CHEYENNE – Taliah Morris tried to eat before her first high school indoor track and field meet, but couldn’t.

As annoying as it was, it wasn’t unusual for the Cheyenne East freshman. Her nerves also got the best of her and kept her from eating before every track meet she competed in for Carey Junior High.

Morris’ nerves weren’t the only thing that carried over from her middle school days. So did her dominance.

She won the 55- and 200-meter dashes, triple jump and long jump at the Gillette meet to earn Prep Athlete of the Week honors from WyoSports’ Cheyenne staff.

“After my first jump in long jump, all my nerves went away, and I felt like my old self,” Morris said.

Morris rewrote the conference record book as a seventh grader. The times and distances she posted that season broke records that had stood since the 1980s. They also would have landed her on the medal stand at Class 4A meets. Morris was so dominant that season she decided to hang up her soccer cleats and focus on track.

“I really love soccer, and I was pretty good at it, but I’m better at track,” Morris said. “I am really passionate about track, and I think that’s going to take me farther.”

The indoor track season is only two weekends old, but Morris has the top triple jump mark (36 feet, 5½ inches) in Wyoming by 1 foot, 7 inches. Her times in the 55 (7.35 seconds) and 200 (27.5) are also the best in the state. She leads the 55 field by 0.35 seconds and the 200 by 0.91 seconds.

Morris’ long jump mark of 18-9½ ranks second behind Natrona County senior Breonna Beckley by a mere 1¾ inches.

“It was mind-blowing to see the amount of talent she has in full force,” East indoor coach Amanda Brinkman said.

Both Morris and Brinkman say Morris’ triple jump will be even better once Morris learns not to rush the second of three phases in the event.

“You want nice, even phases throughout the entire jump,” Brinkman said. “She has a great first phase that is about 15 feet, and a great third phase that is about 15 feet. But her second phase is only about two feet.

“Once she cleans up that second phase, she will be able to jump four or five feet farther. She is a quick learner, and really wants to master it. She is very coachable because she really wants to be a great triple jumper.”

Morris would like to break the 20-foot mark in long jump this season, and the 40-foot barrier in triple jump. She also wants to knock time off both of her sprints.

“I’m really focused on meeting my goals and trying to be the best teammate I can be,” she said.