Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. It definitely holds true in the case of Maverick junior track athlete Eddie Kurjak.
Kurjak grew up in Longmont, Colorado with his three sisters. The 6’8” junior played multiple sports growing up, but always had focused on track and basketball the most.
“I’ve been on a track team since I was in sixth grade, and it just started off as something I could do during the spring when I wasn’t playing basketball,” said Kurjak.
Kurjak dominated his competition at the high school level in both sports. As a basketball player, he earned first-team all-conference and honorable mention all-state honors his junior year, but he was truly special in his track and field events, however.
As a freshman, Kurjak was the Boulder County high jump champion, and then followed that up in his sophomore year by placing second in high jump and 13th in triple jump at that year’s state meet. Though his junior season was interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, Kurjak returned with a vengeance his senior year. His senior season, he won state titles in both high jump and triple jump, beating a prior personal best of 7’0” in the high jump. He brought in the Northern Colorado Athletic Conference title in the high jump that year as well, in addition to the conference and Boulder county titles he won in the triple jump.
Kurjak credits playing multiple sports growing up for his success.
“Playing multiple sports just helps keep you in shape year round, and it helps keep your muscles loose and prevent injury. Even if individual skills don’t necessarily translate, staying healthy and loose provides a big advantage over other athletes,” Kurjak said.
After graduating high school, Kurjak showed up to campus as a dual-athlete after committing to both CMU’s men’s basketball team and the CMU track and field team. However, he left the basketball team after his sophomore year in college, citing the time commitment as a big reason he felt he couldn’t do both anymore.
“It was definitely a bit frustrating having to quit basketball. I wanted to be good at everything and do it all, but it turned out I just couldn’t. However, I use that frustration of not being good at everything I wanted to do to keep me going and motivated for track,” Kurjak said.
Kurjak goes through a rigorous mental preparation ritual, though he says he doesn’t ever change much in terms of physical preparation before a meet. He meditates multiple times per week in order to keep himself calm and allow himself to visualize his success, and says that the visualization element of his meditation always gets more intense the closer each meet gets. In terms of physical preparation for competition, he likes to eat a big dinner the night before a competition and then eat very light the day of, consuming mostly protein at the meets.
This constant preparation has brought Kurjak an avalanche of accolades this year. During indoor track season, he was a two-time RMAC field athlete of the week and won the NCAA South Central Region Men’s Field Athlete of the Year award. The outdoor season is just beginning, so Kurjak has a chance at even more accolades as well.
“Watching someone succeed in the way Eddie [Kurjak] has this season has made me even more excited to compete. He takes the sport very seriously and it’s a good cue for the rest of us to follow,” said teammate Jordan Brockman.
Success typically brings added eyes and increased pressure to be a leader. Sometimes, one athlete just needs guidance from a teammate to get over the hump. Kurjak says that while he is alright with leading, and he tries to be a leader within the jumpers group, he’s not actively trying to be the de facto leader of the team.
“I try to be a leader within my group, but everyone’s energy ebbs and flows day-to-day, so multiple people can be a leader on the team. I also don’t want to be the gold standard for the team, regardless of my accomplishments,” said Kurjak.
Teammates like Brockman are appreciative of Kurjak’s leadership.
“Eddie [Kurjak] is an awesome teammate, and is always willing to talk to you about the sport and how to be better. He cares about other people’s performance as well as his own, and wants everyone to do well and be proud,” Brockman said.
Kurjak’s consistent work ethic isn’t just noticed by his teammates, but by his coaches as well. When his coaches are asked about him, heaps of praise follow in their responses.
“There’s a low percentage of athletes in [Kurjak’s] realm of work ethic. He’s always going above and beyond,” said assistant coach John Gabriel.
The biggest goal Kurjak has his eyes set on is the chance to qualify for the Olympic trials this season. His personal best high jump is only three centimeters below the Olympic trial qualifying height of 2.23 meters.
“To go to an Olympic trials is obviously a huge goal of mine,” said Kurjak. “I have a huge opportunity this season, but I still have one more year of eligibility to achieve it. I’d like a win at the NCAA championships, too.”
Kurjak and his teammates have the RMAC championships ahead, looking for a chance to qualify for the NCAA championships in May, which take place in Kansas. Last season, Kurjak qualified for nationals with a 2.07 meter leap.
