Cheyenne East's Taliah Morris resets another Wyoming track and field record

May 8—CHEYENNE — Taliah Morris set a goal of long jumping 18 feet during her freshman year at Cheyenne East.

She got there during her first indoor and outdoor high school meets, causing her to quickly set her sights on 19 feet. Morris accomplished that goal while capturing the championship at the Class 4A outdoor state meet her freshman year.

The rarified air of 20 feet beckoned. Getting to that elite distance also would give Morris Wyoming's all-time state record.

That explains why the senior was so excited when her mark was announced at Torrington's Wiseman Invitational on Friday.

"When they called out 20, I didn't even hear the inches because my coach and I were going insane," Morris said with a laugh.

Morris landed in the pit exactly 20 feet from the board, which broke the previous all-time state record of 19 feet, 9 inches, set by Lyman's Ann Wingeleth in 2015. That accomplishment also earned Morris Prep Athlete of the Week honors from WyoSports' Cheyenne staff.

"It felt amazing to finally accomplish something I've been chasing the past four years," she said. "I put it all together and figured out my jump, my speed, and I was finally healthy.

"To bring it all together felt great."

Morris' day started inauspiciously. She tried to compensate for a fierce headwind by moving her starting spot farther back than normal. Her first jump marked a few inches short of 18 feet because she took off from well behind the board.

"Hearing a 17 really fueled me, because I was so upset," Morris said. "That was no way to open."

East jumps coach Paul Garcia isn't the least bit surprised to hear that Morris was motivated by her substandard opening jump.

"She has a compete switch like no other," he said.

The pair have built a strong relationship over the past four springs, and Garcia jokes that the hardest part about coaching Morris is making sure he doesn't cause her to regress.

"It's a lot of fine-tuning the small details and intricacies," Garcia said. "I'm mostly trying to get out of her way and let her do her thing. She's so comfortable doing the event.

"She has such a good feeling for it that she just needs a couple of cues and a couple of (notes), and then she does the rest."

Morris said Garcia helped her channel the disappointment she felt about her opening mark in the right direction. Although the 17-footer was underwhelming, it punched her ticket to the finals and gave her more jumps to produce her customary marks.

"He's a phenomenal coach, and we really understand each other," Morris said. "He knew that 17 wasn't me.

"... He told me to move my mark forward and go show people what I could do. He's so great with his words, and it gets me motivated."

Morris broke the 4A state record while winning last spring's outdoor state meet with a 19-8 1/2 . Mixed in with her outstanding marked jumps was a scratch both she and Garcia were certain would have broken the overall state record.

Morris has evolved from the potential-laden underclassmen to the upperclassman with the decorated résumé. Many athletes in her position choose to lead by example, which Garcia is perfectly fine with because not everyone is comfortable speaking up.

Morris — who has signed with the University of Wyoming — has chosen to be a mentor to the younger Thunderbirds.

"All of our younger kids look up to her," Garcia said. "They know her marks, they know her times, and they know what she's accomplished. She's done a great job of bringing them along, taking them through the approach and in-competition stuff that's helped them.

"As a coach, she's invaluable to what she brings to the program and our event group."

As good of a teacher as Garcia is, sometimes things don't click. Morris has been able to explain those coaching points in terms her peers can understand.

Morris wants to pursue a career as a therapist. She is happy to have accepted a mentorship role for her younger teammates, because helping people is important to her.

"Being able to be a support system for other people and help other people understand track and field — even the mental aspect — feels good," she said. "I want to help people get better and hold them accountable. Our jumps team has grown tremendously this season.

"We're super young, so being a mentor to the freshmen is only going to help them."

Others recognized for their efforts include:

n Shawn Basart, boys track, Cheyenne Central: The senior won the 110- and 300-meter hurdles at the Wiseman Invitational in Torrington. He finished the 110s in 15.37 seconds and the 300s in 42.27. He joined seniors Kain Urdialles, Carson Brown and Lucas Linde on the second-place 4x400 relay team (3:36.75).

n Mariah Bledsoe, Aleah Brooks, McKenzie Millar and Gracie Oswald, softball, Cheyenne East: Bledsoe, a junior, was 6-for-10 with two doubles, a home run and 10 RBI to help the Thunderbirds go 3-0 on the week.

Brooks, a junior, went 6-for-9 with a double, a home run and four RBI.

Millar, a sophomore, finished the week 7-for-12 with a double, two home runs and nine RBI.

Oswald, a senior, was 6-for-10 with a double, two triples, a home run and five RBI.

n Roscoe Cone-LeBeaumont and Logan Custis, boys soccer, Central: Cone-LeBeaumont, a senior, scored two goals and assisted on another to help the Indians beat Laramie and Cheyenne South.

Custis, also a senior, had three goals and an assist across those matches.

n Alex Head and Mitchell Birkhofer, boys track, Pine Bluffs: Head, a senior, won the 100- and 200-meter dashes at the Southeastern Wyoming Athletic Conference meet. He finished the 100 in 11.87 seconds and the 200 in 23.92.

Birkhofer, also a senior, won shot put and discus at the Pine Bluffs Field Event Extravaganza. Then he won shot put and placed second in discus at the SEWAC meet.

n Jessica Hoffman, girls track and field, Pine Bluffs: The junior won discus and high jump at the Southeastern Wyoming Athletic Conference meet. She tossed the discus 119 feet, 5 inches, and cleared 5-0 in high jump. She also was ninth in shot put with a heave of 28-6 1/2 .

n Ethan Norris, boys track and field, Burns: The senior won the 110-meter hurdles in 15.99 seconds at the Southeastern Wyoming Conference meet in Glenrock. He also was runner up in the 300 hurdles (42.36) and pole vault (11 feet, 6 inches).

n Karson Tempel, girls track and field, Central: The junior won triple jump and placed second in long jump at the Wiseman Invitational. She posted a mark of 35-9 1/2 in triple jump and 17-0 1/4 in long jump.

Jeremiah Johnke is the WyoSports editor. He can be reached at jjohnke@wyosports.net or 307-633-3137. Follow him on X at @jjohnke.