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LaVera Morris is in her fourth year on the Roadrunners' coaching staff. She tutors the team's women's middle distance runners and assists with the cross country squads in addition to coordinating team travel, organizing housing for UTSA's student-athletes, arranging team meals and other administrative duties. Morris spent her inaugural season as the program's director of operations.
The women's distance medley relay quartet successfully defended its league title at last year's Conference USA Indoor Championships and Stephanie Wangui swept the 800 meter crowns at both the indoor and outdoor meets in addition to placing 10th at the circuit's cross country meet.
On the strength of the DMR's winning performance, the Roadrunners women placed second at the 2014 C-USA Indoor Championships. Nina Herrera also broke the program record in the 1,000 meters during the indoor campaign.
The women's cross country team won UTSA's first-ever Conference USA Championship in November 2013. Led by Herrera's fourth-place finish, the Roadrunners captured the program's first league crown since 1996 and sixth overall in school history (1991-93, '95-96 Southland Conference). Emily Perez went on to post the best individual finish by a Roadrunner in 17 years and her performance helped lead UTSA to fifth place at the 2013 NCAA South Central Regional.
Morris came to the Alamo City following a one-year stint as the director of operations at her alma mater, Kentucky.
A two-time All-American in the 800 meters, Morris earned certificates at the 2006 NCAA Outdoor Championships and two years later at the indoor national meet. She also won a Southeastern Conference Indoor Championship as a sophomore in the distance medley relay. Morris still holds the fastest indoor 800m time in UK history by a freshman (2:09.70) and ranks third overall with her 2:06, which she ran as a junior. Her outdoor career-best clocking of 2:05.87 as a sophomore stands fourth in Wildcats annals.
After receiving her master's degrees from Central Florida in business administration and sports management in 2011, the Orlando, Fla., native was a marketing and sales intern for the Black Coaches & Administrators/Learfield Sports. She earned her bachelor's degree in kinesiology from Kentucky in 2008.