The Long Spring: Murray

Girls track and field

For Murray girls track and field, the season was projected to be a year where the roster held the lowest number of participants (16) in head coach Keith Shields' six-year run with the team.

Of the 16 girls rostered, 10 were newcomers, said Shields. The early stages of the season were going to be used to help figure out where each one fit, and what events worked best for them.

"It was going to be sort of a feeling out process early on, finding the best fit and events for some of the girls," said Shields. "I had 16 girls out for track, ... I was looking at realistically six out of the sixteen that had been out last year. [We were] going to try and find places [for them] for this year."

Among those six coming was Megan Keller, a mid-distance specialist who finished 13th in the open 400 at state last spring. She was Murray's only girl qualifier.

Shields feels its difficult to keep a team culture tight given the current situation revolving the COVID-19 pandemic, having to adhere to social distancing rules while also not being officially allowed to meet and have a sanctioned practice.

But in the end, he knows that the hard work put in over the last few weeks, and in the future, will benefit his girls in more than just athletics.

“I know there have been several of our girls that have got out and are doing stuff on their own. I know its difficult, not having that camaraderie that you build with the team to be able to push each other, encourage each other on a daily basis," said Shields. "There’s some girls I know that are out there working pretty hard. … They're putting in work and the time that’ll benefit them no matter what further down the road.”

After Murray athletics lost several quality athletes last season due to graduation, the Lady Mustangs were poised for a season where expectations were open due to a large group of young participants. Instead, like the rest of the state, Murray did not see the track.

On the girls side, Murray's track and field team consisted of two seniors – Destiny Johnson and Cierra Mastin.

The duo were praised for their hard work, despite track not exactly being their favorite sport, said Shields.

"This is their fourth year out for track for both. It’s one of those things where track isn’t their favorite thing to do, … but it’s their only sport they’re involved in. It’s a good connection they make with the rest of the girls and they always look forward to track season," said Shields. "They’ve come in and they’re great teammates and they’ll work in practice and give you everything they had. That’s something I really appreciated about them.”

Boys track and field

For the Murray boys, their season was expected to be one where the Mustangs had talent across all four grades.

With returning state-qualifier Reece Held coming back, head coach Taylor Fulton felt the talent was in place to build through the 2020 season.

"We were coming off a pretty solid year last year. We had Reece make it to state for us in high jump, and had a few good seniors coming back," said Fulton. "We were looking right about at 20 kids, really young, great group of sophomores and a great group of freshmen coming in. We were going to be building all season long and was hoping for some good individual performances from the kids who excelled last year."

Fulton said Murray felt positive heading into the Bluegrass Conference tournament after a third-place finish a year prior.

"We were optimistic we were going to be able to compete and place high in the conference, but unfortunately we’re unable to see what we’re capable of," Fulton said.

A strong freshman class was to be paired with strong seniors, explained Fulton. Zack Belden and Gage Mongar were to make impacts right away while upperclassman Brycen Wookey looked to return to Murray athletics fully healthy after missing time with a hand injury in the fall.

Held was also set up to make a push for a state-berth, potentially his second trip in a row, after qualifying with 5-10 last year.

Like everyone around the state, there was disappointment for the purple and gold upon hearing the news of the season's cancellation. Fulton, who is also the head coach of the football team, has worked closely with many of the multi-sport athletes and knows them well, recognizing the resilience and adversity they've faced in their careers.

"It was a lot of disappointment, all around from the team, and not just the seniors. We’ve got a good group of guys that really enjoy going out and competing and making each other better and challenging each other every day," said Fulton. "It was a situation where they thought ‘maybe we’ll come back in a couple of weeks’ when we initially shut down. … Now, things have started to sink in."

Fulton feels a season like this is one that can put things in perspective for not only his athletes, but all athletes, to take advantage of every moment given to them.

"If anything were to come from this, it would probably be for the kids to realize we only get four years in our (high school) careers," said Fulton. "You never know when that is going to be taken away and you’re told you can’t participate anymore. Sometimes it’s injury, sometimes it’s age, or we have a circumstance like this where the students just didn’t have the opportunity and it wasn’t their fault. I’m hoping it brings the kids out and participates in not just track, but everything if they can.

"I hope it helps them realize their opportunities to participate with their friends are somewhat limited and time flies by,” said Fulton.

The Murray boys move on from Colton Hiatt, Reece Held, Wyatt Hewlett and Gage Decker from this spring.