By Mark Gregory
Editorial Director
@Hear_The_Beard
mark@buglenewspapers.com
In May, Plainfield North sophomore Marcellus Moore became the first Tiger to win an individual state track and field state title.
In fact, he won two.
Moore won the 100-meter dash with a state-record time of 10.31 seconds and claimed the title in the 200 with a time of 21.30.
May 26, 2018 – Charleston, IL – Plainfield North’s Marcellus Moore reacts after crossing the finish line in the Class 3A 4×100-Meter Relay during Saturday’s State Finals. [Photo: Douglas Cottle]
He also anchored the 4×100 and 4×200 relay teams that claimed state titles, giving Moore four gold medals in the event.
“At the age of 14 as a freshman when he ran 10.40, no 14-year-old in the history of the world has ever run a faster time,” said North coach Tony Holler. “At sectional he ran a 20.88 in the 200 and I looked that up and the record for a 15-year old was 20.58 by Usain Bolt. That kind of tells you, this is not just a kid who wins races, it is something special.”
For his accomplishments, he was tabbed as the 2017-18 Gatorade Illinois Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year.
The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the track, distinguishes Moore as Illinois’s best high school boys track and field athlete.
“Honestly, I had no idea I was even in the running,” Moore said. “It was really all a big surprise when I found out I was a finalist. I woke up like seven in the morning and saw on Twitter that I was Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year, I jumped out of bed and went and showed my dad. I was thrilled.”
Moore also paced Plainfield North to a third-place finish in Class 3A.
“It means so much to me,” Moore said of the honor. “Track doesn’t get that much recognition and when Gatorade recognized, it was a special honor to be one of the best athletes in the country.”
While it may not get the notoriety nation wide, in Plainfield track and field has been a key story for a long time.
“A few years ago, the four coaches got together and we decided to call Plainfield Tracktown,” Holler said. “In track, we are much more together than we are rivals. You don’t have to hate your opponent to perform well. I think it makes us all better.”
Going back to the Winder brothers racking up pole vault titles to Kahmari Montgomery winning the sprint triple crown his senior season — and now Moore puts the village on the national radar again.
“Plainfield is really big for track,” Moore said. “For me, it started with Kahmari. I have known him for a long time and always looked up to him and I always wanted to fill his shoes or be better than him.”
Moore, who already bettered Montgomery’s state finals times in the 100 and 200 will look to add the 400 to his resume and repeat the triple crown — and he has two more years to do it.
“I want to continue to get faster,” he said. “Next year, I know there will be big target on my back and I know there will be some more pressure, but I know I will be OK.”
And after North, Moore has higher goals that may not be unattainable.
“I want to get my education paid for, but I also want to make the Olympic team and run for my country someday,” he said. “It has got to a point where dreams have become reality and more of my goals could be reality and if I just keep working hard, I can achieve those goals.”
Moore is not only an outstanding athlete.
He has maintained a weighted 4.32 GPA in the classroom, is devoted member of his church community. He has also volunteered locally on behalf of Feed My Starving Children, Cradles to Crayons and a youth football program.
“You hear all the time that someone is a better person than they are an athlete, but he really is a special kid,” Holler said. “The first word that comes to mind is humble and the second word is competitive and that is such a weird mix. He is such a good guy, but he runs like an assassin. The best sprinters have a reckless confidence about them and that sometimes makes them hard to deal with, but Marcellus breaks that mold. I don’t know if I have ever coached someone who is so universally liked.”
As a Gatorade Player of the Year, Moore was able to select a national or local youth sports organization to receive a $1,000 grant as part of the Gatorade Play It Forward program.
Moore selected the Aurora Flyers Track Club as his beneficiary. He also completed a brief essay explaining why their selected organization deserves additional support in order to attempt to win an extra $10,000 spotlight grant for the Flyers. “I chose the Aurora Flyer Track Club because the organization has done so much for me and has played a huge role in getting me where I am today,” Moore said. “I wanted to give back.”