Issue date: 3/21/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Karyn Gilbert Freshman Dominic Morris practices his lifting on March 7 in Solano Hall 1020. He took second place with a lift of 115 kilograms while his brother Donte took first with a lift of 120 kilograms. [Click to enlarge]

Donte and Dominic Morris are twin brothers whose lifelong dreams have been to play baseball. The athletes came to Sacramento State in fall of 2006 in hopes of walking on for the Hornet baseball team, but they didn't make the cut.

When that fell through, they joined the Sac State Olympic Weightlifting Club to keep in shape, condition for baseball and try something new.

"It was their dream to play baseball for the school they went to," the twins' mother, Sherri Morris, said.

Dominic said the baseball tryout was only 30 minutes long and wasn't enough time for them.

"If I had more time I would have shown (the coach) the skills I have and won him over," he said.

Sherri said she was glad the boys found weightlifting.

"I wanted them to get into other sports," she said.

The freshmen rookies competed in their first meet in the Pacific Weightlifting Association Championships on Feb 11 and took home first and second place, which was quite a surprise to them.

"I was in shock," said Dominic. "I thought I was going to get ninth."

Donte lifted 120 kilograms, taking first place in the men's 62-kilogram class, and Dominic tallied 115 kilograms to finish behind his brother.

The twins' mother was unable to attend their first tournament in San Francisco but was happy to hear they were doing well.
Paul Bowling, a member of the club since 1998, coaches the twins. Bowling said the athletes are doing fine considering they just started the sport.

"I think that winning the first competition opened their eyes," Bowling said.

Bowling said the two are close to lifting their own body weight, which is one step away from hitting the next level of competition in a sport where it takes time to do well and excel during the tournaments.

"The sport has a large learning curve," Bowling said. "To be a veteran it takes about a year to get it down."

Donte said club members are very supportive and back each other up, which was different from his previous sports.

"This is a good group of people," he said.

Bowling said the athletes competed in a junior meet in early March, where the competition was a bit tougher.

He said there was about 75 people competing. Two big teams from the Bay Area and Sacramento, competed against the Morris brothers.

"They also had a bit of a break," Bowling said. "That can keep you from hitting good (marks)."

Although the twins only began their weightlifting career in the fall of their freshman year, they have shown they have what it takes to become dominant lifters.

Dominic said the coaching staff is really supportive and motivates him and his brother's training.

"I wish I had a coach like that (in baseball)," Dominic said.
The brothers were on the Berkeley High School varsity baseball team for two years.

The two haven't given up their No. 1 sport and are going through the process of adding a league in their name to the list of over 200 recreational sports at Sac State.

Dominic said there was a lot of paperwork to fill out in order to start up a new club.

"It was quite a hassle," he said.

Aleia Luster, administrative support assistant in Student Activates, said the Morris League is still in the works and is currently classified as a pre-recognition club sport. The deadline is April 19, she said.

Ken Morton, coordinator of Recreational Sports, said he has been working with the twins to get their league up and running.
"They are very passionate about baseball," he said.

Even if the Morris League picks up, Dominic said it would be hard to leave weightlifting.

"I'll never quit," he said. "I'll have to stick (it) out."

Karyn Gilbert can be reached at sports@statehornet.com

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