JM Robinson’s Cameron Tucker is The Observer’s boys’ athlete of the year
The 2024-25 school year will probably be one that J.M. Robinson High’s Cameron Tucker will never forget.
In the fall, he helped the Concord school’s football team to a 12-1 record, getting his fourth career interception to go with 22 tackles on the season at defensive back.
In the winter, he won the 55-meter title at the NCHSAA 3A state championships. And last month, Tucker won state 3A titles in the 200-meters (20.92 seconds) and 400-meters (47.22) in the outdoor state championship. And he won each outdoor race by nearly half a second.
Today, Tucker is named as The Charlotte Observer’s 2024-25 male athlete of the year.
“It’s been a lot of hard work,” Tucker said. “There’s a lot of days I didn’t want to do anything. But it’s kind of paid off.”
Tucker comes from a family of athletes. He has a sister that ran track in high school and college, plus two younger brothers that played high school football and one of whom, Dylan, played at Utah State last season.
Cameron hopes to be next in line.
“I’d rather play football in college,” he said, “but if a school gives me the opportunity to play both (sports), I’ll do both. I think I’m better in football, but the results show in track more because it’s an individual sport.”
Tucker said he has football scholarship offers from East Carolina and Division II West Virginia State and Concord (W. Va.). He has interest, he said, from Coastal Carolina, San Francisco and N.C. State.
He’s also got a 3.4 GPA and likes to sing.
“I’ll randomly go into a verse for no reason,” Tucker said. “People hate on me all the time for it. But I don’t care it’s fun.”
Tucker, 17, had lots of fun on the track and on the field in the 2024-25 school year — but especially surprised himself in track.
During the biggest events of the outdoor season, he was dealing with a broken wrist and ran with a cast on his hand.
Despite that, he won the two outdoor state titles, setting a 3A record in the 200-meters. He also won two regional championships, three conference and four county titles.
“I was expecting to do well,” he said. “I was trying to win, but I was running with that broken wrist the entire championship season, and I didn’t know if I could get into the (starting) box or not. Man, it was good to see.”
