Makena Morley races with her teammates
Photo by: Gary Breedlove
Unfinished Business Looms For Morley At NCAAs
November 16, 2018 | Cross Country
BOULDER – When Makena Morley graduated high school, she did not move far away from her hometown of Big Fork, Mont., heading to the University of Montana in Missoula, Mont. to continue her running career.
But after just one semester, which included winning the individual title at the Big Sky Conference Championships, she knew she needed a change. And thankfully for the University of Colorado, she had several connections that helped bring her to Boulder.
"I actually knew some of the guys on the team, Zach Perrin, Adam Peterman and Chris Herrick, that are graduated now, but they were from Montana and we were all good friends," Morley said. "Dani (Jones) and I had known each other in high school, so when I looked into CU, I reached out to those people. Dani was doing awesome, so I said, 'I'll just reach out to them and see.'"
As a high school runner, Morley had caught the eye of the CU coaching staff during the initial recruiting period. So when she came knocking, it was a no-brainer for the staff.
"She was an accomplished high school runner who had chosen to stay local," head coach Mark Wetmore said. "We had known she was a national caliber runner back in high school."
Since joining the Buffs in January of 2016, Morley has fit in seamlessly. Part of that is probably due to the fact that she is "optimistic, high energy and a willing worker," according to Wetmore.
On the cross country course, Morley has been a huge part of Colorado's success the last three seasons. She has seen the Buffs win two Pac-12 titles and place second at the other. The Buffs have also won two regional titles and placed second in the other. And at NCAAs, the Buffs have been on the podium the last two seasons as the No. 3 team in the nation.
Individually, she has also shined. Morley has scored in every meet for the Buffs except one. She is a two-time All-Pac-12 honoree and has been named to the all-region team three times. In fact, racing at regionals has been a highlight for her as she is typically the leader for the Buffs in that race.
"I think it's the altitude (at regionals), I actually race really well in altitude," she said. "I'm not sure why because I'm not from sea-level and I'm not from a high-altitude either. I think it's nice because it's a low pressure meet; sometimes I do better in low pressure meets, so I'm working on doing that at high pressure meets like nationals."
Doing well at regionals is always a positive, but there is something that has eluded Morley during her collegiate cross country career. She has never been named an All-American.
To earn the honor, Morley needs to finish in the top-40 at NCAAs. She has come close. In 2016, she finished 43rd and was just four seconds from the honor. Then in 2017, Morley was eight seconds away, finishing 50th overall.
"Cross has never turned out how I'd like it to be, especially at the end," she said. "I have raced okay during the middle of the seasons, but I have just never done what I wanted to do at nationals."
But more importantly, Morley wants to help her team win a national championship.
"More than anything, I'd like to help my team win," she said. "This is the last chance for Dani, Val and I, along with a couple other seniors, so I want to go for that."
In the last couple of years, the Buffs have been the top-ranked team in the USTFCCCA Coaches Poll heading into the championship, but this year they are tied for third with Boise State behind New Mexico and Oregon. Being the underdog could be just what Colorado needs.
"I think there are four teams out there that could all win and it's basically who has the best day that day, and I hope it's us," Morley said. "I also think it's better to not come in ranked number one. It's nice to be ranked high but it takes a little of the pressure off because we have obviously never quite raced to our potential at nationals."
One thing is for sure, on Saturday, Nov. 17, Morley will be putting it all on the line to accomplish her goals.
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But after just one semester, which included winning the individual title at the Big Sky Conference Championships, she knew she needed a change. And thankfully for the University of Colorado, she had several connections that helped bring her to Boulder.
"I actually knew some of the guys on the team, Zach Perrin, Adam Peterman and Chris Herrick, that are graduated now, but they were from Montana and we were all good friends," Morley said. "Dani (Jones) and I had known each other in high school, so when I looked into CU, I reached out to those people. Dani was doing awesome, so I said, 'I'll just reach out to them and see.'"
As a high school runner, Morley had caught the eye of the CU coaching staff during the initial recruiting period. So when she came knocking, it was a no-brainer for the staff.
"She was an accomplished high school runner who had chosen to stay local," head coach Mark Wetmore said. "We had known she was a national caliber runner back in high school."
Since joining the Buffs in January of 2016, Morley has fit in seamlessly. Part of that is probably due to the fact that she is "optimistic, high energy and a willing worker," according to Wetmore.
On the cross country course, Morley has been a huge part of Colorado's success the last three seasons. She has seen the Buffs win two Pac-12 titles and place second at the other. The Buffs have also won two regional titles and placed second in the other. And at NCAAs, the Buffs have been on the podium the last two seasons as the No. 3 team in the nation.
Individually, she has also shined. Morley has scored in every meet for the Buffs except one. She is a two-time All-Pac-12 honoree and has been named to the all-region team three times. In fact, racing at regionals has been a highlight for her as she is typically the leader for the Buffs in that race.
"I think it's the altitude (at regionals), I actually race really well in altitude," she said. "I'm not sure why because I'm not from sea-level and I'm not from a high-altitude either. I think it's nice because it's a low pressure meet; sometimes I do better in low pressure meets, so I'm working on doing that at high pressure meets like nationals."
Doing well at regionals is always a positive, but there is something that has eluded Morley during her collegiate cross country career. She has never been named an All-American.
To earn the honor, Morley needs to finish in the top-40 at NCAAs. She has come close. In 2016, she finished 43rd and was just four seconds from the honor. Then in 2017, Morley was eight seconds away, finishing 50th overall.
"Cross has never turned out how I'd like it to be, especially at the end," she said. "I have raced okay during the middle of the seasons, but I have just never done what I wanted to do at nationals."
But more importantly, Morley wants to help her team win a national championship.
"More than anything, I'd like to help my team win," she said. "This is the last chance for Dani, Val and I, along with a couple other seniors, so I want to go for that."
In the last couple of years, the Buffs have been the top-ranked team in the USTFCCCA Coaches Poll heading into the championship, but this year they are tied for third with Boise State behind New Mexico and Oregon. Being the underdog could be just what Colorado needs.
"I think there are four teams out there that could all win and it's basically who has the best day that day, and I hope it's us," Morley said. "I also think it's better to not come in ranked number one. It's nice to be ranked high but it takes a little of the pressure off because we have obviously never quite raced to our potential at nationals."
One thing is for sure, on Saturday, Nov. 17, Morley will be putting it all on the line to accomplish her goals.
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