Track and Field athletes uphold record-breaking legacy
Photo courtesy of Lee Athletic Communications
Lee Flames coach Caleb Morgan leads athletes to uphold a track and field legacy he helped build.
As a student at Lee, Morgan maintained an impressive track and field career. He set the school record for the indoor mile, the outdoor 1500-meter and the outdoor 800-meter. Morgan also acquired other track awards, including the 2011 Georgia 10-miler State Championship. Morgan, who once set school records, now coaches the athletes who are breaking those records.
This season Christian Noble has broken two NCAA Division II records. He finished first in the 5000-meter with a time of 13:37.39 as well as the 3000-meter with a time of 7:51.46. Noble also won the mile run by 11 seconds with a time of 4:00.60.
Noble credits much of his success to his compassionate teammates, his trainer Maddie Kalke and his coaches. Though he could have gone to a Division I school, he committed to Lee because of the coaches’ intentionality. Morgan would call Noble weekly to check up with him while Noble was still in high school.
“Coach Morgan knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s one of the best coaches in Division II in my opinion. He works with you on a day-to-day basis and understands what you need as an athlete,” said Noble, a senior marketing major.
Noble was deemed the ‘crucial freshman’ in his first year running. Years later, his vitality is even more apparent.
“When I came in as a freshman, I knew I wanted to set collegiate records. Most goals don’t seem attainable when you first set them, so I knew that I needed to make a lot of small goals to get to this point,” said Noble.
Many other athletes from the track and field team have set school records in the first few weeks of the 2020-2021 indoor season.
Titus Lagat won the 800-meter run by over a second with a time of 1:54.88. Caleb Eagleson, Thomas Kelton, Dawson Reed, Silas Eckenroad, Adan Rodriguez and Ezekiel Harless all placed in the top 13 for the 3000-meter run.
Celine Ritter won first place in both the mile and 800-meter run. Toni Moore and Olivia McLain broke the school record and placed in the top two for the 5000-meter run.
Moore and McLain heavily rely on their teammates to keep them accountable.
“The team is my number one motivation. Having girls that you’re best friends with and being able to run with them is so motivating,” said McClain.
The coaching said they want to continue finding athletes who are willing to keep up the legacy of breaking records.
“We want athletes that want to do well academically, grow spiritually and do well athletically. Those are the three main things that we want to look for in recruiting,” said head coach Morgan.
The Flames’ next meet will be in Birmingham, Alabama, on Feb. 16 to compete in the Gulf South Conference Championship. For more information on their competitions, visit the Lee University Athletics website.
