Jackie Morgan, a sophomore at the University of New Mexico and graduate of St. Croix
Country Day School, surprised everyone with a dominating win in her first marathon on
Saturday in Jacksonville, Florida with an incredible time of 2 hours 55 minutes and 6 seconds.
The weather in Jacksonville was wet from the start to finish. Jackie described her race to The Jacksonville Times-Union newspaper: "I felt good out there, I didn't mind the rain. I liked the course; it felt like I was going downhill both ways."
With the win, Morgan became the fastest female marathon runner in V.I. history and the first to go under 3 hours. She ran a competitive race with her nearest competitor, Donna Anderson of Atlanta, Georgia, close up to the 20 to 24 mile mark. Morgan expressed confidence in the thought that when she trains specifically for the marathon she will see improvement.
At her request, the Virgin Islands Track & Field Federation supported her efforts to enter the marathon at the age of 19. The Federation, in constant contact with her and her coach in New Mexico, reviewed her training program and requested of the Virgin Islands Olympic Committee to assist in funding her expenses for Jacksonville. Morgan went into the race with hopes of qualifying for the Olympics marathon to be held in Sydney next summer. She has the
option of qualifying in the 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters and/or the marathon.
On the track she excelled last year by winning the Western Athletic Conference
Championships in record time and qualified and competed in the Pan Am Games.
Morgan is one of several V.I. distance runners who have excelled at the college level over the past two years. Billy Bohlke of St.Croix became the top distance runner at Louisiana State University. He excelled in cross-country this past fall before suffering an injury. Lawrence
Lockhart, a graduate of the St.Croix Educational Complex and a freshmen at Alabama State University, became the top cross-country runner for that school this fall. Sheldon Williams, a graduate of Good Hope School was one of top runners on the Lander University cross-country team in South Carolina. Misoi McBean of St.Thomas had a strong year at Florida A&M on the
cross-country team, his specialty is the 800 meters to 1500 meters.
