Hughes senior track star Maurice “Lae” (pronounced “Lay”) Gleaton already ranks among the state’s all-time great track stars.
At a Region 3-5A meet April 25 at Northside-Columbus, Gleaton set a state record in the 100 meters, becoming the first to run it in under 10 seconds, at 9.98 seconds, passing Our Lady of Mercy’s Christian Coleman, who in 2015 tied Mount Zion-Jonesboro’s D’Angelo Cherry’s 2008 record of 10.16 seconds.
Coleman went on to become a World Athletics Championships indoor and outdoor gold medalist, and Gleaton, who will run for the University of Georgia’s track team on full scholarship next academic year, has Olympic ambitions.
Gleaton’s 100-meter effort also surpassed Banneker’s Ryan Clark, who was right behind Cherry and Coleman with a time of 10.18 seconds, set in 2015.
Gleaton is chasing Clark and former Coffee and NFL star Tyreek Hill in the 200 meters. Gleaton’s best time of 20.52 seconds trails only Hill (20.14), who set the record in 2012, and Clark (20.46), who ran his best time in 2015.
Gleaton, like Hill, an eight-time Pro Bowl pick now with the Miami Dolphins, is a standout wide receiver. He led Hughes last season in yards (746) and touchdowns (11).
Credit: Oluwatimilehin Aroworamimo
Credit: Oluwatimilehin Aroworamimo
The Class 5A meet takes place May 9-10 at Barron Stadium in Rome, and it’s there where Gleaton not only could break his own 100-meter record — he’s done that once — and set a new 200-meter record, but also could help Hughes win a third consecutive state championship.
Langston Hughes, located in Fairburn, would be the first boys program to accomplish such a feat since Cedar Grove won four in a row from 2015-18.
Before the state meet, Gleaton and the Panthers have one more tuneup, the Region 3-5A sectionals Friday at Villa Rica.
“My focus is making sure me and my teammates are ready to execute at sectionals, then go to state and try to win a three-peat championship,” Gleaton said. “It’s an amazing thought to know we’d be the first program at Hughes to three-peat in any sport.”
Should Hughes three-peat with Gleaton leading the way, his work ethic may be the primary reason. Introduced to football and track at age 6, his blazing speed and his work ethic always stood out. His sophomore year at Hughes is when his preparation turned a corner though, and he became elite.
“He’s always had that work ethic in him, but sophomore year is when he really started showing it,” said Panthers track coach Roland Colvin, who took over the program when Gleaton was a freshman. “He’s said it in interviews before, he wants to be the best sprinter to come through Georgia, and he just keeps working. It’s hard for him to rest, because he just wants to keep going. We don’t have to push him, it’s, ‘Coach, what do we have today? Let’s go.’
“He’s always ready.”
Gleaton said sophomore year is when he realized he could be special. That’s when he competed in the 100 meters against Alexander track star Eric Singleton, who at the time was a senior.
At the 2023 state meet in Rome, Gleaton beat Alexander with a time of 10.14 seconds, the first time Gleaton broke the state record, edging Singleton’s time of 10.18. Singleton, who transferred from Georgia Tech’s football team to Auburn this offseason, won the final, though, with a time of 10.35 to Gleaton’s 10.37.
“That sophomore year, I was just wanting to get better,” Gleaton said. “I was dedicated to the sport, training and working to get better and better every year.”
Credit: Courtesy of Maurice Gleaton
Credit: Courtesy of Maurice Gleaton
His sophomore year also was when he met Hill at Huncho Day, an annual sports event hosted by local hip-hop star Quavo at his alma mater, Berkmar in Lilburn, that features basketball and football scrimmages.
“I just said ‘what’s up’ to him, and we took a picture,” Gleaton said.
At a meet last year, Clark approached Gleaton and congratulated him on setting the 100-meters state record.
“I didn’t know who he was at first,” Gleaton said. “He told me to keep it going.”
Gleaton wouldn’t mind a post-prep career similar to Coleman’s.
Coleman became a track star for another SEC school, Tennessee, and won gold medals in the 2019 and 2023 World Championships in the 100-meters and 4x100 relay, and gold in the 2018 and 2024 World Indoor Championships in the 60 meters. Coleman also competed in heats for the 2016 Summer Olympics team.
Last year, Gleaton took second in the 100 at the USA Track and Field U-20 Championships at University of Oregon, becoming a national qualifier.
Though Gleaton has had brief discussions with Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs football program, he said there currently are no plans for him to join the team and that football is, at best, secondary at this point.
“I’m going to continue competing with other great athletes, continue to get better, then go pro, and hopefully go to the Olympics,” Gleaton said.
Between now and the sectional and state meets, Gleaton will do what he’s done his whole life, work hard.
“I don’t like losing,” he said. “I like to be better every time I race. There’s never a perfect race, and that’s a big thing for me. With the competition that’s out there, I always like to improve.”
Regardless of outcome in the final two meets, Colvin said Gleaton’s legacy at Hughes already is secured.
“It’s been a privilege and a blessing to be able to coach Lae,” Colvin said. “His name is already up there with the greats, and he’s one of the best to ever come through here. It’s just a blessing, no other way. He’s reignited this program and pushed the next generation of kids coming through Hughes to be the best they can.”
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