Former Greene County Activities Director Todd Gordon talked with Raccoon Valley Radio about track & field multi-event athletes and their mental aptitude. Specifically, Carter Morton the 2020 Greene County High School grad who was a senior in high school during Gordon’s first year in Jefferson. Morton, a fifth year athlete at the University of Northern Iowa, finished fifth in the heptathlon a week ago today in Virginia Beach, VA at the NCAA Division 1 Indoor Track & Field Championships, earning First Team All-American honors.

“As a multi-even athlete, you have to transition mentally very quickly sometimes. Just think about it. You may PR (personal record) in the shot put, but then you might not get the time you want in the high hurdles. You have to have such a quick turnaround mentally at that high level, and I think there’s only a certain amount of people that can do that. And, you’ve got to train yourself to able to move onto the next thing.”

The heptathlon has seven events and the decathlon has 10 outdoors events. Morton told Raccoon Valley Radio he plans on competing unattached this outdoor season. Among the meets he plans on entering is the Drake Relays in Des Moines in the decathlon.