Moore, a dominant prep competitor in Connecticut and promising freshman for Bears, looks to extend American streak of Pan Am U20 shot put gold medals to five in a row in Puerto Rico, in addition to competing in hammer throw

By Mary Albl of DyeStat

Gary Moore, Jr. is the first to admit, winning track meets was something he had gotten used to. As one of the nations top prep throwers from Hillhouse High in New Haven, Conn., Moore never lost an in-state meet in the shot put and discus during his junior and senior seasons.

He was a two-time state champion in the events, and earned All-America status in the weight, hammer and shot put.

But it wasn’t until the end of his freshman season at Baylor, when Moore collected just the second victory of his collegiate career.

“It felt like every meet in college was like nationals, because high school dual meets, it was easy to win all the time, but now everybody is better than you or equally as good as you, so you have to work a lot harder,” Moore said. “It was weird because I won one meet, and everything else was battling to get into the finals; the competition levels were a lot different, so I was just learning to have confidence in myself.”

The second win for Moore came July 8 at the USATF U20 Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., as Moore captured the U20 shot put national title with a performance of 65 feet, 0.75 inches (19.83m) to automatically qualify to compete Aug. 4-6 at the Pan American U20 Championships in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.

He also threw a massive personal-best in the hammer of 218-4 (66.56m) to finish third. Second-place finisher Rory Devaney of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo decided not to attend, so Moore will have the opportunity to compete in both the shot and hammer this week on the international stage.

“U20s, it’s been really fun so far, and helped me get back into my groove,” Moore said. “I think I learned a lot about myself this year and who I am as a thrower and as a person. And I know I have a lot more to give than what I showed.”

From an historic track program, Moore has grown up around the sport, coached nearly his entire life by his parents, Gary and Michele, who are the head coaches at Hillhouse. His older sister, Leah, is a thrower at Kentucky. The ins and outs of the sport are second nature. But Moore said the transition to the NCAA Division 1 level was learning to adjust to new standards, both physically and mentally.

“He’s a great young man, he comes from a great family, and that was one of the big reasons why I went after him so hard,” Baylor throws coach Jeff Chakouian said. “He’s very dedicated to the craft and he stepped right in. That first semester he learned what it takes to compete at a high level, so all the meets count, all the reps count. In high school, he gets to the point that he’s so good, if it comes down to it, he’ll always make the finals, that’s different in college. During the indoor season he competed really well at certain points and at other points lost his focus, and he knew that.”

After suffering an injury at the end of his senior prep season, Moore worked his way back into throwing form for his first college season. During his first indoor meet, he set a program record in the 35-pound weight, throwing 65-3.50 (19.90m) to finish in second place.

With some consistency issues – big throws in practice but not in meets – Moore finished the season with a seventh-place finish at the Big 12 Indoor Championships with a mark of 63-10.50 (19.47m) in the hammer and 10th in the shot put at 55-10.50 (17.03m).

“Sometimes it’s easy to overthink, not hitting your marks, getting in your head, and that’s what I did in the indoor season, and I wanted to change that going into outdoors,” Moore said.

A student of the sport, described by Chakouian, one of the biggest shifts Moore made was his mindset and redefining what winning meant.

“When he was in high school a lot of the meets he was just going to show up to and win, so he was a lot more relaxed, and once you get to college, it’s not like that,” Chakouian said. “And he’s had to learn that you really have to focus on yourself, bury yourself in the technique and mechanics, and you can take wins away from every competition, even by not placing first. There’s still a lot of wins you can take into your training.”

In his outdoor opener at TCU, Moore threw 191-9 (58.45m) to collect his first collegiate win and added a strong performance in the shot put, finishing second at 58-1.75 (17.72m).

He followed that up with a program-record in the hammer 199-1 (60.69m) at the Clyde Hart Classic. He finished the season earning all-conference in the shot put and hammer and qualified for the NCAA West Regionals in the shot put.

Moore and Chakouian had their sights set on U20s all year. After regionals concluded, Moore shifted his focus and positive momentum to making the American roster.

“I knew based on his training in the shot he was going to be in the running to win it,” Chakouian said. “In the hammer it was a bit more of a challenge, we knew he could show up and throw really well, but didn’t know where that would line up.”

With a focus on one event at a time, Moore won the shot put, and then found one big throw in the hammer at 218-4, a 5-meter personal record in the event to place third.

“Hammer was definitely the highlight,” Moore said of his experience. “The competition part was so cool, but Hayward Field is just, you walk in and it has a presence. Being able to walk in and Noah Lyles walked right past me, Ryan Crouser and Joe Kovacs were there. It was really cool.”

Chakouian said since U20s, Moore has been lights out in practice with the hammer, which presents a unique opportunity for Moore to become the first American male U20 thrower to medal in both throwing events. The U.S. men have won the past four gold medals in the shot put at Pan Am U20 Championships (2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019).

“I want to represent well for my family, represent well for friends back in Connecticut, and represent well for the U.S.,” Moore said. I feel like people are going to be watching and I would hate to be the one to end the streak (for the U.S.). (But) I think to be in that conversation with the other throwers would be really cool and an honor, and prove to myself I can be that good.”

Moore will have the added benefit of his family in the stands watching and cheering him on in Puerto Rico, as well as his coach, Chakouian, who is no stranger to the international stage. As a collegiate thrower at Kentucky, Chakouian won the 2001 Pan Am U20 shot put title in Argentina with a then meet-record 65-4.25 (19.92m) effort.

“It’s pretty neat to see this go full circle and go back with an athlete, it’s a pretty special moment,” Chakouian said.

And no matter what happens, Moore is sure to find a win from this experience.

“He’s come in and worked so hard and made so many changes, and really has trusted everything from day one,” Chakouian said. “He’s getting rewarded for all of his hard work, and he’s earned it.”