Senior track and field athlete Murphy Busek has an interesting way of getting a work out, without even stepping foot in a gym.
Busek is employed at his uncle’s moving company where he is frequently moving heavy objects that are often much too heavy for the average person to carry.
Busek said with a smile that he’s not the whole moving crew, “But I am on every piano move.”
He also added that while it usually takes three people to move a piano, Busek and his friend, who according to him is the same size as Busek, usually handle that task by themselves.
This display of strength is apparent if one were to watch Busek get a conventional workout in a gym. Moving a piano would seem reasonable considering Busek can bench press 385 pounds, squat 550 pounds, dead lift 700 pounds and power clean 295 pounds.
All of a sudden piano moving sounds like child’s play, but those numbers don’t just stop in the weight room.
Busek competes in various field events for the Boxers such as shot put, discus and hammer throw. Despite it being his best and favorite event, Busek never threw the hammer in high school and only learned how once in college.
However, it is said that practice makes perfect, and that’s what he has done since he first started competing.
“I’m always trying to get my form down, especially in hammer,” said Busek.
Last season all that work paid off as Busek threw the 16 pound hammer 154 feet and 7 inches to break the school record.
On top of this, Busek can launch the 16-pound shot put 45 feet and 11 inches, and the 4.4 disc 130 feet.
Buseks credentials continue to grow this season. After winning two of the three throwing events he competed in at the Frank Haskins 4-way Saturday, Feb. 26, Busek was named the Northwest Conference Men’s Field Student-Athlete of the Week.
Busek has also already established NWC meet qualifying marks in both the hammer and shot put.
With these stats it is easy to see how people could get intimidated by Busek.
“I have had people come up to me at track meets and tell me that they were intimidated to throw against me. I just play it off and tell them to do their best,” said Busek.
Busek laughs about the possibility of competing in a running event. He said that there wasn’t a good chance for that.
He did however add that, “If we had a fat man relay [where the throwers from every team compete in a relay on the track] I would run and I think our team would do fairly well.”
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