If he could, Bellevue track coach Ronnie Noonchester would enter junior Marcelo Herald in all 18 events.
“I believe he’s the most well-rounded I’ve had,” Noonchester, who’s in his 10th season leading the Tigers. “I have a couple females that are well-rounded, too, but there’s not much the kid can’t do.”
A look at the ky.milesplit.com Class A, Region 4 indoor results (bit.ly/3UBzY7N) make you think Noonchester’s brag is justified.
Herald has set four indoor personal records: a clocking of 7.44 seconds in the 60-meter dash, a 24.05 in the 200, a 6-foot high jump, and a 22-1.25 leap in the long jump. (ky.milesplit.com lists a 2:28.19 in the 800 run, but Herald said a teammate may have run it.)
And the outdoor numbers? Three PRs so far: a 6-foot leap April 15 at the St. Henry Invitational, a 23.37 seconds in the 200 dash, and a 20-10 in the long jump at St. Henry.
Herald’s list of first-place medals is long enough for you to enjoy a second cup of coffee and a bagel with cream cheese: outdoor wins in the high jump at the Campbell County High School Championships and long jump at the St. Henry Invitational; and indoor gold in the high jump at the Ultimate Indoor National Championships Presented by KYtrackXC and long jump victories at the Ultimate Indoor, KHSAA Class A, Eastern Indoors, Mason County Indoor No. 4 and Mount St. Joseph Indoor No. 1 meets.
“He does nothing but get better, too,” Noonchester said. “It’s kind of exciting to watch.”
Herald, of Fort Thomas, said the long jump and high jump are his favorite events.
“It’s a lot more easier to gauge how somebody’s doing in the high jump, but I’m better at long jump,” Herald said. “It’s kind of a toss-up.”
Whether horizontal or vertical, Herald’s love of jumping began with elementary school field days at Gilligan Stadium.
“We’d have the broad jump, and I had to go up against this really tall kid that was maybe a foot taller than me,” Herald said. “I out-jumped in the broad jump.”
A member of Bellevue’s girls track team suggested Herald try long jump when he reached middle school. “And that was it; I was really excited after that,” Herald said.
Herald added high jump in eighth grade; he said he didn’t do well in that first meet at Highlands, “but it was very enjoyable to do.”
Herald cleared six feet to win the Ultimate Indoor high jump March 9 at the Norton Healthcare Sports & Learning Center in Louisville, and he took the long jump with a 20-1 leap. (He also placed second in the 200 dash with a 24.05.)
When he’s preparing for the high jump, Herald thinks of Qatari’s Mutaz Barshim, who shared the 2020 Summer Olympic gold medal in Tokyo with Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi, and LSU’s JuVaughn Harrison, who finished fifth in the long jump and seventh in high jump in Tokyo.
“(Harrison) was the best collegiate jumper of all time,” Herald said.
Noonchester, meanwhile, remembers the long jump final at the Eastern Indoors meet Feb. 9-10 in Louisville. Herald had never jumped much farther than 20 feet before his final attempt, and he saw Herald plead for rhythmic hand claps from the crowd and fellow competitors.
“A lot of people break down under pressure, but he was calling for the pressure,” Noonchester said. “It was his last jump.”
Next for Herald: the 55-year-old Bellevue school long jump record of 22-11 Jim Winters set in 1969.
“We’re really hoping that we can get to it, either by the end of this year or definitely break it by next year,” Noonchester said.
Herald thinks a 6-foot-4 high jump is doable this year. His long jump objective is the greater challenge: a 23-3, which would give him a spot in the New Balance Nationals June 13-16 at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.
“I want to go for 6-4; we’re really trying to hammer down on the approach ‘cause I’m not bringing enough speed into my approach,” Herald said. “Six-two’s doable right now with minimum speed, but 6-4 is what I’m trying to shoot for. I feel like if I get my form work down and I work on my approach and have a really consistent hitting the boards at the right spot – having a good day – I feel I can get (22-3). But that’s going to come more toward the end of the year.”