Ariz.-bound Morris wins discus, falls short in shot at Shoreline Invitational

Apr 30, 2006

By Matt Massey

Special to The Seattle Times

SHORELINE — This time next spring, Renton\'s Korion Morris likely will be basking in the Arizona sun, pursuing his track-and-field career.

Saturday, though, Morris shivered in the cold rain and wind at the Shoreline Invitational meet at Shoreline Stadium.

He endured.

Morris, a 6-foot-2, 260-pound senior, withstood the gusty winds and sometimes pouring rain to take home his first Shoreline title in the discus in 177 feet, 6 inches. He placed second in the shot put at 57-6 to earn Field Athlete of the Meet honors.

He could take comfort in his decision to sign with Arizona, and admitted days like Saturday were a major reason he recently chose the school in Tucson, Ariz.

\"This kind of weather is quite a part of it,\" Morris of his decision. \"For the conditions, things went well. It was wet, windy, cold and miserable. I\'m satisfied, even though my hands are like ice cubes right now.\"

While Morris missed winning his two specialties, Skyline\'s Brandon Graef and Juanita\'s Victor Marshall each earned double victories, and co-host Shorecrest of Shoreline won the meet on its home track for the first time in the boys meet\'s 19-year history.

Shorecrest scored 64 points, thanks to three victories. The Scots won the 400 relay, 1,600 relay, and Derek Clemmons took the long jump in 20-10. Tahoma of Maple Valley was second with 56 points.

Skyline\'s Graef won the 110-meter high hurdles in 14.59 seconds and 300 intermediate hurdles in 39.40. He was named Track Athlete of the Meet.

Juanita\'s Marshall swept both sprints, taking the 100 in 11.22 and 200 in 22.72.

Despite finishing second in the shot, Morris believes he\'s primed to defend his Class 3A state titles in both events. He threw the discus 191-0 Thursday.

\"I\'m ready,\" Morris said. \"The discus is definitely harder in the rain. You\'ve got to make that thing fly. So when it\'s wet, it\'s hard to make it spin. If you can\'t make it spin, it doesn\'t go far.\"

Cameron Elisara, a senior from Ferris of Spokane, won the shot put in an impressive 60-9 on his final try of the finals. Elisara, who has signed to play football at Washington, has the top mark in the state this spring.

Notes

• Jeff Helmer of Everett won a 3,200 that matched the defending 4A and 3A champions in that event and in cross country. Helmer\'s 9:11.52 beat Seattle Prep\'s Max O\'Donoghue-McDonald\'s 9:13.51, the defending 3A champion. Skyline\'s Matt Frerker finished third in 9:16.01.

• UCLA-bound Alex Crabill of Charles Wright of Tacoma won the 1,600 meters in a season-best 4:15.62. Crabill won the 1,600 and 3,200 at last year\'s Class 1A state meet and has the best 3,200 time this spring.

• The pole vault was canceled because of the wind and rain. It was the first time the event was called off because of inclement weather in the 19-year history of the meet, according to meet director Don Dalziel.

• Head starter Tom Hawkins was honored for his contributions at the meet since 1974.

• Despite the wet conditions, Woodinville\'s Trent Arrivey won the high jump. He and Tahoma\'s Stephan Praast each jumped 6-2, but Arrivey won on a tiebreaker.