Miles ahead of their years: Taylorville runners Morgan, Bettis gear up for postseason push
TAYLORVILLE — Owen Morgan and Liam Bettis admit that their performances in Tuesday’s Apollo Conference boys cross country meet at the Christian County Fairgrounds were underwhelming.
But they both vowed that they’d be ready to peak during the Class 2A postseason, which begins for Taylorville on Saturday, Oct. 21 at Maxwell Park in Normal.
Morgan and Bettis both have features that belie their ages. Morgan’s mustache and flowing hair give him the look of at least a senior in college and not the senior set to graduate in the spring from Taylorville High School. Bettis, meanwhile, exudes the confidence not of a freshman but that of an experienced senior.
Together, they lead the Tornadoes’ cross country team in times and in the standings. In Tuesday’s meet, Morgan finished second in 15 minutes, 37.3 seconds while Bettis was fourth in 16:08.1. Mount Zion’s Julian Baker won the 3-mile race in 15:21.4 as Mount Zion beat Taylorville 31-48 for the team title.
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Morgan and Bettis didn’t take to cross country from the start. In middle school, Morgan pursued football while Bettis wanted to play basketball.
“I only started because of my brother (Evan Morgan, a 2022 Taylorville graduate),” Morgan said. “In sixth grade, I did football and we didn’t have practice (one) day and I showed up to the junior high (cross country) practice and I liked it. It was fun somehow and I stuck with it.”
Bettis was tired of trying out for basketball only to be cut.
“When I tried out for basketball, I didn’t make the team in sixth and seventh grade so I decided not to try out in eighth grade,” Bettis said. (Taylorville Junior High cross country coach) Chad Sutton … he showed me what running’s about and I really liked that because you have to have a different type of mindset and you have to be a different type of person to run.
“A lot of people don’t get that but if you do, you do. It’s kind of a unique thing. Once I started getting good at it and realizing I could be one of the best ones in the state, that’s what brought my love of running.”
There’s that Bettis self-assuredness. Bettis, who also runs the 800-meter and 1,600-meter runs in track and field, has set a goal of top-25 among individuals at the Nov. 4 state meet at Detweiller Park in Peoria. That’s not all.
“I’m looking for nationals. Next year, I’m looking for top-five in state because I think I can do it and I think by my junior year, senior year, I can be competing for a state championship,” Bettis said. “That’s what I’m really striving for. Hopefully when it comes down to track, I’m looking to be a national champion. I think I can do it with how my times are looking.”
Right on his heels
Morgan has set the pace for the Tornadoes all season but on Saturday, he faced some stiff competition from Bettis. While Morgan won the Delavan Invite in 14:57.9, Bettis stayed in his shadow as the pair finished 1-2. Bettis crossed the finish line in 15:00.4. Taylorville easily won the boys’ title.
“We finally got Liam to listen to Owen, run a little smarter,” Taylorville cross country coach Steve Walters said. “Usually when you have a freshman come in — Owen was the same way — you’re going to come out here and run fast. Well, there’s a lot of thinking in this.
“They ran side-by-side, which pushes Owen along even faster, and actually (Bettis) knows the commands from Owen just by body gestures of how and when they’ve got to go. It’s a lot better at the end of the season than how it was at the beginning. Liam just came out here — he’s a very good talent — but just didn’t know how to run.”
Morgan said he heard Bettis’ footsteps and, teammate or not, wasn’t going to let an underclassman pass him.
“I can’t let a freshman beat me; it would look really bad for me,” Morgan said with a grin.
Morgan and Bettis said the key to their success this season has been their offseason workouts. Morgan confessed he didn’t give his offseason prior to his junior season his best effort. Far from it, he said.
“Last offseason, I was dilly-dallying a lot,” Morgan acknowledged. “This offseason, I really put in the work. I was consistently hitting 70-, 80-mile weeks and it’s been helping a lot.”
Bettis said Morgan showed him the way this summer.
“Training with (Morgan) all the time and just trying to work to be right there with him,” Bettis said of what’s been his biggest reason for this season’s success. “In the offseason, he’s been right there with me.”
Though Tuesday was a frustrating result for Morgan and Bettis, the freshman remained his confident self about the upcoming postseason races.
“Today was an off day and I’m sure when it comes to regionals, sectionals, we’ll both step up,” Bettis said. “We are competing for medals and top-25 in the state. This was an off day; don’t let anyone misunderstand that. We’re there to compete and help each other out.”
Contact Ryan Mahan: 788-1546, ryan.mahan@sj-r.com, Twitter.com/RyanMahanSJR.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Class 2A boys cross country: Taylorville's Morgan, Bettis ready for final push
