September’s Athlete of the Month: The Quiet, Dedicated, Unbreakable Backbone of XC, Dylan Morris

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Staff Writer
November 11, 2020

September’s Athlete of the Month is senior, Dylan Morris. He reveals that he was very surprised, “I didn’t expect this award in the slightest.”

Recently, Dylan ran a career PR of 19:04 on 10/20 at the division championship race at Belvidere. He has consistently been breaking 20 minutes all season and showed up when it counted to finish 2nd in the Mountain Division behind Colin Weber. Dylan’s effort was crucial in securing the team’s 1st place finish and becoming Mountain Division champions for the second time in MHS history!

Dylan’s dedication has definitely been noted. He expressed, “I’ve been as dedicated to the sport as I can be. I’ve poured hours and hours of my week into this sport for four years, and I’m sad to have to leave soon.”

His hard work enabled him to qualify to run at the Skyland conference championship at Phillipsburg where he again put down a “heroic performance,” according to his Head coach, Coach Caldwell. Caldwell continues, “Morris’s success is a product of his training and his positive mindset. He is fearless, tenacious, and leads by example. He’s a total grinder, he pushes himself and his teammates in practice and supports them all on race day.”

Future plans for Dylan entail him going to college next year where he will likely major and focus on computer science or business.
Dylan expresses, “Thanks to my coaches Mr. Caldwell and Mr. McCarrick for being with me up to this point. Thank you as well to all my teammates including (but not limited to) Chris Wagner, Collin Weber, Todd Peterson, George Thompson, Ethan Burlew, and all the boys who have been here, whether it only be a year or all four!”
Coach Caldwell leaves us with a quote that truly encompasses and demonstrates who Dylan is: “Morris is a selfless athlete, who works for his team’s collective success and delights everyone’s individual improvements. He is the quiet, dedicated, unbreakable backbone of the cross country team. It’s a shame the season ended before the section championships where Dylan and the boys were poised to break some fast times and set new records–nevertheless, Morris made the difference this season on a successful cross-country team.”
Congratulations to September’s Athlete of the Month, Dylan Morris!