When Shelby Morris was in ninth grade, track wasn’t even on her radar.
She can remember the first conversations she had with Landrum Coach Russell Mahaffey about track.
“I didn’t want to come out,” she said. “After talking to Coach Mahaffey, I went and tried it.”
On Saturday, she didn’t just try it; she dominated. Morris, now a sophomore, won the 1A South Carolina High School League pole vault championship at Spring Valley High School on Saturday, May 12 with a vault of 9 feet.
Her success on Saturday just reaffirms what Mahaffey saw in her in the first place.
“She’s an athlete,” Mahaffey said. “She can do anything.”
For Morris, it was a bittersweet day. After the dust settled and the sophomore knew she had won, she continued to jump, showing just how much Morris loves track now. She made those jumps in an unsuccessful effort to break the school record, which is one inch higher than her championship vault. She has two years left, however, so that record probably won’t stand for long.
Last season the Lady Cardinals finished runner up in the state finals, but this year they earned a respectable top 10, led by her first-place finish. She finished as runner-up in the state last year, but this year she finished with a medal around her neck.