"I just thought, God, I just want to be wherever you want me, and everything will work out."

Two years ago, that was the prayer of the eventual 2025 Pacific West Conference Freshman of the Year, Vanguard Cross Country & Track and Field runner Ella Murray. It is perhaps the same prayer for many prospective high school athletes who hunger for a chance at the next level.

The complexities of becoming a collegiate athlete cannot be overstated. Countless student athletes make the pledge of lifelong sacrifices, diving headfirst into the marathon of their athletic endeavors. But what happens when the plan changes? When aspirations are altered, or the simple call of the unknown redirects one's resolve?

This was the narrative for Murray, who put her collegiate athletic desires aside to follow the will of the Lord and pursue missionary work with Youth With A Mission (YWAM).

The Westminster native never thought she'd find herself preaching in another continent; she also never envisioned herself as a runner. Her athletic journey started on the soccer field, but it was her father, Ryan, who steered her toward racing and her eventual limelight in the cross-country landscape during her high school tenure. While she stood out at CIF level, Murray's pace was reset for the first time when she transferred schools her senior year, trading in a Viking jersey for her new home at Pacifica Christian, a small private school in Newport Beach with 12-times fewer students.

While the differences in schools were stark, the transfer actually helped the senior find her path as a runner, while preparing her for a major shift in future planning.  Murray excelled on the trail, where she was the first Triton in school history to be an individual CIF Champion at the CIF Southern Sectionals in 2023. Her mainstream development came off the course however, as her new training grounds gave her the environment to connect deeper with her faith than she ever had.

"I had grown up in the church," shared Murray. "I had always heard people talk so much about how we can glorify Christ in our sport and, you know, letting our sport be a way of worship, but it would all go straight over my head." But her ability to bridge faith and athletics would not stay that way. She found that Christian community that united her passions, and simple conversations amongst peers led her to more meaningful reflections about the Lord.  She left Pacifica Christian with her faith bolstered and beliefs forged into tangible, everyday accents of her daily habits and lifestyle.
 

Still, the looming question that plagues many high school athletes sat at large: Where am I going to college?

It was a conundrum that left the then high school senior feeling cornered. Murray wanted to make the most of her talents. Murray wanted to compete as an NCAA DI athlete. Murray wanted to outlast the pressure and kickstart the race to become a well-rounded collegiate athlete.

Murray chose to follow the Lord and see where His instructions led her next.

"I couldn't get too caught up," Murray noted. "I was just thinking to myself, I don't want to get caught up in running more than God." A hard truth to swallow, but Murray was determined to stay on course with her faith and see if the Lord would open the road to help her balance faith and athletics in the collegiate world. She credits her Pacifica Christian high school coaches Josh Espinoza and Neil Massaro who helped alleviate some of the pressure, giving her the "eye opening revelation that [she] didn't need to keep up with everyone's expectations" for her collegiate roadmap. What she needed was direction from above.

It did not take long for the Lord to replot her course.

Murray found that her long list of potential collegiate suitors, which included Vanguard, all had something in common.  "I just kept thinking to myself, this is not where I'm supposed to be," said Murray. "I'm not a very indecisive person, [but] I wasn't feeling at peace with any of the schools." Instead, her peace was found in prayer when Murray surrendered her running plans to the Lord and was given a new assignment.

Jump into ministry and pursue missionary work with Youth With A Mission.

Despite Murray's trust in her decision, the then 17-year-old still had to overcome waves of fear and doubt. She had only registered a brief taste of missionary work in Mexico for a couple of weeks when she was younger, and was now about to spend months away from home. She also had the added pressure of backlash from coaches, many of whom voiced great concern about upending her opportunities at the collegiate level.

Murray challenged doubt with certainty in the Lord's plan. She "had to trust and know that [she] had the peace and felt the yes from God to stay on [her] direction." She held onto God's peace and put her burdens about the future behind her.

Her six-month-long journey was split into three months of training in Hawaii and three months of active missionary work in a destination that was yet to be determined. Murray's preparation included four, three-hour classes a week with around 100 students, where she collaborated with others from different backgrounds and denominations, a factor which she felt allowed her to draw new takeaways from scripture and teaching.

Murray centered in on her top pick for missionary work in just 10 minutes. 10 minutes of prayer and 10 minutes of answers. "The first place I originally wanted to put down as my number one was Guam & Saipan," mentioned Murray. "I thought it looked beautiful. Why wouldn't I want to be there?" Murray continued her search, however, looking for a word from the Lord.

God, where do you want me to go?

It was that still, direct prayer that changed her number one destination completely.

"I heard him say put down Tanzania," shared a chuckling Murray. "And I was like, God, that wasn't even one of my options I was giving you. That's how I knew."

Tanzania would be the stage for Murray to continue her walk of obedience. And unbeknownst to her, it was the same place her parents met many years before, coincidentally, on a missions trip.
 

Murray landed in Tanzania on Christmas Day 2024 with a team of 10 other missionaries. The group would battle through an infinite wall of language barriers, food poisoning, and a whole lot of heat. But she and the team remained centered on their mission; they preached at local churches, offered weekly seminars, facilitated bible distributions, shared Christian films, and carried out door to door evangelism with the locals. She found one of her most memorable experiences on the trip was when she worked with two translators to directly share the gospel with someone, and as their exchange blossomed, Christ gained a new follower.

"It was sort of a game of telephone," started Murray. "But to see things clicking in his brain… to see someone hear about God for the first time, experience His presence, and realize they've found what they were looking for." Murray paused. "I thought to myself, this is crazy. This is why we came here."
 

Nearing the twilight of her missionary work, Murray did not place too much strain on her future in athletics. She did not have plans to return to racing, having not had time to keep up with her training, which had already generated negative feedback.  Nor was she concrete in a college entry plan, having become so invested in her current course of obedience in missionary work that perhaps this was her calling in life, and that going to school for that journey would be the next step.

She would soon find that God required another act of obedience from her, as He shifted her life's narrative once again, this time with a simple phone call. It was Vanguard Head Coach Bryan Wilkins, one of the many cross-country coaches she had to turn down to get into her missionary work.

"Sometimes I'm so stubborn," smiled Murray. "[In that moment,] I was just thinking, he just wants to talk to me about running, I haven't run since May, and I'm probably never running again. This is just a waste of time."

But Murray cast her doubt aside and picked up the phone. The message was clear, a whole continent away: the Lord was redirecting her race back to the athletics arena.

"We started talking about the missions trip, how it was going, what I still had ahead," Murray reminisced. "Coach Wilkins is so genuine and authentic, and there's so much grace the Lord has put on him. I think the whole conversation changed my entire perspective and heart posture completely."

By the time either had even mentioned collegiate running, Murray knew the commitment Wilkins had toward her as a person and her walk with Christ. And three days later, Murray knew she was returning to the trail, and continuing the path the Lord had cast ahead of her.

"After Ella informed me she that was going to be doing Missions work with YWAM, I told her "I fully support your decision and just know the door will always be open for you here at Vanguard,"" relayed Wilkins.  "I circled back with her during the holidays and reminded her "we're still thinking of you would love for you to be a Lion next year." A few weeks after that, she called and let me know she would like to commit to VU for the 2025-26 year."

With an amazing experience and act of service now in the past, landing back in California meant the gap year was over.  It was time to get her legs back under her, and while it was arduous work, Murray got back to race shape in just 18 weeks.

"It was intimidating with my whole training regimen, but one of the main things that drove me so much was remembering that I was at Vanguard because of the call of the Lord, and I'm being disciplined and using running as a form of reverence, worship, and ministry." A full circle moment to a concept that once felt so out of reach.

Murray clicked with the team during their retreat in Big Bear and was shocked at how quickly her teammates became automatic friends, even though she was a year older. She also immediately clicked on the course, placing seventh and staking a top-two finish amongst Lion competitors in her collegiate debut at the Vanguard Invitational in September.

"Coach Wilkins, he just said, all right, Ella, you're back," shared Murray. "I felt this sigh of relief and a weight off my shoulders. I was thinking I wasn't going to have to play catch-up the whole entire season."

She would in fact not be playing catch-up, as she instead asked the rest of the field to catch up to her. Murray was a standout performer in the 6K for the Lions in the Fall; she was a top two VU finisher in each race, clocked sub 22 minutes in all but one of her outings, and set a program record in the 6K at the West Regional (21:06).  With a stellar second-place finish at the PacWest Championships, she was a First Team All-Conference runner and was easily selected as the Female Freshman of the Year.

"That was my season," grinned Murray widely, "I missed nationals I think, by six seconds, but I gave it all that I could, and I don't think I could've gone any faster." She chuckled.
 

In a season's time, Murray's impact for VU has transcended her ability on the course. Her race of obedience with Christ has rolled into the fibers of an ever-growing team culture.

"She's been an amazing gift to our team in so many ways," acknowledged Wilkins. "I love her passion for the Lord, her desire to always follow His call on her life.  She's an inspirational leader, highly dedicated and a true teammate who cares deeply for others. I'm so excited for what's in store for her."

And it all started with a simple, but intentional prayer.

Though obtuse to some, Murray's story parallels more common roadblocks in the student-athlete journey than it initially suggests.

Today, many student-athletes find themselves torn by the will of God, the will of their trade, and the will of the world. But, as Murray's story illustrates, the triad's delineation is separated when one pursues the Lord with obedience, racing fearlessly along His path and placing identity in the personification of Christ's character.

"I'm always going to be a child of God. I'm always going to be a disciple," stated Murray. "With running, with sports, they don't have to be separate from God. We don't have to be separate from God. The Lord is in everything we invite him into. And as athletes, we have a special opportunity to extend that invitation."