Ardrey Kell’s Smith running his way to the service
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (BVM) — Some things are just bigger than sports. Murphy Smith of Ardrey Kell High School has the cross country world at his fingertips as the North Carolina Gatorade Boys Cross Country Player of the Year and North Carolina High School Athletic Association 4A champion. He could focus on his career and never worry about another thing.
But instead, Smith has chosen a life of sport and service. Not only through community service, but through his college commitment. Despite garnering interest from in-state perennial power North Carolina State, the 5-foot-11 runner has chosen to continue his running career at the United States Naval Academy.
“If you asked me two years ago, I’d have never said I’d end up at the Naval Academy, it kind of just happened that way,” Smith said. “The Navy reached out after my junior year, I looked into it and realized I always looked up to service members. It’s something I really admired and I admired the people who took that path.”
Smith says he became obsessed with the opportunity upon completing some of his own research. He would watch YouTube videos and read articles about the Navy, realizing more and more that this was something that would suit him well.
After attending a service academy, you have to serve five years as a member of the US military. Smith doesn’t know yet what he will choose as his commissioning occupation yet, but it’s been made clear that he will have plenty of chances to learn about his choices.
“At the academy, you can go on cruises to learn more about the different paths,” Smith said. “There’s service warfare, marines, you can fly, all sorts of different ways to commission. I’ll take full advantage of that and find what suits me best.”
Not only has the future Midshipman chosen to serve our country, but he also chooses a life of service back at home in North Carolina. He has volunteered with countless organizations that include the likes of libraries, elementary schools and botanical gardens.
But his favorite place to help out was at the Carolina Thread Trail, a place that he himself finds some deep value in.
“They do expansive work with keeping waterways clean and trails clean and building trails,” Smith said. “Being a runner, I love the outside trails and exploring nature, it’s always an honor to be able to be part of the reason this can keep growing.”
A life dedicated to serving others has, in return, served Smith well. That unrelenting stamina to always keep pushing has assisted him in other aspects of life. In the classroom, the brainiac has a 4.43 weighted GPA and on the cross country course, well, that’s why Smith is so well-known.
In Class 4A, the largest classification in the state, Smith broke the tape with a time of 15:44.65, winning himself a state title and leading the Knights to a team finish of third overall. He’s a two-time all-state selection and ranks in the top 100 of the nation’s fastest 5K competitors.
Smith is just like the rest of us, except he’s got some serious willpower that drives him to aspire for more, day in and day out, whether it’s for himself or oftentimes, the well-being of others. He understands that it takes hard work, but in the end, the feeling of accomplishment is the most rewarding prize of all.
“Some days it’s hard to get out the door … it’s like ‘oh my gosh, it’s going to take an hour or more and it’s hot and humid,’” Smith said. “But I know it needs to get done if I want to be as good as I want to be. It feels better when it’s done and the sense of accomplishment is what keeps me going.”
