Morgan Is Quickly Becoming Old Hand

Jarered Morgan of La Quinta High is barely no longer a neophyte when it comes to putting the shot or throwing the discus.

But there was nothing novice-like about the way he opened his outdoor track and field season.

Morgan, a 6-foot, 270-pound senior, posted winning marks of 197 feet in the discus and 58-01/2 in the shotput last Thursday in a dual meet at Coachella Valley.

His effort in the discus was the farthest in the state this year and topped his previous best by nearly 10 feet.

His mark in the shotput is fourth in the state this year and added more than 21/2 feet to his previous best.

Not bad for someone who competed in the shotput and discus for the first time last year.

“I wasn’t really surprised,” said Morgan, a two-time All-Southern Section Division VIII selection at defensive tackle in football. “Because I know a lot more about the shotput and discus than I did last year. Last year I was learning the basic stuff, but this year we’re starting to speed things up. Our weightlifting is also a lot more event-specific. We’re doing a lot of explosive-type lifts.”

Morgan’s inexperience was evident last season in the Division II preliminaries, where a case of the jitters prevented him from advancing to the finals after he’d thrown a career-best 187-3 in the Desert Valley League finals the previous week. But his raw throwing ability and strong work ethic have his personal coach and the coaches at La Quinta looking forward to the remainder of the season.

“I think 60 feet [in the shotput] and 210-220 [in the discus] are both reasonable,” said La Quinta throws coach Samantha Thomas. “It’s just such a natural thing for him. He just gets out there and lets it rip.”

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Grounded Angel: Senior Angel Perkins of Cerritos Gahr will not make her outdoor debut until at least March 23 after sustaining a hamstring injury over the weekend in the National Scholastic Indoor Championships at the Armory Track & Field Center in New York.

Perkins, the defending state champion in the 200 meters and the favorite to win that event and the 400 in the state championships this year, strained a hamstring Saturday during a 400 qualifying heat and aggravated it Sunday when she finished sixth--and last--in the final after pulling up with 70 meters left in the race.

“Angel, being her competitive self, didn’t want to take no for an answer,” Gahr Coach Dan Fitzpatrick said about her decision to run Sunday. “But her body was telling us something was wrong and we need to listen.”

The Arizona-bound Perkins, who ranks fourth on the all-time Southern Section list in the 100 (11.45 seconds), 200 (23.07) and 400 (52.18), missed the L.A. Invitational at the Sports Arena on Feb. 23 because of soreness in her right foot.

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Bruno sidelined: Senior Matt Bruno of Mission Viejo Trabuco Hills is another top-flight sprinter who suffered an injury in the National Scholastic meet.

Bruno, the fastest returning 100 sprinter in the state with a best of 10.62, advanced to the finals of the 60 and 200 in New York but withdrew Sunday afternoon after straining his groin at the end of a semifinal in the 60 that morning.

“I could have run the finals,” Bruno said. “But I didn’t want to risk getting hurt. The outdoor season is what really matters.”

Bruno, who has committed to UCLA, won’t race again until a March 23 meet against Mission Viejo Capistrano Valley or the Surf City Invitational at Huntington Beach High two days later.

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Linman under wraps: Senior Chucky Linman of Huntington Beach Edison has not raced this season after suffering an ankle injury in the Southern Section Division I football championship game against Long Beach Poly on Dec. 8, and Coach Erich Moreno is evasive when asked when Linman will open the season.

“When you’ve got a thoroughbred, you don’t blow him out in the prelims,” Moreno said. “You want him to run in the Kentucky Derby.... He had a long football season, so we’re taking everything real slow.”