This month’s Farah and Farah athlete is actually two athletes, each of whom helped lead a herculean effort for the Turner County boys and girls track teams, despite inexperience and injuries. Ta’Liyah Martin and Nikemious Morris are sophomores at Turner County, and each played a big role in leading their respective Titans teammates to a region championship.
Ta’Liyah Martin
Martin previous had played basketball and softball for Turner County, but she decided to start running track last year. Right out of the starting blocks, she suffered a leg muscle injury, which is not good for any student athlete, but especially a track athlete.
“I injured my quad muscle at the region track meet last year, but then I reinjured myself at the start of this year,” Martin told ITG Next.
In case you’re wondering, the quad, or quadriceps, is the group of muscles in the front part of the upper leg. It’s the largest muscle group in the body, and for anyone who injures that muscle, it can be debilitating. For a track athlete, especially a hurdler, it can mean the end of a season, or even a career. That’s almost what happened with Ta’liyah.
“I almost quit track,” she said. “I felt like I may need to stop running track, because I kept injuring myself.”
But the soLhomore decided to stay with it and work through it.
“I would rest a little, and then keep working,” Martin said.
Her perseverance paid off.
“She fought through it, and came out as a region champion,” Turner County track coach Ben Simmons told us.
Simmons said despite the injuries, Martin played an important part in the Turner girls winning the region championship.
“Ta’Liyah won the region championship in the 300M hurdles, placed third in the 100M hurdles, and placed third in the triple jump,” he said.
But Martin wasn’t finished.
“We had an injury to one of our relay members, so Ta’Liyah had to step in as part of our 4x100M relay team,” Simmons continued. “We put her on the third leg of the team, and she took that baton and took off.”
The results were a region championship for the girls 4x100M relay team.
“Ta’Liyah was a big reason for the relay team winning that region championship,” Simmons said.
Simmons added that he expects Ta’Liyah to qualify for the state meet in the hurdles, as well as continue to lead Turner’s track team for the remainder of her career at Turner County High.
Nikemious Morris
Simmons remembers hoping first-year track athlete Nikemious Morris would do well in his first-ever track event at the high school level.
“I know Morris had competed in track in middle school, but this was his first year of high school track, so we just didn’t know how he was going to perform,” Simmons said.
It didn’t take long for the sophomore high jumper to show just how well he could do.
“We were at the very first track meet, at Tift County, and we put him in the high jump, and that’s when we found out just how special he was,” the Turner County track coach recalled.
Morris won the event with a jump of 6 feet, 2 inches, and he became the team’s top high jumper for the rest of this season. He has continued to dominate, including his recent performance at the region meet.
“Nikemious really showed out,” Simmons said.
Morris placed first in the high jump, as well as the 110M and 300 M hurdles. He also served as the anchor leg for the Turner boys 4x400M relay team, which finished second.
“He was the high point earner for the whole track meet in the boys division,” Simmons said.
So much for being uncertain about Nikemious.
The sophomore had a PR in the 100M and 300M hurdles, and his performance added 32 points to the team total, which, according to coach Simmons, was the difference needed to overtake the next closest team – Turner’s rival, Charlton County.
“That was the margin of difference right there,” Simmons said.
Like Ta’Liyah, Morris also had to battle through injury throughout the season.
“He also was battling an injury throughout the year with some tendinitis in his knee,” Simmons said.
Despite the pain and his inexperience, the sophomore battled through it all, coming out the other side as a region champ
“Nikemious got better and better as the year went on,” Simmons said, “and it all came together for him and our team.”
Simmons said both Nikemious and Ta’Liyah battled back from adversity, and they are champions for it. But they aren’t finished.
“We are excited to have both of them back next season, and beyond!” Simmons said.
Click below to read more stories from the ITG Next South Georgia June/July 2023 magazine.
