Official press release-
CHICAGO (June 24, 2019) - In its 34th year of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, The Gatorade
Company today announced Marcellus Moore of Plainfield North High School as its 2018-19 Gatorade Illinois
Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year. Moore is the first Gatorade Illinois Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year
to be chosen from Plainfield North High School.
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' best high
school boys track & field athlete. Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Track & Field Athlete of
the Year award to be announced in June, Moore joins an elite alumni association of state track & field award winners, including Lolo Jones (1997-98, Roosevelt High School, Iowa), Allyson Felix (2002-03, Los Angeles Baptist
High School, Calif.), Robert Griffin III (2006-07, Copperas Cove High School, Texas), Grant Fisher (2013-14 & 2014-
15, Grand Blanc High School, Mich.) and Candace Hill (2014-15, Rockdale County High School, Ga.).
The 5-foot-7, 150-pound junior won the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.39 seconds and the 200-meter dash in 21.22
at the Class 3A state meet this past season. The state's returning Gatorade Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year,
Moore clocked a season-best of 10.36 in the 100, which ranked as the nation's No. 8 performance among prep
competitors in 2019 at the time of his selection.
A devoted member of his church community, Moore has volunteered locally on behalf of Feed My Starving Children,
the Northern Illinois Food Bank and a youth football program. "Marcellus is just an incredible competitor," said
Plainfield North High School coach Tony Holler. "He's also humble and kind, and he's wise beyond his years."
Moore has maintained a weighted 4.24 GPA in the classroom. He will begin his senior year of high school this fall.
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the
50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball,
boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year
in each sport. From the 12 national winners, one male and one female athlete are each named Gatorade High School
Athlete of the Year. In all, 607 athletes are honored each year.
Two-time winner Moore joins Gatorade Illinois Boys Track & Field Athletes of the Year Cameron Ruiz (2016-17, Lakes
Community High School), Sean Torpy (2015-16, Carl Sandburg High School), and Ja'Mari Ward (2014-15 & 2013-14,
Cahokia High School) among the state's list of former award winners.
As a part of Gatorade's cause marketing platform "Play it Forward," Moore also has the opportunity to award a $1,000
grant to a local or national youth sports organization of his choosing. He is also eligible to submit an essay to win one
of twelve $10,000 spotlight grants for the organization of choice, which will be announced throughout the year.
Since the program's inception in 1985, Gatorade Player of the Year award recipients have won hundreds of
professional and college championships, and many have also turned into pillars in their communities, becoming
coaches, business owners and educators.