Moore finishes on top; Rowe sets record

When Devotia Moore first arrived at Townsend Harris, she knew nothing about track & field or cross country. The Jamaica resident, who had never been one to play sports and had never run competitively before, joined the team as a freshman just for an extracurricular activity.
“My coach used to tell me to go out and run, have fun,” she said. “I didn’t know what I was doing anyway.”
Now, however, she clearly does. Moore capped a sensational four-year middle distance running career by winning the 1500-meters in the PSAL city championships at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island Sunday afternoon, giving her at least one victory each year at the highest level of local competition.
“It’s nice to go out with a city title,” said Moore, who also became a power during cross country season.
Her coach at Townsend Harris, Tim Connor, remembers the talent he saw in Moore the first day she showed up in practice. “She just had this natural smooth stride,” he recalled.
With her talent was a work ethic to match. There were days she wasn’t ready to run, Connor said, and he’d push her to finish the workout. “And there were times she surprised me,” he said. “In the classroom, on the track, everywhere, Devotia gives 100 percent.”
“You get back from this sport what you put in,” Moore said.
She isn’t done yet. Not even close. August 16, she will head south for Durham, North Carolina and Duke University, where Moore will look to progress, on the track and in the classroom, where she carried an impressive 90 average at Townsend Harris.
“When I saw the acceptance letter, I couldn’t speak for several seconds. … It’s a great accomplishment in itself,” she said of the academic/athletic scholarship to the ACC power. “I’m real excited to get even better at college. It’s such a great opportunity. I’ll be a Blue Devil.”
“She can be as good as she wants to be as long as she keeps working hard,” Connor said. “She has another level she can reach.”
Meanwhile, it was another banner day for Cardozo hurdler Lindsay Rowe. The UCLA-bound senior broke the PSAL 100-meter hurdles record of 13.65 seconds, set by Monifa Taylor of Truman in 1989, with a time of 13.59. She dropped back to 13.68 seconds in the final, but still finished first. Rowe also placed second in the high jump behind teammate Dalilah Muhammad, who took home first-place honors in the 400-meter hurdles.
“We knew [her time] was coming down,” Cardozo Coach Gail Emmanuel said. “She had a good start.”
Rowe, who won the 60-meter hurdles in the National Scholastic Indoor Championship during the winter, hasn’t competed much this spring, winning the 100-meter hurdles in two other meets. She isn’t done, Emmanuel said. Rowe will run in the upcoming New York State and Nationals competition.