Coaching Honors
7 All-Americans
5 NCAA Finals Qualifiers
21 Regional/Preliminary Round Qualifiers
52 All-Conference USA/Sun Belt Performers
19 Conference USA/Sun Belt Champions
14 WKU Record Holders
9 USTFCCCA All-Academic Team selections
1 National Record Holder (Chile)
2 Pan American Games Qualifiers
4 World University Games Qualifiers
1 European Junior Championship Qualifier
1 South American Junior Medalist (Silver)
1 South American U23 Medalist (Silver)
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After working on the WKU staff as a student assistant during the 2006 and 2007 season, Jarrett Murphy was elevated to the title of assistant coach prior to the start of the 2008 season. He heads the combined-events, pole vault and javelin throw for the track and field program while working with vertical jumpers for stretches as well.
In Murphy's coaching tenure on The Hill, his student-athletes have set 91 all-time top-five performances in the WKU record books. Of those performances, Murphy has helped guide student-athletes to new WKU records in the women's pole vault, women's pentathlon, women's heptathlon, men's high jump, women's high jump, men's pole vault, men's heptathlon and men's javelin. In his 12 years as assistant, athletes under Murphy's tutelage have earned 52 All-Conference USA and All-Sun Belt Conference honors and have claimed 19 individual league titles.
During the 2018-19 campaigns, Murphy coached dual-sport freshman (volleyball) Katie Isenbarger to indoor and outdoor All-Conference showings including the 2019 C-USA outdoor high jump title. Isenbarger took down both the indoor and outdoor program records in the event and went on to represent the Red and White at the NCAA Prelims. Murphy also tutored Annastacia Forrester – a triple threat in the jumps for the Lady Toppers – in the high jump. Forrester achieved All-Conference status during both the indoor (high jump) and outdoor (long jump) seasons while representing WKU at the NCAA Prelims in both disciplines before going on to earn Honorable Mention All-American status at the NCAA Championships in long jump. Getter Lemberg wrapped up her career on The Hill with an appearance at the NCAA Prelims after four years of working with Murphy.
The 2017-18 season saw Murphy help lead Morgan McIntyre to her third and fourth consecutive Conference USA pole vault crowns with the senior sweeping the event titles during the campaign. McIntyre went on to compete at the NCAA Prelims after collecting a pair of Conference USA Indoor Female Field Athlete of the Week honors with Murphy’s help.
In Murphy’s 10th season as an assistant coach with WKU Track & Field in 2016-17, the Hilltoppers brought home the 2017 C-USA Outdoor team championship. He worked with Kaila Smith who set the women’s indoor pentathlon record and Catika Slay who set the WKU women’s outdoor heptathlon record. In the women’s pole vault, Morgan McIntyre swept the indoor and outdoor Conference USA event crowns before going on to represent WKU at the NCAA Prelims.
WKU’s second season in Conference USA saw the men’s squad sweep the indoor and outdoor team championships while the women grabbed runner-up status in the indoor campaign. Murphy helped Tomas Guerra cap his time on The Hill with his fourth All-American accolade in the men’s javelin throw. Guerra earned second-team status during the 2015-16 season after collecting Third-Team All-Conference recognition from C-USA in the event. In the women’s pole vault, Murphy helped freshman Getter Lemberg earn Third-Team All-Conference USA honors in the outdoor championships.
Murphy's tutelage of Lady Topper pole vaulters and javelin throwers in 2015 played a key role in WKU's run to the C-USA Outdoor title. Rookie vaulters Ria Moellers and Morgan McIntyre took gold and silver at the C-USA Outdoor Championships and javelin throwers Karleigh Parker and Antonia Susnjar captured gold and silver. The performances of Murphy's quartet of Lady Topper field athletes resulted in 34 of the team's 157 points in the championship. Additionally, Parker, Moellers and McIntyre turned in the top three pole vaulting performances in Lady Topper history during the 2015 season. Parker (13'9) and Moellers (13'7) became the first set of Lady Topper pole vaulters to advance to the NCAA East Preliminary Championships in the same season.
Murphy continued his development of Tomas Guerra in 2015 as the junior Chilean earned All-American honors for the third-straight season competing in the javelin. Guerra became the second Hilltopper in program history to capture three All-American honors in a field event when he finished 10th in the javelin throw at the NCAA Championships in June.
He guided Karleigh Parker to a record-setting indoor campaign in 2014, as she extended her own pole vault record to 12'11.5 (3.95m) on her way to winning her first indoor title.
Murphy led Tomas Guerra to First-Team All-American honors in the javelin throw for the second-straight season as he placed sixth at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Guerra also won his second-straight Sun Belt Conference title with a career-best toss of 240'8 (73.37m), moving him into second-place in school history behind his older brother Ignacio. Tomas and Ignacio, under Murphy's direction, have given WKU four-consecutive First-Team All-Americans in the javelin throw. Murphy also tutored freshman Antonia Susnjar in the javelin throw and the rookie responded with the second-best throw in Lady Topper history at 139 feet (42.36m).
Murphy's athletes experienced tremendous success during the 2012-13 season, winning three Sun Belt Conference individual titles and setting a school record in the pole vault. Derrick Hill captured the league high jump title at the indoor and outdoor championships, becoming the first-ever Hilltopper to win indoor and outdoor high jump titles in the same year. Karleigh Parker broke the outdoor pole vault record on three separate occasions during the outdoor season, ultimately setting the mark at 13-feet-3 1/2 inches at the Hilltopper Relays.
Freshman thrower Tomas Guerra picked up where older brother Ignacio Guerra left off, earning first-team All-America honors in the javelin throw with a heave of 233-feet-1 inch. Tomas' honors come after back-to-back (2011-12) All-American javelin performances from Ignacio. Guerra's stellar freshman season included All-American honors and a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, a Sun Belt Conference javelin throw title and a win at the prestigious Penn Relays.
Murphy also guided Ignacio Guerra to All-American status in the 2011-12 seasons, as he finished seventh and fourth in the javelin throw at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Ignacio set a WKU and Chilean National record in the javelin during the 2011 season after a toss of 258-feet-2 inches.
Also winning SBC titles in 2011 was Marcus Pope in the 110-meter high hurdles and Karlis Daube in the 55-meter high hurdles and 400-meter intermediate hurdles. Pope also earned all-SBC honors with a third-place finish in the 55m hurdles at the indoor meet, while Daube was second in the 110m hurdles outdoor. In the vertical jumps, Anna Zhidkova placed third to earn all-SBC honors at the league outdoor meet, while Toms Andersons tied for third in the high jump.
In 2009-10, Murphy tutored three all-Sun Belt performers. During the indoor campaign, Samantha Smith tied for second-place in the women's high jump, clearing 5-4.25, while Hendrik Themas became the first in Hilltopper history to earn all-league honors in the men's indoor heptathlon, tallying a third-place score of 4,758 points. During the outdoor season, Murphy helped Karlis Daube to a third-place finish in the intermediate hurdles, where he clocked a time of 53.42 seconds. Also during the 09-10 campaign, Murphy helped Anna Zhidkova set new Lady Topper records in both the indoor and outdoor pole vault.
During the 2008-09 season, Murphy mentored two freshmen to strong combined-event finishes at the Sun Belt Conference and also coached his first NCAA Mideast Regional qualifier. In his freshman campaign, Hendrik Themas finished sixth in the heptathlon at the SBC indoor meet, tallying 4,497 points, while also placing fourth in the open pole vault. Notably, Themas set a new school record for the indoor pole vault during the heptathlon at the indoor championship, clearing 15-11. For Jantelle McNeil, a scoring effort of 4,679 points in the heptathlon at the league outdoor meet was good enough for third place, earning the first all-SBC honor of her career. Hilltopper basketball standout Jeremy Evans qualified for the NCAA Mideast Regional after winning the high jump at home in the WKU Invitational, clearing 6-10.75, and then went on to help the men to the outdoor SBC title, placing fifth.
In 2007-08, Murphy coached four all-Sun Belt athletes, including the first WKU student to win a combined-event title since WKU joined the Sun Belt. Heather Hammond set a WKU record total of 3,563 points en route to winning the pentathlon title at the 2008 SBC indoor meet. She used a second-place finish in the 800 meters and third-place finishes in the shot put and high jump to bolster her winning point total. To complete an 18-point day for WKU in the pentathlon, Jessica Delaunay finished second in the competition, using a strong 800-meter performance to push past the third-place finisher.
Delaunay earned another runner-up finish at the SBC outdoor meet, scoring 4,756 points in the final heptathlon of her career. She solidified her all-conference standing with especially strong field-event performances, winning the shot put by nearly a foot, taking third in the javelin, finishing fourth in both the long and high jumps, and also adding a second in the 800-meter run.
Also at the 2008 SBC outdoor meet, Murphy coached Evans to a runner-up finish in the high jump. Amazingly, Evans was able to earn all-conference track honors despite a very short training window for track due to the Hilltoppers' deep run into the NCAA basketball tournament with a "Sweat 16" appearance. In fact, Evans enjoyed much success during the 2007-08 school year, winning SBC titles with both basketball and track, earning all-league honors in the high jump, and being named Sun Belt Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player on the hardwood.
In two years as a student assistant, Murphy helped lead Delaunay and Hammond to all-SBC performances in the heptathlon, while also lending his expertise to Evans and Lady Topper alum Cassandra Hickman, who each scored in the high jump at the league meet.
Formerly of Burkesville, Ky., the Cumberland County High School graduate has earned his bachelor's degree in art education from WKU, and has also earned a master of science degree in sport administration. Murphy has also earned his USATF Level I certification, and added a Level II coaching certificate in the combined events in the summer of 2008. Murphy resides in Bowling Green and is married to the former Mary Alexander, who is also a graduate of both CCHS and WKU and is employed on The Hill in the Division of Extended Learning and Outreach (DELO).
The Murphy File
Education
B.A., WKU, 2007
M.A., WKU, 2009
USATF Level I, 2007
USATF Level II Combined, 2008
Coaching Experience
WKU - Grad Asst, 2006-08
WKU - Asst Coach, 2008 - present
Athletic Experience
Track & Field, WKU, 4 years
Updated July 2019
