Marcell Polk '23 Recruiting Profile

Marcell’s Goals By: Marcell Polk

Hello, my name is Marcell Polk. I am a sprinter. The events that I enjoy participating in are the 100m, 200m, and 400m. When placed on a relay team, I will run a leg on a 4x1 and 4x4. My passion for running is deep. It all started when I was in kindergarten, I got chased by a dog and needless to say I outran that dog. I ran in kindergarten, but my memories are vague during those time. I ran the 200m dash at my first meet and placed 4th overall. My interest in track really peaked in the summer of 2017. I was fast, but my form needed improvement. I love to run. I run when I can but during the times when I am not running, I am watching videos on how to perfect my form. My times from this past season are ok but I will admit they need to improve. The 100m dash right now is not my strongest race because I am running a 12.13 when I would like to be in the 11-second time frame. The 200m is my second-best race because of the curve, I am a strong curve runner because I run with the curve. Another reason why the 200m is my best race is that I have a little bit more time to plan my attack and push through the line. I want my time to be in the 23’s, which I’m close to, but as of right now my time is a 24.37 The last race that I run is the 400m. As much as I want to say the 400 is not for me, it is. This race may not be my favorite, but I realized I run this race well. The 2019 Summer season was my first time running the 400 individually and on a relay. I started with an individual time over 1 minute and ended the summer with an individual time of 58.21 and a 4 X 400 relay 1st leg of 53 seconds.

Why I’m doing this, because I am a long-range planner hence. I have been thinking about how fast I am going to be when I become a senior in high school, and quite honestly, I can tell you that I am going to get faster. My work ethic is good, but the thing that might be holding me back is my height. I am still growing, standing at 5’5 but I refuse to let that bring me down because, in the end, it comes down to who wants it the most. My goal time at the end of high school is to be in the low 11’s to high 10’s for the 100m. My goal for the 200m is to be in the 21 to 20 second. For the 400m my goal is to continue to be 53 seconds or better. By the time I get out of college, I will be faster, no question about that, because by then I will have finished growing and more able to hold my ow. I will get faster by bulking up my muscles making myself stronger. In addition, each season I have run in I have improved. I started taking track seriously in the summer of when I was going to the 7th grade (2017). My running form is good but it will be better, like for the 100m dash. I need to work on not rushing my drive phase and I really don’t need help with pushing off the blocks, but then again extra training won’t hurt anybody. As for the 200m, my block start is good and I still think I rush my drive phase, run with the curve, and keep my arms pumping closer to the end of the race is hard because people tend to forget their mechanics to running, even myself at times. Finally, I will improve my 400m start.

I will use my starting block. So really what I do is I start off sprinting and when I hit the straightaway, I break into a fast stride then I speed back up at the 150 mark and I’m back to sprinting that last 100.

How am I a leader on the track? I am a leader because I am respectful, serious, and a jokester, at the appropriate time, because track can be and is fun. However, when it is time to focus, I am focused and ready to prove my skills. When I’m running summer club, we don’t really mess around on the team. Everyone is a leader in their own way, but when it comes to high school, I’m the leader. Since I was the only freshman with experience with track, I made sure to teach my teammates how to run and pay attention. I showed them how to use the blocks and teach them how to run the 4x1. It was hard and frustrating because they wouldn’t take me seriously, but when they drop that baton at practice they took me seriously because I fussed at them about how when it comes to the relay we are a team so if one of us mess up we all mess up. Truthfully, I don’t use my voice to be a leader, I try to use my actions to be a leader at practice and meets where it really matters.

Academics for me is important because both my parents are teachers, therefore they made education a top priority. I am currently ranked 67th out of 307 in the 9th grade, and I’m not satisfied with it. I know I can be better; I will be better. It will be a dream for me to go to college and graduate. I don’t really have a dream school because I know that not everybody can go to college. I do know that when I’m there, no matter how I’m there, I’m going to make the most of

it. Once I’m done with sports, I want to be a police officer. As of right now, I am not sure if I going to study criminology, forensics, or biology, but what I do know is I’m going to be in law enforcement. I see myself getting better with my academic weaknesses, math is not my strength, but I’m going to get better and that. As I said, no matter what school I end up going to, whether that is in division 1, 2, or 3, I know that I am going to make the most out of it and impact the school, by being an asset to the school, in the classroom and on the Track and field

When I’m not running, I am in school or relaxing. For me being relaxed, mostly means I am watching tv and sleeping, but every now and then I daydream about my past and wonder why I did something that way. I like to listen to music, mainly hip hop, but I will listen to my old band music that my mom recorded when I was in middle school, I played the percussion instrument. On Saturdays, I am working at my job at Wilson Parks and Recreation, I am a referee of soccer games with kids, and I like my job because the kids make the job much more enjoyable they just go out and have fun. I also volunteer at elementary schools PTO planned school activities. Those are the things that I like to do outside of track and field and the other thing you should know about me, is I have a hearing loss. I was born with a bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, and since I was young, I have been wearing a hearing aid but once I entered kindergarten my hearing decreased, and I became a Cochlear Implant user.

I want to leave you with a quote from Jesse Owens “We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort”. This quote inspires me because it tells me not to wait for my dream to come true but to go out and achieve it.