Oftentimes throughout his high school career, Morales and his smile could be found crossing the finish line in track and cross country, and crossing home plate in baseball after scoring a run.
Wednesday, Morales was all smiles again as he signed to continue his track & field and academic career on a scholarship to Vanguard University, a private Christian school in Costa Mesa, California.
“It’s a day I’ve looked forward to since my sophomore year. Ever since I made varsity and I started to win some races, I realized that I could probably go somewhere with this, so I started working harder and I just wanted to make my dream come true,” Morales said.
As a sophomore, Morales realized his potential. But last year as a junior, he moved to the top of the pack amongst runners in the Rio Grande Valley.
Morales competed in cross country, and participated in a number of track events for the Diamondbacks, including the 200-meter dash, 800-meter run, the 4x200 relay, but his favorites were always the 400-meter dash and mile relay.
At last year’s Class 5A 31/32 Area Meet, Morales took his normal position as the anchor of Pioneer’s mile-relay team. When he received the baton to start the final lap of the race, Morales was already trailing 50-60 meters behind the current first place team.
That mattered little to him, however, as he turned on the jets to lead the Diamondbacks in a come-from-behind effort to win the area championship with a team total time of 3 minutes, 27.56 seconds
“I just enjoy ending it. That feeling when the race is on the line and they need you to come up clutch, that’s one of the best feelings ever,” Morales said. “I put my heart and soul into it. And that feeling when you know you helped your team get the win, that you gave it your all and that was better than everyone else, that’s what I love the most.”
He finished his high school track and field career as a three-time district champion, a four-time area champion, and a two-time regional qualifier in his various events. He was also named his team’s Co-Most Valuable Player last season.
Morales was a key role player for the Sharyland Pioneer baseball team, as well. Whenever the Diamondbacks needed a pinch runner, they turned to their track stud. He thrived in his role as he finished second on the team with 34 runs scored last season as Pioneer went on to make program history by advancing to the Class 5A state semifinals, the sixth round of the playoffs.
“It was definitely a big role to me, especially as we got farther into the playoffs and we realized every run counted. With me going out there on base to replace usually the catcher, it was big,” he said. “Knowing that runs scored because I was able to use my speed in certain situations, that’s a great feeling.”
Now, Morales is bound for California as he’ll begin his track and field career with Vanguard University, which competes in the Golden State Athletic Conference of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.
“I’m glad that I get to live out my dream in California. I’ve always been a big Los Angeles Dodgers and Los Angeles Lakers fan, and I have family over there, so I’m looking forward to all the new people, the new coaches and a new environment,” he said.
Morales will primarily focus on the 400-meter dash, but will also be competing in the 800-meter run.
“Since my senior year was cut short (due to the novel coronavirus), I feel like I have a lot of unfinished business. I just want to get out there at the collegiate level and show everyone th... Click here to read full article
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