Freeport HS Alumnus Named ASA Collegiate Male
By Ford Henley
Gabe Moore has never rested on his laurels.
We witnessed it at Freeport, where he blossomed from a football star into a D-I multi-sport athlete.
We witnessed it at the University of Arkansas, where his decathlon times and scores only strengthened in becoming a six-time All-American who finished third at the NCAA championships as a senior.
And now, post-graduation, we’re witnessing it in the scope of the All-Sports Association (ASA), who five years after naming Moore the Amateur Award Winner have nabbed him as the College Male Award winner.
Soon, depending on how those 2020 Summer Olympic Trials go, they may be calling his name as the Professional Award winner next winter.
“Exactly,” Moore laughed. “If I can qualify and represent the U.S. well in the Olympics, I think I could place myself in the running.”
For now, he’ll simply appreciate the pomp and circumstance of once again gracing the stage of the 51st annual banquet, which will be on Feb. 7 at the Emerald Coast Convention Center on Okaloosa Island.
“Knowing what all went into this, the collegiate award will be more rewarding,” Moore said. “To be able to win the award after a committee sifted through all the names of the best of the best, I’m humbled. It’s a huge honor.”
The best of the best includes the likes of Razorbacks closer Matt Cronin, Huntingdon golfer Stephen Shephard, Georgia Tech defensive back Juanyeh Thomas, UNC running back Michael Carter and Colorado State receiver Dante Wright.
But Moore’s résumé understandably stood tall, the Freeport alumnus finishing third at nationals despite a hamstring injury suffered at the SEC championship meet. Now he joins a lauded field of winners that includes Tim Tebow, Tyre McCants and Eli Stove. And fittingly enough, Bo Jackson – the epitome of the multi-sport athlete – will be the keynote speaker.
That multi-sport athlete moniker has always followed Moore, who has been training since the fall in northwest Arkansas with Mario Sategna, an assistant coach with the Arkansas track and field program and a former NCAA national champion in the decathlon.
“I feel good. The goal is to make the team,” Moore said. “To hit the stand, it’s going to take 8,350 (points) and a top-three finish. It’s a pretty steep challenge; U.S. track and field is the best in the world. So even being able to make the Olympic trials and compete for a top-three spot is a huge honor.”
Yet before then, he’s glad to accept this honor here at home. “I’ve had a lot of success, but you get caught up in the training and are always focused on the next meet,” Moore said. “After all is said and done in indoor and outdoor sports, bigger than that is all the people in my corner. For my coaches and girlfriend and family to celebrate this with me, it’s really exciting. It’ll be a great event.”
The ASA is synonymous for attracting the likes of NFL and MLB MVPs, Hall of Fame coaches, Super Bowl quarterbacks, award-winning journalists and LPGA major champions.
That includes Tim Tebow, Nick Saban, Steve Spurrier, Bobby Bowden, Paul “Bear” Bryant and another dual-sport star in “Neon” Deion Sanders, each of whom has helped the ASA gain the prestige and recognition to serve the community with its rich monetary donations. Last year alone, the ASA raised around $140,000 for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Emerald Coast, the Okaloosa County chapter of Special Olympics, the Eleanor J. Johnson Youth Center and the Okaloosa/Walton County Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
ASA President Drew Espy, who was born into an Auburn family and had the opportunity to see Bo Jackson play as a young kid, hopes this year will be even better. At Auburn, Jackson ran for 4,303 yards with 45 touchdowns and a 6.6 yards-per-carry average. During his senior year he posted 1,786 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns en route to winning the Heisman Trophy.
From there he was selected with the first overall pick in the 1986 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Instead he signed a three-year contract with the defending World Series champion Kansas City Royals, who drafted Jackson with the 105th overall pick in the fourth round of the 1986 draft. The following year the dual-sport athlete was drafted in the seventh round by the Oakland Raiders, who afforded the running back the freedom to play the whole baseball season before reporting. He’d become the only professional athlete in history to be named an All-Star and a Pro-Bowler, finishing his four-year NFL career with 2,782 rushing yards, 5.4 yards per carry and 16 touchdowns and his eight-year MLB career with a .250 batting average, 141 homers, 415 RBI and 82 stolen bases.
In addition to the banquet, Costa Enterprises McDonald’s will serve breakfast to over 1,100 local student athletes and coaches at the All Sports Association’s 35th Annual Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) Breakfast hosted at Northwest Florida State College’s Raider Stadium. Student athletes from Okaloosa, Walton and Santa Rosa County high schools and middle schools will be in attendance for breakfast and Christian fellowship beginning at 7 a.m.
The All Sports Association’s Annual FCA Breakfast was first held in 1985. For 35 years, the All Sports Association has gathered local athletes for a breakfast to celebrate the unification of two passions, faith and athletics.
