Hurdling Adversity: James takes young track career to Boise State

RIO RANCHO — Cleveland’s Morgan James is about to start a new chapter. The Storm senior has announced her commitment to Boise State University to continue her track career in Idaho.

College commitments are usually the biggest decision a student-athlete makes in their young career, but for James, this is not her first time altering her athletic path.

“I was a level 10 gymnast,” James said. “I started to fall out of love (with gymnastics) during my freshman year, so I decided that maybe I would try track and field to take my mind off of it and help me fall back in love. But it actually did the opposite.”

A hobby away from her gymnastics career turned out to be her newfound love, taking up hurdling for the Cleveland track and field team. James specifically remembers a certain trip to Oregon where the idea came to life.

“My freshman summer, my dad and I were in Eugene, Oregon, for my Junior Olympic National meet,” James said. “I was watching the elite girls run the 100 hurdles, and that was when I told my dad that I wanted to be a hurdler, and I could see myself doing this.”

Since that trip to the Pacific Northwest, James took up track and hasn't looked back since (quite literally). On top of winning several state competitions with the Storm, James most recently set a state record at the 2025 Great Southwest Track and Field Classic on June 7, clocking a time of 42.86 seconds in the 300-meter hurdles.

While it has been a quick rise to the top, James’ stardom does not shock many. Competing at the collegiate level has always been the goal, no matter the sport.

“I've always wanted to go and compete at the Division I level,” James said. “Before track, I wanted to be a Division I gymnast, but after I quit gymnastics and became a track athlete, that dream still continued. I still have that drive in me and wanted to pursue that dream.”

It was a transition that presented hurdles, on and off the asphalt, for James. Gymnastics was all she knew when entering high school, presenting challenges in a lot of different areas of the Storm star’s life.

“It was hard, very hard. Gymnastics was all I had ever known, and that was where my best friends, who I grew up with, a lot of them from a very young age, and so it was hard to let go of that,” James said. “But after I started track and field, it was just so different. It was calling me; I just fell in love with track, I got to meet new people, because I was homeschooled for gymnastics. So I was just in my own shell, but going into high school and running track at Cleveland, it definitely brought me out of my shell and made me meet new people.”

James will have the chance to make more track connections when she becomes a Bronco next year, joining a Boise State program that has produced several women’s individual national champions in the last decade.

“I knew, as soon as I set foot in Boise, that's where I wanted to go,” James said. “(My recruiting process) definitely had its ups and downs, but in the end, I had a really good conversation with Coach Andy (Green). He's going to be my new hurdle coach, and he has worked so hard to provide me with a great scholarship that's reasonable for not just me, but for my family as well.”

Before heading north, James will prepare for one last go with the Storm this spring, finishing off a high school career of not just embracing change, but thriving in it.

“Just stay focused and don't get discouraged,” James said as some advice to the future high schooler runners to come. “I know that it can be hard and things can be tough, but no matter what, you're going to end up where you're going to end up. Everything happens for a reason. Just never give up on yourself and continue striving for the goal that you want to achieve.”