With a national title already in hand, hurdler looks to lead East St. Louis back to state
An up-and-coming hurdler for the East St. Louis Flyers, Demarlyn Taylor, already won a national championship before even starting his senior season.
Taylor competes in the 110-meter hurdles, 300 intermediate hurdles, 100- and 400-meter relays for the Flyers. But after winning the New Balance Indoor Championship in the 60m Hurdles, Taylor said he has received more respect from his peers and praise for his accomplishment.
“It’s all about hard work, I put in so much work since last season,” he said.
Taylor qualified for the New Balance Invitational in Boston at the Normal Invitational last month. At least 5,000 high school athletes nationwide competed. In the finals, he placed first among seven other athletes from across the U.S. with a time of 8.16 seconds.
He’s felt the pressure of competing against elite athletes before as a junior qualifier for the IHSA State Track and Field finals in 2022.
“I did it over the summer during summer track, so I knew what the pressure was like,” he said.
He said he looks up to his former teammate DeVontae Ford and is working to match his times.
Taylor trained with Ford last summer which he says has prepared him for a successful senior year. Ford, Class of 2021, was the IHSA 110-meter 2A State Champion and was the USA Today Illinois Athlete of the Year during his senior year. He is currently competing as a hurdler at the University of Illinois.
“When I got second in state (last year), people thought I was going to let it get to my head,” Taylor said. “But I used that as motivation for me to work harder and want to be even greater than what I was last year.”
Compared to other athletes in the 2A state championship, Taylor had the fastest time among juniors in the 110m Hurdles (14.66) and the 300m Hurdles (39.89).
Coach Barry Malloyd said it has been a pleasure to watch Taylor’s development over these last few years.
“He’s just matured into a coach’s dream athlete in terms of being a hurdler,” he said. “When he was a junior last year, he started coming into his own. He started understanding the concept of hurdling, putting in the hard work, and the preparation to be a great hurdler.”
Malloyd expects Taylor to lead the Flyers to a state championship, based on his success at the New Balance Indoor Nationals, the coaching of Kevin Anderson Jr. and his habit of continuing to set goals and work toward them.
“This is a part of the journey, but our goal is to be state champions and I’m looking for Demarlyn to lead us,” Malloyd said.
Besides being the Flyers top hurdler, Malloyd thinks Taylor can improve on is his 400-meter time.
“He’s good for the team, his teammates love him and the young guys look up to him,” Malloyd said. “He’s just enjoying the moments of track and field, fun young man to be around.”
This upcoming spring season is filled with big goals for the entire Flyers squad. Taylor says he is embracing the leadership role.
“My goal is to win state as a team, but mainly as a hurdler,” Taylor said. “I want to go double-crown and then move along with the team to win it with all of us.”
Taylor plans to run track at the next level in college after high school. As of now, he is looking to go the junior college route for a year. Iowa Central College is among his suitors.
