There is not much a two-time All-American has to do to turn heads on the track, but senior John Moffitt’s outdoor long jump of 26 feet, 5 3/4 inches this weekend at the Penn Relays has everyone’s attention.
“I felt pretty good,” he said. “It was a good meet. I just wanted to come out and do my best.”
Moffitt’s jump was the fifth best jump recorded in Penn Relays’ history and the third best all-time at LSU.
Moffitt said he does not let his personal achievements get in the way of the team’s goals.
“I just hope that everyone can get healthy,” he said. “Hopefully, when the time comes; we can all compete at our best level.”
Although modest when speaking about his performance, Moffitt has shown his ability is anything but ordinary.
Prior to attending LSU, Moffitt attended Barton County Community College, where he earned All-American honors in the long jump and triple jump. In 2000, Moffitt won the indoor long jump title at the 2000 NJCAA Championships. His team went on to win indoor and outdoor championships in 2001 and 2002.
Moffitt said his performance has elevated a lot this season because of his conditioning.
“I’m doing a lot better than last year,” he said. “I’ve been working hard all season and it’s starting to pay off now. A big part of it has to do with conditioning. Last year was my first year with the program, so I took all the things I learned and carried them over to this season.”
During the indoor track season, Moffitt’s numbers twice earned him All-American honors, and his third place triple jump at the NCAA Championships of 54-2 1/2 earned him national publicity and the fourth best jump in LSU history.
While many focus on Moffitt’s’ past achievements, he remains focused on the Southeastern Conference Tournament, where he won the indoor title in the long jump this season.
“With all this time off we have, it should really help the team a lot for the SECs,” he said. “The SECs are about three weeks away, and I feel the team should have a good performance.”
Despite a busy academic schedule and year-round training, Moffitt finds time to relax when away from the track.
“Most of my time is school, track and relaxing,” he said. “When I’m not doing my schoolwork, I usually find some time for Playstation or something like that. Actually I used to love playing football; that is my second sport.”
After transferring to LSU from junior college, he noticed many differences playing at an SEC school.
“It’s a whole lot different,” he said. “The competition is a lot higher than at junior college. This was something I knew coming to LSU.”
Moffitt said although LSU has provided many challenges on and off the track, he is prepared to take them in stride.
“Competing in the SEC is a challenge for me, but I just step up to the plate and meet the challenge.”
So far Moffitt has met every challenge and has high expectations for the team heading into the SECs.
The Tigers will expect a strong SEC performance before heading to Austin, Texas, for the NCAA Outdoor Championship.