West Clermont High School girls track and field coach Shane Heikenfeld had one word to describe senior Morgan Walsh’s performance in her final run of the season, the Division I 800-meter final at the state track and field championships on Saturday, June 1.
“Spectacular,” Heikenfeld said. “Her time at state would have won it the majority of years, this year was one of the premier years. She was ranked top 50 in the United States for a while, she was phenomenal.”
Walsh finished the event in seventh place, crossing the line in 2:11.33. Solon’s Olivia Howell placed first, finishing in 2:08.60.
Midway through the race, Walsh was right up at the front of the pack with Howell. She said that sticking close to the top of the pack was by design.
“My first lap was a little faster than I wanted it to be,” Walsh said. “My coach told me to just put myself up there, and as long as I was up there, I had a shot. I always have the strategy of kicking with 300 to go, and I did that. I got boxed in a little, but I wanted that podium spot.”
Heikenfeld said they usually plan before the race, adding Walsh has an ability to work out how exactly she wants the race to go.
“We figured out a race strategy for her, she has everything down no matter what the race is,” Heikenfeld said. “She knows exactly what the first lap will be, she knows exactly what the first 100 will be. She knows when she’s going to kick. She’s very intuitive of everything around her.”
The win capped off a stellar four-year career for Walsh, who made a name for herself in the fall during cross country season and during the spring on the track. Teammate Maddie Walker is also a familiar name to anyone following the running circuit closely, and the two of them have been working on their craft for some time now.
“They’ve been best friends since middle school,” Heikenfeld said. “Maddie was the more well-known one at first, but Morgan has become just as recognizable. She’s pretty famous at track.”
Walker also advanced to the state meet. She competed in the 1600-meter run, finishing in 12th place. The duo prepared for the final meet together.
“We did a lot of distance training,” Heikenfeld said. “She’s more of a long-distance 800 runner than a sprinter 800 runner. She trained a lot with Maddie [Walker], Maddie’s a long distance girl. We incorporated some speed stuff in it for Morgan, but we really didn’t change up too much.”
Coming up to the final few feet, that awareness told Walsh she had to push a little more if she wanted to make the podium.
“I was scared that I would get bumped off the podium,” Walsh said. “My coach was like, ‘If you’re right next to someone, dive.’ I’m not going to do that, but…”
Heikenfeld said he told Walsh to dive for it if she was winning, but noted Walsh was able to fight through several close competitors.
“I said, if you find yourself in the lead, and you feel someone coming up on your side, remember, whoever’s chest crosses first wins, so you might want to dive,’” Heikenfeld said. “She got boxed in a little bit, and the girl kind of cut in front of her. She said she had to jostle her way by her.”
“I’m excited,” Heikenfeld said. “She’s really smart, I know she’s going to make waves in the collegiate scene. She’s like the most coachable person in the world, the sweetest girl, and you’ll see her winning the Flying Pig one day. It’ll be her and Maddie right up there together. Having them both at the same time…it was a magical four years.”
To cap off that four-year run with a victory was important, according to Walsh.
“It feels great,” Walsh said. “My last three years, I didn’t make it to state at all. It feels great to know that hard work and training finally paid off.”
Walsh still has plenty of running left to do. She has two more meets this season, including the Midwest Meet of Champions at Michigan State. She also has an academic and athletic scholarship to Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana.