Cheyenne East Standout DJ Murphy Earns Wyoming’s Top Track & Field Award

Cheyenne East star jumper Derrick ‘DJ’ Murphy, Jr. has been selected as the Gatorade Wyoming Boys Track and Field Player of the Year. This award is for the 2025-26 school year. In its 41st year of honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes, Gatorade announced Murphy as the recipient of its honor on Friday. He is the first winner from Cheyenne East since 1993 (Lee Vaughn), and just the third boys to earn the award in school history.

CHEYENNE'S DERRICK MURPHY JR. EARNS GATORADE BOYS' TRACK AWARD 2026

The 6-5 senior was a Class 4A state champion in the high jump, long jump, and triple jump at the 2026 Wyoming High School State Track Championships last month in Casper. Murphy topped the 4A field in the high jump with a leap of 6 feet, 7.5 inches. His best effort in the long jump was a personal best 23 feet, 9.5 inches. DJ’s best triple jump was 47-0.75. Murphy earned the ‘Best of the Best’ recognition with the top marks in all three events at the state track meet. All of that helped the Thunderbirds to a second-place finish in the 4A boys’ team standings. During the 2026 indoor track season, Murphy won the high jump (6-06) and triple jump (46-07.50) at the state championships. His efforts helped Cheyenne East win the 4A team title by 2.5 points. Earlier this month, Murphy earned second-team All-America honors in the high jump with a leap of 6-08.75 at the Nike Outdoor Nationals. He also PR’d in the high jump at the 4A East Regional Championships with a mark of 6-09.

Rich Gonzalez, editor of PrepCalTrack.com, praised Murphy's senior campaign.

“DJ Murphy swept his jumping events at the state championships, leading his team to a runner-up finish, and he still had enough in the tank to take seventh in the high jump at the Nike Outdoor Nationals. He also PR’d in two of his three disciplines this spring. All in all, that’s a super impressive season.”

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Derrick has a future in track and helped his community in some different ways

Murphy maintained a B average in the classroom. He signed a National Letter of Intent to compete on scholarship for track and field at the University of Wyoming. Out of the classroom, Murphy has volunteered locally for the past four years with the Capitol City Track Series, a summer program for kids ages 2 to 13. He has also donated his time to the Special Olympics and served Meals on Wheels during the holiday season.

Murphy joins recent Gatorade Wyoming Boys Track and Field Players of the Year Landon Walker (2024-25) from Kelly Walsh High School, Gavin Stafford (2023-24) of Big Horn High School, Gage Gose (2022-23) from Lander Valley High School, and Texas Tanner (2021-22) from Sheridan High School, among the state’s list of former award winners.

Gatorade Player of the Year is the top honor in high school sports, celebrating the nation’s best high school athletes for their success on the field, in the classroom, and in the community. The award distinguishes Murphy as Wyoming's best high school boys’ track & field athlete. He is a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Boys Track and Field Player of the Year award, to be announced soon.

As part of Gatorade’s commitment to breaking down barriers in sport, every Player of the Year also receives a grant to donate to a social impact partner. To date, the Gatorade Player of the Year program has provided more than $6.4 million in grants to winners across more than 2,200 organizations. Top of Form

Information from a release by The Gatorade Company was used in this story.