MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — During a practice her sophomore year at Morgantown High, Lize Morris’ life was turned upside down.
As part of the Mohigans girls’ basketball team, Morris was a cog in what was becoming a powerhouse program at MHS. The day after a game, something happened at practice that triggered a major seizure, and Morris was forced to make decisions.
“I was diagnosed with epilepsy my freshman year, but something hit me at that practice,” she said. “It set me back a lot, but a lot of my teammates and coaches were supportive. I wasn’t the same ballplayer I used to be, and eventually decided it was best to step back from the game and put the ball the down.”
Morris played basketball at MHS the remainder of her sophomore year and began to play her junior year before she realized the effects the seizure had on not only her on-court performance, but also her personal life.
As an honor roll student, Morris’ grades began to suffer and she was having memory loss. Those close to her were also honest with how her basketball skills seemed to be getting worse rather than better.
“I had a tough time even trying to figure out what was reality and what was a dream,” Morris said. “For my mental health, I decided I couldn’t play basketball anymore.”
The Mohigans ended up winning the state championship Morris’ sophomore year while still a member of the team. As a junior, Morris made the trip to Charleston, although she had already decided she was done playing, and MHS won another state title.
As a senior, though, Morris was not a part of the team anymore, but she made an effort to support her former teammates, such as Sydney Holloway, Rachel Laskody and Paige Poffenberger. Again, that core senior class capped their careers with yet another state championship for the three-peat.
“Their Senior Night really broke my heart a little bit,” Morris said. “Of course, they went to states, and while I didn’t go, I watched online when they won it again. I was tremendously proud of them and am proud to be a part of a program that was so successful.”
The competitive itch never left Morris, even as she was prepared to go into her freshman year at WVU. She always thought she could be a Division-I athlete. If she put her mind to it, she could fill that void.
Also, as a Morgantown native, she did not live in a dorm as a freshman, so Morris missed that social experience and she wanted to find friends, as well as get involved in some way at the university. That’s when an opportunity with the WVU rowing team came about.
“I thought I might give it a shot and see if I like it,” Morris said. “My parents told me I should do it, and I was like, ‘What the hell, why not?’ Two months later, it was our first race, and I realized this was something I really loved.”
It didn’t start out pretty for Morris with the Mountaineers, “Our coach probably saw us out there at first and thought, ‘What in the world?’ ” Morris said.
Rowing crew teams have distinct responsibilities depending on where someone sits on the boat, so Morris needed to learn where she best suited the team — up front, in the back or in the middle.
Everyone has to be on the same page or else it doesn’t work as the front and back set the rhythm, while the middle supplies the power.
“In basketball, you can have a star player, but in rowing, you’re only as good as your weakest link,” Morris said. “Since then, I’ve tried to become a leader with the team.”
As a freshman in 2017, Morris appeared in eight races and followed it up with eight more as a sophomore. But her academic success is apparent, being named to the first team all-Big 12 academic team.
As Morris geared up for her final season this spring, the COVID-19 virus pandemic wreaked havoc on the sports landscape. The Big 12 decided it will not continue it’s spring sports slate, thus potentially ending her career prematurely.
At first, it didn’t seem like it was reality.
“We were all very upset,” Morris said. “Honestly, we were all very disappointed. Is this really happening? Of course no one envisions this is how it’s going to end.”
At one of the team’s final practices, junior Allyson George wrote a speech she was going to read at the end of the season banquet, but due to the circumstances, decided to read it then.
“Allyson worked very hard on that speech and we helped her revise it,” Morris said. “It was very emotional for all of us.”
The rest of the underclassmen gave seniors their farewells gifts and tried their best to give them the goodbye they deserved. While it was a disappointing ending, Morris will cherish it the best she can.
“This isn’t how we wanted it — we wanted to sing Country Roads, but that this is the best senior sendoff that we’ve ever witnessed,” she said. “It was so unexpected. The underclassmen did an amazing job of saying what we meant to them and how thankful they were for us over the last four years.
“We were very happy with it and it made us feel grateful.”
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