Meet junior transfer Carl Murray, the Dubs’ track star who has been running circles around competition this year. After many seasons dominated by unfortunate circumstances and not taking the sport as seriously as he could, Murray has come into his junior season on a mission to prove that he is not only one of the fastest people at North Atlanta, but in the entire state of Georgia.

Murray, who is now a top three junior track star in the state of Georgia, had an unorthodox rise to stardom. He had no experience in track competition up until middle school, where he attended Centennial Academy. The only reason he picked up track in the first place? “It was the only sport offered at my school and I knew I was fast,” Murray said.

Murray admits to not taking the sport seriously until his current junior season. Here at North Atlanta, we are sure grateful for that. Attending Midtown High School for his first two years of high school, Murray did realize his full potential while running for our arch rival. During his time on Midtown, he was flooded with a plethora of extremely unfortunate circumstances. His freshman season was hindered due to the global pandemic, and his sophomore season was hampered with injuries. “In 11th grade, I transferred because my mom bought a townhome in the district, and once I got here, everything finally started to fall in place for me,” Murray said. 

Entering his junior year, Murray did not know the direction he was going the sport and did not know what to expect on a new team. However, he decided to train harder than he ever had in order to prepare for his new inaugural season as a Dub. As a result of his competitive mindset and rigorous work, Murray’s athletic ceiling reached unprecedented levels. After the first meet of the season, he had already made a strong impression on Coach Doe, who knew he had something special in Murray. “It felt really good to perform as well as I did in that first meet. It was sort of like a wake up call for me. I was like – wow – I can be really really good at this if I want. I decided to keep up the work,” Murray said.

After a successful start to the season, Murray only pushed himself harder. Instead of relaxing or vacationing like many of his warrior peers during spring break, Murray decided to stay home and train. That hard work clearly paid off, as Murray went on to post some jaw dropping times this year. Running an impressive 21.9 in the 200 meter, and a spectacular 10.9 seconds in the 100 meter, he earned the top spot on the Dubs team. “Carl is a guy with great fast twitch, but the development with him this year is his work ethic. He has developed significantly in that aspect this year, but believe it or not, he can go even faster if his work ethic gets even better. There’s just so much potential,” Coach Doe said. 

Standing at a non-intimidating 5’6 and 137 pounds in a sport where long strides can provide a substantial advantage makes what he has been able to accomplish thus far significantly more impressive. Murray often faces competition much bigger than him, but the size of his opponents does not faze him. He feels that his intense day to day preparation has given him the ability to overcome what many may presume to be a physical disadvantage. Before every meet, he warms up for 25 minutes and stretches. Then he listens to music and manifests what he can do. This pregame routine helps motivate him before every meet and instills in him the confidence that he can out run anyone. Murray said, “Size doesn’t really matter, it’s all about your preparation, and that’s why I feel like I have excelled so far this season despite my size.”

Carl Murray has blazed by the competition this season so far. Accomplishing what he was while finally taking his sport seriously, there is no telling where the ceiling for Murray is if he stays consistent with his effort and training. The Dubs can’t wait to see what he will accomplish.