A study in perseverance
For a former Sequim High prep football and track standout, the wait has been worth it.
Miguel Moroles is headed east this fall after receiving an appointment to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., where he hopes to continue efforts in two athletic fields as well as his studies.
But for Moroles, a Sequim High 2015 graduate and currently a freshman at Washington State University in Pullman, it hasn’t been an easy road.
After missing his freshman football season to injury, Moroles looked to see more playing time as a sophomore behind then-quarterback Jack Wiker. During a practice in the second week of that season, Moroles was playing the role of scout quarterback when a seemingly benign hit from a defender snapped his collarbone.
“It was one of those shoulder checks on the sideline — I heard a pop,” Moroles recalls. “I tried to catch the snap on the next play and couldn’t lift my arm. I took off my shirt and it was all swollen.”
That ended his sophomore season.
“The team was always super good about including me,” he says. “It was just knowing that sophomore year still is supposed to be a learning year (that kept me focused). I knew I had a couple more years.”
Moroles came back strong as a junior in 2013, tallying 1,621 passing yards and eight touchdowns, and running for another 706 yards and five scores to earn All-Olympic League honorable mention honors. The young Wolves struggled to a winless campaign, however, going 0-10.
That spring, Moroles suffered another injury, this time a broken ankle playing for the Olympic Mountaineers lacrosse squad. That kept him out of spring football and set him back for his senior season.
“I was a little slow to get back,” he says.
It didn’t show much. Things came together for the Sequim High star in his senior gridiron season in 2014, earning a spot on the All-Olympic League first team as quarterback.
He racked up finished 91-of-132 for 1,083 passing yards, nine touchdowns and seven interceptions.
He also ran for 772 yards (7.6 yards per carry) and 11 scores.
The team improved as well, going 4-5 and earning a postseason berth one year removed from a winless campaign.
That spring Moroles, who had competed in track events at the middle school level and sparingly as a junior, went all in as a sprinter for the Wolves. Sequim High got the benefit of Moroles’ athleticism as he ran the second-fastest 100-meter dash on the North Olympic Peninsula (11.45 seconds), third-fastest 200 (23.27) and second-best 400 (52.43).
He earned district berths for both 100- and 200-meter races.
His biggest contribution, however, came in the Wolves’ relays. Both of Sequim’s 4×100 and 4×400 relay squads — consisting of Moroles, Alex Barry, Oscar Herrera and Jason Springer — earned spots in the finals.
The 4×100 team earned a medal after finishing seventh and earned a spot in the 4×400 finals.
“We pretty much expected to get into the finals,” Moroles says. “Going up to the race we were joking with our coach, ‘What if we win?’ We definitely thought we could get second and third.”
By seed, SHS’s 4×400 team was pegged to finish fourth, about two seconds behind a blisteringly fast West Valley (Spokane) team. But Moroles got the Wolves off to a strong start and had a good view of the remaining three legs. Following Springer’s leg and into Barry’s, the Wolves were in second place. Herrera finished it off as the Wolves came in at 3:22.53 for the 2A title, about a half-second better than runner-up Lynden.
“It was pretty insane — a weird feeling,” Moroles says. “That was incredible.”
A dream deferred
Moroles was sure where he wanted to go after high school. His father is (recently retired) Master Chief Lawrence “LP” Moroles and Miguel’s brother (U.S Marines) and brother-in-law (U.S. Navy) are both in the services, so it seemed a natural fit for him to attend the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.
“I didn’t really think about joining the Coast Guard Academy until my junior year,” he says. “My dad knew a lot of people who went through it.”
Moroles says he seemed to have the right background and resumé, but he didn’t receive an appointment … initially.
“It definitely was hard pretty — I was optimistic about my chances to get in,” Moroles says.
With support from his parents, Moroles began the process of reapplying. Unlike the other federal service academies, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy does not require a Congressional nomination, but Moroles had to gather letters of recommendation from high school staffers and he retook the ACT test hoping to boost his scores to be a more attractive candidate.
“I reached out to the track coach (as well), which I think helped out a bit,” Moroles said.
With the appointment, Moroles can finish up at WSU — “I like Washington State; it’s cool to get the college experience,” he says — and start preparing for a new chapter in his life. Moroles leaves for basic training in June.
In the fall, he plans to be on the football field, where he says coaches have him pegged as a slot receiver or something that can utilize his versatility, but not his familiar position of quarterback.
And in the spring, Moroles expects to be back out on the track running relays and the 400-meter race.
Moroles says he doesn’t expect doing two sports and completing studies at the academy to be easy.
“It’s a little intimidating, honestly,” he says. “Time management is going to be the name of the game. I think I can do it. We’ll see how it goes.”
