Allatoona's Young to be honored by ATC

Allatoona’s Eric Young will be honored at The Powerade All-Metro High School Track and Field Banquet, hosted by the Atlanta Track Club.

The banquet, which will be held June 8 in Atlanta, honors the state’s best performers.

Young will be recognized for his performance in the boys 100-meters, and has an opportunity to receive a $1,500 scholarship if he wins the Most Outstanding Athlete Award. Winners are selected by coaches and votes from the general public which were cast on 11Alive.com.

Young won the Class AAAAAA 100 state championship with a record time of 10.39 seconds, and also competed in the 200 and 400 finishing second and third in the respective events.

“The award came as a shock to me and it means something really special to me. Ever since I started at age seven I knew I could do this because this is my niche,” Young said. “With my dad coaching me and giving me pointers I started using those methods and they proved very successful. Eleven years later I won two state championships and finally hit the times I have been going for.”

Young said he is motivated by God and credits him along with the coaches that have helped him make it to where he is today.

“His focus and mindset is what makes him different from his competitors. He is very zoned in and when competing he goes to a completely different level.” Allatoona boys track coach Patrick Parsons said.

“I have been able to be part of his high school career and he was already a stellar athlete when he came in as a freshman, but I have seen him grow and mature over these last four years, it comes to no surprise that he is recognized for the award.”

In the 2021 track season Young won the state championship in the 400 and followed it with earning All-American honors after finishing top 5 in the 55-meters, 60-meters, and 200 at the 2022 Nike Indoor Nationals in March.

“They say with athletes there’s a ceiling, with Eric there’s no ceiling to what he can achieve,” Parsons said.

Young will choose where he will continue his track career in the upcoming weeks, and has named Purdue, Cincinnati, TCU, Kentucky and Tennessee as his final five schools.