The first meet of the season is out of the way and Cass cross country coach David Rawlins already sees his young talent shining through and leading the way.

Sophomore runner Jaison Morning finished first for Cass and 17th overall at the Mercy Invitational on Aug. 25 in Fairburn.

“The boys team had an awesome race. They finished sixth in an awesome field of 25 teams with sophomore Jaison Morning in 17:44,” Rawlins said.

Morning was one of six sophomores to finish in the top 20 of the Mercy Invitational.

Morning took more than a minute off his time from last year’s Mercy Invitational when he placed 55th with 19:10, which would have landed him in the 53rd spot this year.

Starting cross country in middle school, Morning holds records at Cass Middle School for the 800-meter (2:20:03) and the 1600 meter (5:10:13).

While Morning is only a sophomore, he has been a leader for his team since he began running for the high school squad as a freshman. He was considered as a top runner alongside his older brother, Jordan Morning, and other top returners.

Jaison Morning eventually showed he could not only keep up with his veteran teammates, but he could set the pace for the entire team.

With two more seasons prior to graduation, if Morning drops his 5000-meter time by more than a minute again, he could finish in the top five of next year’s Mercy Invitational.