FORT COLLINS — For Gabi Morris, throwing as a side hustle became a full-time business. And business has never been better.
The Fort Collins native and CSU Rams standout on Thursday was named the Mountain West Outdoor Female Athlete of the Year, just a few weeks after nailing a runner-up finish in shot put at the NCAA outdoor track and field national championships.
“I’m still pretty late to the game comparatively, (relative to) a lot of these athletes who are going (to the Olympic trials),” said Morrison, one of three CSU women throwers who will compete for an Olympic berth next week at the U.S. Olympic trials in Eugene, Ore. “I think that’s what maybe makes it a little extra surreal. But it makes it super cool.”
Especially when you consider that Morris, then known as Gabi McDonald, came to CSU out of Rocky Mountain High School as a standout goalkeeper who expected her emphasis to be on the soccer pitch. Before long, though, she gave up the beautiful game to concentrate full-time on the track side, a gambit that’s paid off in a big way.
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“Our whole ‘throws’ group, it’s a wild mix of people,” said Morris, who married fellow Rams thrower Jackson Morris last year. “Whereas on a team like a soccer team — I love them, (but) they were all very similar with their likes and interests and stuff. So I was a little bit on the outside of that group, which is why I chose track. Because then you get here and you fit in, as everyone’s got their own thing. So I fit in more that way.”
Morris set a personal best at nationals earlier this month with a throw of 18.66 meters, good for the No. 2 mark in Rams history. She was named a two-time All-American — first-team for women’s shot put and second-team for women’s discus, where she finished 16th.
“Gabi fought through some injuries (this spring) and then we’ve really settled in on some technical cues that are working for her very well,” Rams track and field coach Brian Bedard said.
“And just seeing from our last home meet, she hit a personal best there. And then she goes to the conference meet and hits a personal best there. And then goes to the NCAA first round, (hits another) personal best. So she’s just on this great (run) … where technical cue-ing is working, her mental state, she’s locked in on that, confidence level is good. So you get all those things rolled up and it makes for a really good competitor.”
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