Meet John Murray, a junior here at Bob Jones, who competes on the varsity indoor track team. This past weekend, Murray competed in the Last Chance Invitational in Birmingham, AL, along with 159 other schools from Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. He placed second in the state in the pentathlon, fifth overall in high jump, and third in 7A.

Starting his track career at the age of fourteen, he began participating because of his mom’s previous track experience, along with his love to run. As an eighth grader, Murray was extremely passionate about track. “I started taking it seriously when one of my coaches said I had the ability to go to Varsity State as an eighth grader,” Murray recollected. In this time, Murray barely missed qualifying for state by .01 of a second, pushing him to try harder for the years to come.

Now, he runs a tight schedule and finds it challenging to have time for school and training. “It’s very tough to balance,” Murray explained. “I usually never have any free time during the week.” Murray’s desire for success leads him to seek new ways of achieving his goals. He often swims to increase breath endurance and lifts to increase strength. Along with that, he also tries to eat a healthy diet to help his training.

Juggling all these tasks can be quite difficult, especially on top of homework. When asked how he handles this, he said, “The key is to stay on top of things. Times are the most stressful when I procrastinate.” He also recommends trying to remove as much stress from your life and to “embrace the moment”.

As far as what’s to come from John Murray, he has many goals that he plans to accomplish. “I plan to break the state record next year in the pentathlon and decathlon and be a multi-time state champion in high jump, 300H and 110H, and hopefully perform well at nationals,” he said. Farther in the future, Murray plans on continuing his journey into college, hoping to go to Florida, Oregon, Auburn, or Arkansas, although he does not know for sure.

Through the ups and downs, Murray continues to remain positive, keeping the reasons he is still going in his mind. “Although there were some tough moments and losses, it’s taught me to be the person I am today. I’m stronger than ever now and I’m only going up from here.” Having this mindset will continue building his reputation as an athlete and keep him going for years to come!