her from eating before every track meet she competed in for Carey Junior High.
Morris’ nerves weren’t the only thing that carried over from her middle school days. So did her dominance.
She won the 55- and 200-meter dashes, triple jump and long jump at the Gillette meet to earn Prep Athlete of the Week honors from WyoSports’ Cheyenne staff.
“After my first jump in long jump, all my nerves went away, and I felt like my old self,” Morris said.
Morris rewrote the conference record book as a seventh grader. The times and distances she posted that season broke records that had stood since the 1980s. They also would have landed her on the medal stand at Class 4A meets. Morris was so dominant that season she decided to hang up her soccer cleats and focus on track.
“I really love soccer, and I was pretty good at it, but I’m better at track,” Morris said. “I am really passionate about track, and I think that’s going to take me farther.”
The indoor track season is only two weekends old, but Morris has the top triple jump mark (36 feet, 5½ inches) in Wyoming by 1 foot, 7 inches. Her times in the 55 (7.35 seconds) and 200 (27.5) are also the best in the state. She leads the 55 field by 0.35 seconds and the 200 by 0.91 seconds.
Morris’ long jump mark of 18-9½ ranks second behind Natrona County senior Breonna Beckley by a mere 1¾ inches.
“It was mind-blowing to see the amount of talent she has in full force,” East indoor coach Amanda Brinkman said.
Both Morris and Brinkman say Morris’ triple jump will be even better once Morris learns not to rush the second of three phases in the event.
“You want nice, even phases throughout the entire jump,” Brinkman said. “She has a great first phase that is about 15 feet, and a great third phase that is about 15 feet. But her second phase is only about two feet.
“Once she cleans up that second phase, she will be able to jump four or five feet farther. She is a quick learner, and really wants to master it. She is very coachable because she really wants to be a great triple jumper.”
Morris would like to break the 20-foot mark in long jump this season, and the 40-foot barrier in triple jump. She also wants to knock time off both of her sprints.
“I’m really focused on meeting my goals and trying to be the best teammate I can be,” she said.
Others recognized for their efforts include:
– Maurie Alexander and Marcus Manzanares, boys basketball, Cheyenne South: Alexander, a junior forward, averaged 20.5 points during the Bison’s losses to Cheyenne Central and Cheyenne East.
Manzanares, a junior guard, averaged 15.5 points in those contests.
– Cheyenna Alvarado, Emma Jacobsen and Boden Liljedahl, girls basketball, East: Alvarado scored 15 points during the Lady Thunderbirds’ 76-68 victory at Cheyenne South.
Jacobsen added 13 points, and Liljedahl scored a game-high 25.
– Kelsey Basart and Baylee Delbridge, girls basketball, Cheyenne Central: Basart, a senior guard, scored 17 points during the Lady Indians’ 54-45 win over Cheyenne South.
Delbridge, also a senior guard, scored 22 in that win.
– Tate Bishop, boys basketball, Burns: The junior averaged 19.5 points and eight rebounds to help the Broncs go 1-1 on the week.
– Graedyn Buell and Jake Rayl, boys basketball, East: Buell scored 26 points during East’s 81-61 win at Cheyenne South.
Rayl added 15 in that win.
– Andraya Dimas and Calysta Martinez, girls basketball, South: Dimas, a senior guard, averaged 17 points during the Lady Bison’s losses to Cheyenne Central and Cheyenne East.
Martinez, also a senior guard, averaged 16 points in those games.
– Kaliff Guevara, boys indoor track and field, East: The senior won both the long jump (20 feet, 10.5 inches) and triple jump (45-8.75) at the Gillette meet.
– Jackson Hesford and Bradley Whitright, wrestling, East: Hesford, a senior 160-pounder, went 3-0 to help the Thunderbirds go 2-1 in duals.
Whitright, a senior 195-pounder, was 3-0 with two pins.
– Lawson Lovering, Brady Storebo and Nathanial Talich, boys basketball, Central: Lovering, a senior forward, scored 16 points during the Indians’ 77-54 win over Cheyenne South.
Storebo, a senior forward, also scored 16 in that win.
Talich, a junior guard, netted 23 against the Bison.
– Jared Price, boys swimming, South: The senior won six individual events across three meets.
– Rylee Jo Ward, girls basketball, Burns: The junior averaged 20.5 points, five assists and five steals to help the Lady Broncs go 1-1 on the week.
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