Get to know Track & Field Coach Matt Morris

Matt Morris didn’t know much about Pueblo when he got the phone call. His only reference was a childhood infomercial about the city. It said something about sunshine, industry, and opportunity, though the details are fuzzy. All he knew when he arrived on campus 13 years ago, was that CSU Pueblo had the bones of a real program.

Before Pueblo, Morris lived like a nomad. Three years at Carroll College in Montana. Five at Western Illinois and a college career running distance at the University of Montana. Three decades later, that nomad has built deep roots. Under his direction, CSU Pueblo’s track and field and cross-country programs have grown from functional to formidable. Last season, the women’s team finished third in the nation in cross country and fourth overall in Division II.    

Along the way, Morris coached All-Americans and national champions. He also accomplished something few coaches in the sport can claim. He coached four siblings from the same family. The Roberds kids from Mesa Ridge High School. First came the twins, Matthew and Richie, then Aaron, and now Annie, the youngest, just starting her freshman year.

These days, Morris is fully Pueblo. He stirs green chili into his spaghetti sauce and has strong opinions about the city’s famed Slopper, though he refuses to name a favorite spot. (In this town, that’s how you make enemies.) After all these years, he’s learned that chasing success is hard, but keeping it might be harder.

Thirteen years in, Morris is still chasing something. We asked him what drives him, what surprises him, and whether green chili really belongs in spaghetti.

What brought you to Pueblo in the first place?

My wife and I were looking for a place with the infrastructure in place. At our previous school, we started a program from scratch. We got competitive quickly, but it didn’t seem like the school was going to invest in the facilities. We wanted a place that already had the foundation and needed the program brought up to par.

I got a phone call from a couple of my buddies who thought that the job was going to open up, and they said really great things about it. One of them had competed at the Outdoor National Championships the school hosted in 2012. I got here in July 2013.

You are a former college runner yourself. What was that experience like?

I ran distance at the University of Montana from 1988 to 1993. These days I probably look more like a shot-putter than a miler, but it was a great experience. My college roommate was a Division I national champion and later broke the American record in the marathon. I was around incredible coaches and athletes, which is why I like college athletics.

In your 13 years here, you’ve coached some remarkable athletes. Can you talk about a few of them?

When I came, there was only a woman’s program, so we were recruiting to build out the men’s side. I brought in Bailey Hughes, who went on to be an All-American here and is now in our Hall of Fame. Jamarius Mathis and Shelby Sweeney came with me, too. Those three were part of a team that finished fifth in the nation the year before.

More recently, we’ve had Yasmine Hernandez. She was a national champion for us in 2021 outdoors, and she was an All-American a few times. Hailey Streff was on that team as well. On the men’s side, Marcelo Lagüera, Derrick Williams, Alec Choury, and Reece Sharman-Newell have done really well. Nathan Hood was an All-American from Grenada. I didn’t even think of the throwers. We’ve had a lot of really good kids come through here.

Do you have favorites?

I’ve coached so many good kids over my career in 33 years that I can’t really pick favorites. Maybe I should. I feel like they’re all my kids, right? They all have a special place in my heart. That said, I probably have a little recency bias because I think Reese was one of my favorites to coach. Right now, Helen Braybrook is as fun for me to coach as anybody I’ve ever coached before. I do like the kids I coached 33 years ago. Many of them have kids of their own and some even have on grandkids.

Last year was historic for the women’s program. What does that mean going forward?

It’s easily the best year we’ve ever had. We finished third in the nation in cross country. We were sixth indoors, ninth outdoors, and ranked fourth overall in Division II.

Historically, I’ve been a “bar rescue” guy. I go into programs that need to be rebuilt, spend five years getting them on track, then move on. This is my 13th year, so the challenge is different now. How do we maintain success? How do you keep it going? Building something is one thing. Keeping it going is a whole other challenge.

You’ve coached four siblings from the same family. The Roberds family. Can you talk about that experience?

It’s been great. Matthew and Richie came from Mesa Ridge High School. They are twins, and usually one twin does the talking. Richie was definitely that guy. Matthew was quieter, but they both worked incredibly hard and got significantly better. They’ve both been contributors for our teams at National Championships.

Then came Aaron, who kept the family tradition, and now Annie, she’s the last one. They’re just a great family. The parents do all the right things for kids to give them opportunities, and they support them.

Was that the first time you’d coached an entire family through your program?

Yes, absolutely. What was interesting was that around that time, we started recruiting more athletes from Mesa Ridge in general. Their program philosophy matches up really well with ours. We have lots of great athletes from that school. The Roberds opened the door. It wasn’t just one family; it was a connection that brought in a wave of talent.

Do you ever use the older siblings as a coaching tool? Like, I’ll tell your brother; I’ll tell your parents?

Not really. Early in my career, I learned that lesson. When I was a high school coach, I had an incredible athlete who was a state champion and an amazing leader. She’d finish her race and wait for her teammates, then go over to the freshmen and put her arms around them to hug her and make sure they’re okay. Just phenomenal.

Her little brother comes through the program, and he was a good kid, but completely different. In your mind, you think they are going to be like the other sibling you coached. But they’re really unique people. You can’t treat siblings as a unit. They are individuals. If I had an issue with Richie, I wouldn’t bring Matthew into it. Same with Annie. Each kid deserves to be treated as themselves, not part of a package deal.

Thirteen years in Pueblo, are you a Slopper fan?

I love Sloppers, but I don’t have a favorite spot. That’s how you get painted into a corner in this town. I’ve had them all over town. I think everybody does really good ones, and I’m definitely a fan.

Pueblo has amazing food, and I didn’t realize how much I loved Mexican food until I got here. You can eat it for every meal—breakfast, lunch, dinner—it’s perfect.

My wife learned from some people in town how to make green chili. We put green chili on anything you can think of. We put it in spaghetti sauce, eggs, you name it. I mean, if you can eat it, we’re putting green chili in it.