Two years ago, as a freshman, Riverview's Tyler Murphy just wanted to jump into sand pits and crash pads. His coaches, much to his chagrin, also pushed him to leap hurdles.
“In ninth grade, I hated it,” Murphy said. “I came out for track to jump, and hurdling was kind of being forced upon me.
“That's just completely different now. I don't even jump anymore.”
No longer loathed by Murphy, hurdling likely is the junior's ticket to college athletics. And during Thursday's WPIAL track and field individual championships at Baldwin, Murphy can make a lasting impression on coaches who might recruit him.
The winner of both hurdling events at the Class AA northern qualifier last week, he enters the championships with the top qualifying time in the 110-meter hurdles (15.45 seconds) and the second-best time in the 300 hurdles (40.06). Only Washington junior Quorteze Levy, the southern qualifier winner, had a better 300 mark (39.95).
“Winning a WPIAL gold would be the start of something,” Murphy said.
A year ago, Murphy finished eighth at the WPIAL championships in the 300 hurdles. That success failed to stir his enthusiasm, though. A talented all-around athlete who tried a half-dozen sports throughout his life, Murphy considered wrestling, which his father Joe coached, closest to his heart.
His preferences changed after he spent last summer competing on the USA Track and Field Junior Olympic circuit. Murphy, who refined his form while running for the A-K Valley Track Club, placed seventh in the 400-meter hurdles at the USATF National Junior Olympics championships in late July in Baltimore.
Murphy owns Riverview's 300 hurdles record and is less than one second away from the school record in the 110 hurdles, which he began running this season. With a few more technique tweaks, he anticipates he'll own both records before he graduates.
But more than school records, Murphy wants eyebrow-raising marks and medals. He's ready to make sacrifices, including quitting wrestling, to pursue track and field year round and garner recruiting attention.
“Last year, if you would've said, ‘Track and field, are you going to go to college for it?' I would've said no to you in two seconds,” Murphy said. “But if you ask me right now, I'd say that's the idea. That is the only sport I want to do in college right now.”
Bill West is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at wwest@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BWest_Trib.
