Morris at home at NC

Taking a break from a rigorous track workout, Adrian Morris was pretty matter-of-fact. “I came from New Orleans because of everything,” the North Central senior said as he gulped air. “I lost my house, school, records, everything. All flooded out.”

Which means Morris turned Hurricane Katrina turned into a positive, life-changing experience.

He is an integral member of the Indians’ defending state champion track team and a solid student with plans to become a physician’s assistant.

“I love the school,” said Morris, who arrived as a freshman. “I’m proud to be here. Way better environment. I don’t have to worry about getting shot.”

After the hurricane devastated so much in and around New Orleans in late August 2005, Morris’ mother, Febbie Lindsey, sent him to live with his sister, Josephine Lindsey, in Spokane.

“I lost everything,” Febbie Lindsey said. “It was hard for all my children to leave me and come up here. We had nothing.”

When she moved to Spokane last summer she was amazed with what she found, especially when track season arrived.

“I’ve always been proud of my children. I know they have spunk to get what they want out of life,” Lindsey said. “When I got here and saw him racing it was like a new breath of life. I saw a chance of a lifetime. Seeing his grades, knowing that he wasn’t with his parents, not sure what he was getting into. He’s just amazing.”

Spunk wasn’t the first impression of NC track coach Kelly Walters.

“A P.E. teacher told me he seems pretty fast,” Walters said. “I talked to him, got him out for track. He was 110 pounds. He couldn’t keep his jersey on his shoulders. He showed some moments but he wasn’t impressive.”

But track – and Walters – impressed Morris.

“I never did track until I came up here and got introduced to Mr. Walters,” he said. “I did baseball and football. I love track. I love being a competitor, learning to deal with adversity, learning to be patient, be smart, don’t get frustrated with life’s obstacles. You learn how to adapt and change, deal with it.”

Those traits helped him with the anxieties of changing worlds.

“It was hard not knowing how to act, not knowing the environment,” Morris said. “The cultural change was very hard.”

Morris gives a lot of the credit to Walters.

“Luckily, I got my coach who helped me a lot,” he said. “He’s always there for me. We have a real good relationship, a coach-athlete level and sometimes like a son-father level when I need help with things.”

There were some adjustments for the classmates as well, who understand where he is coming from.

“He’s a good guy to be around, he’s pretty laid-back, easygoing, easy to talk to,” distance star Andrew Kimple said, at least once Morris’ accent was deciphered. “At first we would just look at each other and ask, ‘What did he say?’ There are still a few times when he talks we don’t understand.”

“He’s a hard worker,” hurdler Spencer Wordell said. “When he came from New Orleans an entire semester of school was just wiped out. He’s worked hard since he got here.”

Physics teacher Mary Lee McJimsey confirmed that.

“He works really well with other students,” she said. “He’s a leader in the classroom. He’s stellar in my class. If he’s stellar in physics, that usually means something.”

Morris works on the track like he’s making up for lost time.

“He runs to the best of his ability every time, including practice,” NC sprint coach Anthony Buchanan said.

Morris is fast, but the Indians have been blessed with a lot of fast athletes in recent years so he has had a hard time making a big splash in the 100, 200 or 400 meters. Walters calls him a team guy, ready to fill in anytime, anyplace he’s needed. Relays are a different story. Morris ran second last spring on the third-place 1,600-meter quartet that helped the Indians win the State 3A team title, and if they can get the baton around the track could place in the 400 relay this year.

NC has a great chance to defend that team title with headliners like Wordell and the distance corps that won state and national cross country titles last fall while the 5-foot-8½, 148-pound Morris was playing cornerback on the football team.

Just last week part of the track team went to Shoreline where Wordell (300 hurdles), Kimple (3,200) and Ben Johnston (1,600) set school records. Others, Morris included, were at the prom, which is why Walters was shocked, but not surprised, when he received numerous messages from Morris to check on his teammates.

“He has compassion, a tender heart for other kids,” Walters said. “He’s always seeing what he can do when they’re having a hard time. He goes out of his way to help people.”

For his senior project Morris worked with an elderly woman who has Alzheimer’s.

“She didn’t remember his name every time, but it gave him joy to be with her, to make her smile,” Walters said. “He did his presentation to the class and read his poem, ‘This Smile is Her.’ It’s pretty deep, it gets inside his heart.”

Just has Spokane and North Central have got into the hearts of their new ambassadors.

“It’s beautiful here,” Lindsey said. “I’m here to stay. I’m trying to put roots down. I’m trying to find a job and I want to go to school to be a nurse. That’s my next goal.”

The credit goes to her son.

“NC is the best,” he said. “No matter who you are or what you did or what you went through, people understand. It’s so easy to adapt here, it’s so easy to live here. It’s the best thing about the school. People make you feel like family, like you’ve been here for years.”