Tyler Moore was sort of like the Forrest Gump of high school sprinters this year. He really wasn’t sure what was going on, but wherever he showed up, great things happened for him.
“I’m still getting used to this meet schedule,” the Hamilton West rising senior said. “I just go to whatever track meet they tell me to go to, and I just run.”
And oh, how he runs.
One would be hard pressed to find a better track & field story in Mercer County—and quite possibly the state—than Moore.
In a nutshell, he’s a kid who played baseball his entire life. This past winter, his junior year at West, Moore decided to go out for winter track just to get in shape for baseball.
With all of two months of track experience under his belt, Moore won the indoor NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III 55 meter race in 6.53; took third in the Group III race and finished a seventh in the Meet of Champions in 10.95. He also ran a showcase 200-meter race at the MOC (they don’t run that officially in state indoor meets) and also took seventh.
It got even better in the spring, starting with the Mercer County Championships, in which he won gold medals in the 100 (10.95) and 200 (22.52).
At the CNJ III sectionals, Moore won the 100 (10.88) and took fourth in the 200. He qualified for the MOC by finishing second in Group III in the 100 (10.89) and getting a wild card berth in the 200 after finishing seventh in 22.45.
He then took second in the Meet of Champs in the 100 in 10.69, which was 8/10ths of a second behind Salem High’s Jonathan Taylor; and fifth in the 200 (21.90) after being seeded 30th entering the race.
He ran a 10.68 in the 100 to finish 3rd in the Emerging Elite Division at New Balance Nationals June 17.
The closest he ever got to a track before this year was either in gym class or watching a meet from afar during baseball practice. When he finally tried it, he garnished two MCT gold medals and three MOC medals within his first five months, and is second best in the entire state in the 100. Let that sink in.
“He’s amazing,” Hornets coach Danielle Grady said. “It’s something to talk about, and it’s gonna be something to talk about for a long time. It makes me want to cry just out of excitement with what this boy has done. I’m sure a lot of people haven’t seen it yet, but he has definitely made himself a factor.”
Letters from Division I colleges are finding their way to Grady. Moore is actually talking about being an Olympian. Far-fetched?
“That’s not far-fetched. That is not far-fetched at all,” the coach said. “I know he’s definitely going to get college money. I watched the NCAA Division I championships, and his 100 time was faster than the seventh-place guy in the finals, and he’s only a junior in high school. To put him on that type of level and to compare him to it, it’s not far-fetched. I just see an opportunity for this kid, it’s gonna be great to watch.”
He has yet to stop moving, and competed in the 100 at the Nationals in North Carolina the weekend of June 18-19. When he returned from nationals, he also returned to his first love, as Moore will spend the summer playing baseball for Broad Street Park.
“It was strictly baseball coming up, 24-7,” Moore said. “I played all stars for HTRBA and Hamilton Babe Ruth.”
Moore played on the Hornets’ freshman baseball team and got promoted to varsity his sophomore season. Assistant coach Mike Moceri immediately noticed Moore’s greatest strength.
“I remember Coach Mo was telling me, ‘There’s no doubt you’re the fastest kid out there,’” Moore said. “I’m like ‘OK,’ so I go out for winter track and the next thing you know, [I’m thinking] ‘I guess I am pretty fast.’ I guess I kind of surprised myself, because I didn’t think I was the fastest kid in Mercer County.”
Grady, of course, was salivating at the chance to work with such a raw talent. She watched him play speedball in gym class and was astounded at how fast Moore was.
“But, being fast in the gym and being fast on the track are two totally different things,” the coach said. “But I saw the ‘track fast’ in him.”
Grady approached Moore and asked him to try winter track, adding that, “see how you feel about it, see how successful you’ll be and you can make your decision from there.”
It is not as if Moore had never pondered the sport before.
“It’s weird,” he said. “I was playing baseball at West and when I was at the batting cage, I would always hear them yelling at the track meet, and the gun would go off, and I would look at them and I was like ‘Maybe I can do that.’ I used to hear Grady’s voice, the motivation she was yelling. And what do you know, now I’m over here doing track.”
Moore’s plan was to simply do winter track as a jumpstart into baseball season. Never in his wildest dreams could he imagine what was about to happen. Especially since being fast and knowing how to run are two different things.
“I remember when I first went out they watched me run, and they said they didn’t know what I was doing,” Moore said with a laugh. “But now, I’ve changed. My knees drive up and everything. Before, I had like, frog legs, it was just weird.”
It wasn’t extremely weird, however, as knowledgeable track people saw Tyler’s potential immediately.
“Coming off the first meet, his time was just outstanding and it blew everyone away,” Grady said. “Coaches were coming up to me saying ‘Who is this kid?’ and I’m saying ‘I don’t even know! I don’t know who this kid is.’”
She was sure going to find out, however, as Grady began working with Moore on all aspects of sprints. The biggest thing he needed to improve was his upper body form. Moore needed to keep it straight, run tall and stay upright. He also needed to lean into the curve in the 200, and he had to stay low coming out of the blocks in order to gain more ground at the outset of the race.
“When he ran the 200 indoors, he was all wobbly,” Grady said. “He came off the track and was like ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with me’ and I was like ‘It’s your form, your arms have to pump up and down.’ Once he started getting those things down, it was a smooth ride. Once we got outside, it was even smoother for him.”
Before spring season started, Grady printed out the standards for Division I and II sprinters in the 50 meters.
“He was already at the Division I standard as far as getting some (scholarship) money,” the coach said. “And it’s just his first year running. Just wait until next year.”
It will be fun to watch, as the two combine Moore’s physical tools with Grady’s knowledge of the sport.
“She’s the coach that definitely believed the most in me,” Moore said. “She definitely changed me into a better person. She sees so much of me. Every day at practice, she’s always there. She’s not yelling at me but she’s there pushing me farther than anybody else would.”
And why not? Coaches dream of getting raw talent like Moore possesses. Melissa Foley had it with Grace Dwyer at Nottingham, Justin Kloc had it with a bevy of jumpers at West. They understand that they can make a huge difference in a young athlete’s life because of what that athlete has to offer.
“She taught me to believe in myself the whole way,” Moore said. “Right before the Meet of Champs, I was tired, my body was tired and I was just exhausted. I was screaming because I was so angry, and I thought about giving up but I just kept going. She kept me going.”
Moore has finally come to grips with the fact that choosing to leave baseball was the right one.
“It stressed me out trying to make the decision this spring,” Moore said. “I still miss it. I give it a couple thoughts once in a while but besides that I love track. As they say (on t-shirts), track is life.”
And right now, life is good.
Hamilton High West junior Tyler Moore competes in the New Jersey spring track Meet of Champions June 4, 2016 in South Plainfield. (Photo by John Blaine.),
