Jurrian Hering
Gig Harbor High School
A senior at Gig Harbor High School, Jurrian Hering has excelled in both athletics and academics.
He was named all-conference cornerback in football and has offers from both Brigham Young University and the Air Force Academy. But it is not just football where Jurrian shows his athletic talent. He has received many honors in track as well including: GHHS Track and Field Freshman of the year (2016); GHHS Men’s Track and Field MVP (2017,2018); South Sound Conference Men’s Track and Field Athlete of the Year (2018); and 110 Meter Hurdles 3A State Champion.
“I’ve received offers from Idaho, Air Force and WestPoint,” said Jurrian, who also has a 3.4 GPA and is enrolled in AP classes.
Jurrian said he would like to run track in college, although he would be OK with playing football, too. He is currently undecided as to what school he will attend, but areas of interest when it comes to a career include criminal justice, counterterrorism, psychology and sociology.
“I would like to become an FBI agent,” he said. “I want to be part of a cause bigger than me, and I feel the FBI would do just that. Making not only my country, but even my personal community safer, has great appeal to me. I do have a not-so-secret desire to compete in the Olympics one day. I love hurdling and am not ready to stop striving for improvement there. I haven’t reached my peak by any means.”
While sports have provided many amazing moments for Jurrian, it has not been without challenges.
“The biggest challenge I have experienced in sports was when I was a sophomore running track. It was about mid-season, and I had not been performing to the caliber that I believe I should have, and going into the Shelton Invitational I had put too much pressure on myself to perform in fear that I would disappoint my coach and my family,” explained Jurrian. “At the start of the meet, in the 110-meter hurdle race, I hit a hurdle and fell mid-race and couldn’t finish. It was embarrassing, and I felt defeated. I overcame this self-imposed mental block by coming to the realization that the pressure I had put on myself wasn’t really there at all. It was just a figment of my mind and that I control my thoughts, so I made them more positive, more successful. Later that season, I placed second in the 110 hurdles at the state meet. The lesson that I learned from this was invaluable. It was that life’s going to knock you down and you have to get right back up and keep pushing, because if you put in the work there’s something great waiting for you.”
Jurrian goes on to share that what he loves most about both track and football is the competition.
“I love being able to go head-to-head with another athlete, compete and show my abilities. I love the mutual respect that comes from a race well done or a great play. I also love competition with myself.”
He is grateful to his track coach, Kevin Eager, who he said has taught him the importance of focus in everything he does.
“With focus, I believe it’s important to engage in positive self-talk and accurate self-evaluation,” Jurrian said. “He has shown me that when you are focused on the goal, even when adversity comes knocking, you must never lose sight of that end goal.”