MAYO — Facing the last triple jump of his career, Lafayette’s Jordan Murphy knew what he had to do: go beyond what he’d ever done before.
Sitting in fourth place at the Class 1A state meet in May with a personal-best jump of 13.88m, Murphy put all the work and training he’d done the past two years into his last attempt.
His eye was on a jump of at least 14 meters. That would give him a shot for finishing top 3.
He did even better. Entering the state meet with a PR of 13.57m at the District 5-1A meet where he placed second, Murphy delivered the jump of his life, hitting the board perfectly and then soaring 14.45m to momentarily take first place.
“I knew I needed to get into the 14s, I had never done that,” Murphy said of his mindset going into that last jump. “I put it all out on the line and I jumped a 14.4, PR’d by a whole meter.”
Even though Shorecrest Prep’s Ahmad Crumity followed with a 14.81m to take the state title, the runner-up finish was enough to land Murphy the title of Lake City Reporter Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year. Murphy also added a ninth-place finish at state in the high jump (1.82m) and helped the Hornets’ 4x100 relay team qualify for state as well.
“Understanding who the kid is and how competitive he is and watching each one of his jumps get a little bit better and a little bit better, him PR and then PR again and then the last jump of his high school career, PRing almost an entire meter over what he had previously done coming into that meet, that was pretty special,” Lafayette coach Marcus Edwards said of Murphy’s final competition. “And to see his reaction to it, that was pretty special.”
To get to that point, though, Murphy first had to even join the track team.
Already a football, basketball and baseball player at LHS, it was during his junior basketball season in 2023-24 that Murphy had the thought to join the track team.
The idea came, naturally it seems, while showing off his jumping ability.
“When I started dunking last year I had a feeling I could go out and see if it would translate from basketball to out there on the field in track,” he said. “And it did.”
Still, Murphy was also up front and clear with Edwards: when it came time for spring, he was a baseball player first and a track athlete second.
But Edwards, who is also Lafayette’s football coach and had seen up close the type of athlete Murphy was on the field, had a pretty good idea of what he was getting once Murphy got to track: a special athlete who could do some special things in the field events with that natural jumping ability.
He, too, got an inkling of it from Murphy’s success on the hardwood.
“We knew he could jump,” Edwards said. “He’s a naturally great jumper. You can see that in basketball. You can just see that in football, him doing those things. So we knew he’d be good in the field events just naturally.
“And then you know he’s going to work at it. He’s competitive and he’s going to want to do better. The work will come. The jumping was just a natural fit for him.”
The work came too. Surprised a bit by how his own natural jumping ability from basketball translated with his athleticism on the track, Murphy called it “second nature,” all he had left to do was get some pointers from Edwards on his footwork on his approaches and he was off.
He soared enough to qualify for state in both the triple jump and the high jump, grabbing an eighth-place medal in the triple jump and setting a new school record of 13.05m at the district meet to take that title.
It primed him for an even bigger senior year, one that was strengthened by the work Murphy had already put in for football to help him earn a college scholarship to Benedict College.
“The work I put in for football helped me out in basketball, baseball and track,” Murphy said. “The work you can do over the offseason, whether it’s in the weight room or on the field, it will help you out in so much more than you think.”
Edwards agreed, although again noting the natural ability his star pupil already possessed as well. In fact, Edwards said Murphy could also be a track athlete in college if he so desired.
“I can’t take a ton of credit for the track stuff, he’s a naturally gifted athlete,” Edwards said. “That stuff comes naturally to him.”
But in addition to that ability, Murphy still strived to maximize it. Even though his main focus was baseball during the spring, helping the Hornets to their third straight state Final Four appearance on the diamond, he utilized his physical education class with Edwards the final hour of his day to make sure he was getting his reps in for track,
Every one of those reps mattered.
“Every time he did it, he got a little better,” Edwards said. “It kind of showed with his very last jump of the season, of his career, it was his best jump in the triple jump. I think that was an accumulation of the previous jumps he’s made and what he’s kind of done.”
And on that final jump, Murphy knew exactly what to do. And he then rose to the occasion.
“When I hit the board, I knew that I had hit it perfectly,” he said. “After I hit that, the next thing that was going through my mind was just make sure I keep phases smooth and hold my landing in the air as long as I can.”
ALL-AREA TEAM
100m: Ezekiel Powell
Fort White, freshman
Ran an area-best 10.88 at Lafayette Mini Meet #3; fourth at District 4-2A meet to qualify for regionals.
200m: Ezekiel Powell
Fort White, freshman
Ran an area-best 22.54 seconds at SFHS Last Chance Meet; District 4-2A runner-up to qualify for regionals.
400m: Blake Pilkington
Lafayette, junior
Ran a season-best 50.22 seconds to place third at Region 2-1A meet following a runner-up finish in District 4-2A; placed 11th at Class 1A state meet.
800m: Nathan Matsubara
Columbia, senior
Ran an area-best 2:01.54 at Columbia High Meet; District 3-3A runner-up to qualify for regionals.
1600m: Logan Haley
Suwannee, freshman
Ran an area-best 4:44.09 at Tommy Taylor Invitational and was the District 2-2A champion to qualify for regionals.
3200m: Logan Haley
Suwannee, freshman
Ran an area-best 10:06.55 to place 11th at Region 1-1A following a District 2-2A title.
110m hurdles: Omarion Udell
Columbia, senior
Ran an area-best 14.47 seconds to place second at the Class 3A state meet; District 3-3A runner-up and placed sixth in Region 1-3A.
400m hurdles: Joseph Smith
Lafayette, senior
Ran a season-best 58.32 seconds to place 10th at the Class 1A state meet following a pair of third-place finishes at the District 5-1A and Region 2-1A meets; was also a state qualifier in the 110m hurdles with another 10th-place finish following a district title and fourth-place finish at regionals.
4x100 relay: Lafayette (Parker Anderson, Zamarion Hawkins, Jordan Murphy, Blake Pilkington)
Ran a season-best 44.37 seconds to place fifth at Region 2-1A meet following a District 5-1A title; placed 16th at Class 1A state meet.
4x400 relay: Columbia (Nathan Matsubara, Mekah Combs-Turner, Damarcus Moore, LaWarren Newton)
Ran an area-best 3:30.13 for a third-place finish at the District 3-3A meet to qualify for regionals.
4x800 relay: Suwannee (Kale Skinner, William Cerritos, Logan Haley, Brig Scott)
Ran a season-best 8:40.30 to win the District 2-2A title and punch a ticket to regionals.
High jump: Jordan Murphy
Lafayette, senior
The LCR's Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year won the District 5-1A title (1.87m) before finishing fourth in Region 2-1A (1.82m) to qualify for state, where he finished placed ninth (1.82m); area-best leap of 1.90m at Branford Meet #2.
Long jump: Jordan Murphy
Lafayette, senior
The LCR's Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year had an area-best leap of 6.90m for a runner-up finish at the District 5-1A meet and a spot at regionals.
Triple jump: Jordan Murphy
Lafayette, senior
The LCR's Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year placed second at the Class 1A state meet with an area-best leap of 14.45m; District 5-1A runner-up and Region 2-1A champion.
Shot put: Cole Peyton
Branford, senior
Season-best toss of 11.99m at Lafayette Meet #1; placed eighth in District 5-1A and was a regional qualifier.
Discus: Sebastian Waugaman
Branford, senior
Area-best toss of 38.90m for a runner-up finish in District 5-1A before finishing fifth in Region 2-1A.
Javelin: Frank Brookins
Suwannee, sophomore
Area-best throw of 49.20m at the Region 1-2A meet following a runner-up finish in District 2-2A; placed 15th at the Class 2A state meet.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Marcus Edwards, Lafayette
Edwards had three state qualifiers in five individual events, which included a Class 1A runner-up finish by Jordan Murphy in the triple jump, and he also saw his 4x100 relay team make it to state. That capped off a postseason where the Hornets placed third at the District 5-1A meet with three titles while qualifying four individuals in nine events and all three relays teams for the Region 2-1A meet, where they finished sixth behind a regional title from Murphy in the triple jump. Lafayette also won the Chiefland Meet #1, Chiefland Meet #2, Lafayette Meet #2 and Lafayette Meet #3 during the regular season.