Chase Is On, And He’s Leader Republic Hurdler Sets Pace For State Favorites

If only the name were turned around.

Morgan Chase - it’s so easy to play off the name, but it must be clear: It is Morgan being chased.

The Republic junior isn’t just the best Class B hurdler in Washington. He’s one of the best in the state, period.

Early in the season he ran the 110-meter high hurdles in 14.2 seconds. Because that is close to a second lower than his usual winning time for the Tigers, there were many skeptics as to its authenticity. Including, to a certain extent, his coach Jim White.

“I was at the start,” White said. “Once in a while he gets lazy when there is no one to push him. He just took off. He was finished when second place was going over the ninth hurdle (out of 10). That doesn’t happen. I still remember him turning around and watching the end of the race.”

Morgan is anything but cocky, but he doesn’t lack confidence.

“I didn’t have any idea I ran that fast that day,” he said. “I hope to get under 14 this year and that was the first goal. I have no idea how I did it. I expected it some time this year but not that early.”

The hard part for Chase, which keeps the skeptic busy, is duplicating that time. Considering the quality of tracks on which Class B athletes compete, the opportunity to turn heads are rare.

That’s one of the reasons why his best this season in the 300 intermediate hurdles, 39.9, is more than a second higher than his career best.

But there is plenty of time to get it down. Besides, to reach his goals, he needs to run his best in Yakima on Memorial Day weekend.

Last year he was second in the 110s and 300s at the state meet. This year he wants to do better and take a state record - especially in the 110s - with him.

That’s the motivation the 6-foot-1, 168-pounder needs when he settles into the starting blocks knowing his only competition is the clock.

He still has the desire for competition. Last year at the Panorama League meet, White put Chase in the 200 to help the Tigers get points. When he finished, he was seventh in the state. His 23.4 is the best in the B’s this year but not quite his career best.

Chase asked White if he could run the 100 meters this year, and has clicked off an 11.5. Now he regularly wins all four events.

Everywhere the Republic track team goes, everyone is chasing Morgan.

“He does amaze me,” White said. “At times I have to kind of throttle him. He’s the kind of guy who can pick up a discus and throw it over 100 feet the first time. Barring injuries, he can do some pretty neat things.”

Winning four events, though, isn’t a priority. Winning the hurdles is.

“The 100 is kind of boring; there’s nothing to it,” he said. “In the hurdles you have to have coordination and skill. There’s more to it than open races.”

Last weekend at Riverside, weakened by the flu, he won the hurdles but was defeated in the 100 and 200.

“He was kind of disappointed,” White said. “He doesn’t like to lose.”

Turning Chase into a first-class hurdler was a victory in itself. The family moved to Republic from Utah when he was in third grade but left three years later. They lived in Nebraska, Idaho and South Dakota before he returned with his mother before eighth grade.

“In South Dakota I went to a huge school and you had to try out for everything,” Chase said. “I didn’t have the confidence to try out for anything.”

In Republic he wasn’t intimidated by size, and gave track a try.

“He’s one of the shyest kids you’ve ever seen,” White said.

But the coaches saw something in the eighth-grader, and took him to the Washington State track camp. The first few days he stayed in the background.

“We had to encourage him, push him to get him to try,” White said. “He still doesn’t believe in himself enough yet.”

Chase said, “I don’t like a lot of publicity. It makes me feel weird.”

It makes one wonder how those chasing Morgan feel.