May 18, 2013
Each week during the 2012-13 season a Maryland student-athlete, who has shown excellence on and off the playing field, will be selected as the Solomon Eye Associates Terp of the Week. This week's Solomon Eye Associates Terp of the Week is Moriah Young from women's outdoor track & field.
Young broke the Maryland women's outdoor hammer throw record at the ECAC Championships last weekend and is leading the Terps to NCAA East Regionals May 23-25.
By Katherine O'Toole | Maryland Media Relations Student Assistant
If you have ever seen
Moriah Young compete in the throws, you would never suspect that in high school she was not highly recruited, nor did she throw far enough distances to even be considered for recruitment.
Despite the adversity she faced, her perseverance and constant improvement caused the University of Maryland track & field coaches to take note of the high school student. On paper, it may not have made sense to recruit Young, but nonetheless, they saw something within the Maryland local. And they would soon find, they were right.
"I just wanted to prove myself. Prove that I deserved to be there," Young reflected. "I wanted my coach to think, `We made a good decision in recruiting her.'"
Last weekend at the ECAC/IC4A meet, the senior erased any doubt that she may have had in getting her coach's approval as she broke the all-time record in the hammer throw that dated back to 2008. Despite the accomplishment, Young always sees room for improvement and is hungry for success.
"Honestly, I was proud of myself. I was really happy, and then that feeling lasted all of like five minutes because I knew I could throw farther," Young said. "I'm in general a really hungry person, I always want more. Once I threw that I was like, `Great, I broke the school record, now let's go do it again. Time to put in more work.'"
Young's persistence and dedication to her sport have given her maturity and great success in the throws. Young also holds the second-best records in the outdoor and indoor shot put and the second-best record in the indoor 20-pound weight throw, making her one of the best throwers in Maryland track & field history.
Young is one of seven Maryland student-athletes who will compete in the 2013 East Regional Championships May 23-25 in Greensboro, N.C. She qualified to participate in both the shot put and the hammer throw, where she hopes to make marks that will qualify her for the NCAA Championships in June.
"My ultimate goal would be to make it to nationals, but I would be happy if I just improved from last year's regional meet, or if I PR (personal record) in both of my events."
