Prominent ODA runner approaches his career finish line

Kindergarten teachers recognize hard work and good behavior. Incentives can be a useful tool to help children navigate fundamental math and literacy skills.

Sometimes, those are tangible items such as gold stars or special privileges, like being the line leader for a day.

Kevin Gyurka’s kindergarten teacher at Tatum Ridge Elementary, Laura Graber, once gave him a Run Gasparilla 5K medal for being a good student. She had earned it as a runner herself.

“I remember getting that,” Gyurka said. “I still have that hanging in my room.”

Running competitively wasn’t exactly on his radar as a child, but as those elementary school years transpired, he kept on joining after-school running programs. Being the fastest or doing the most laps became a sought-after status symbol of sorts.

Graber’s medal has more than a little company these days.

Now a senior at The Out-of-Door Academy, Gyurka has spent the better part of three years leaving opponents behind. His name is already in the school record books several months before he claims his diploma at graduation.

As a three-sport athlete competing in cross-country, track and field and boys’ soccer, the long-distance runner holds school records for the boys’ 5K, 3,200 meters and 4x800 relay races. He also ranks second in the 1,600-meters, fifth in the 400-meters and sixth in the 800-meters.

Gyurka set the school record with a 15:48.7 in the 5K on Sept. 20 at the North Port XC Invite. In his latest action Nov. 1 at the Tri-County Championship, he raised the bar a little higher with a 5:48.6. He finished sixth in the race, behind five IMG Academy runners.

But he doesn’t bother touting his accomplishments.

“He doesn’t brag, he’s humble, but he’s so driven,” said Erin Mulvihill, the ODA cross-country and track and field coach. “And I think that’s what attracts kids to him — that he’s an exceptional runner, but he doesn’t act like he is.”

Photo by Jack Nelson

An illustrious resume, though, gives Gyurka plenty to boast about. Since transferring from Riverview to ODA ahead of his sophomore year, he’s racked up 19 first-place finishes across all disciplines, per the Track and Field Results Reporting System.

There could be more. Cross-country is nearing its end with the FHSAA postseason beginning Nov. 3 at district meets, but the track and field season has yet to begin.

“This year, I’m definitely focusing more, taking it maybe just a little too serious,” Gyurka said. “But I think I need that to be as good as I could be.”

Besides Graber, who also inspired him to try track in fourth grade, he didn't get a push from anyone else to be a runner.

Neither his father, Janos Gyurka, nor his mother, Andrea Wurst, have histories with the sport. Though his brother, Daniel Gyurka, races with Sarasota cross-country, he’s still only a freshman.

Kevin Gyurka once had aspirations for a different arena.

“Everyone I had around me just played sports,” Gyurka said. “I thought I’d be a soccer pro when I grew up, so that was like a dream when I was a little kid.”

Photo by Jack Nelson

Cross-country actually sits lowest on his totem pole of personal preference. Track and field is his greatest passion, while soccer comes second. He tallied six goals and five assists for ODA boys’ soccer in 2024-25. His squad reached the FHSAA Class 1A regional finals.

But his greatest sports exploits have come without a soccer ball at his feet. He began building a running resume at Riverview with nine top-10 finishes in 12 races during the 2023 track and field season.

The program just wasn’t right for him, and even after he made the move to ODA, there was turmoil. Former coach Jay Roper departed the program after the 2023-24 academic year as Mulvihill stepped in.

“(Gyurka) wasn’t in a really great place emotionally,” Mulvihill said. “When I first met him as his coach, he was coming out of soccer and struggling a little bit with the belief in himself, and even the ‘why’ of why he’s doing it.”

His junior year had its share of trials and tribulations. 

As a sophomore, he placed third in the 3,200 and fifth in the 4x800 at the FHSAA 1A track and field state championships. That performance surprised even himself, and as a result, his hopes for 2024-25 soared. 

That season never met his expectations as his junior track and field season went about the same as it did when he was a sophomore. 

He didn’t see many positives from all his work when all was said and done.

“I put all this training into the same results. It was kind of frustrating, and definitely hard,” Gyurka said. “But I took a little break, tried enjoying and not putting so much pressure on myself.”

Photo by Jack Nelson

As a senior, he has won the Venice Invitational and King’s Invitational on Aug. 30 and Oct. 25, respectively, and has placed top-10 in five of his seven meets this cross-country season.

He isn't worried about people remembering him at ODA because of his records.

“I hope people remember me for being me. I don’t want them to be like, ‘Oh, he’s the kid who broke the school record,’” Gyurka said. “I want them to have memories of me, just walking through the hallway.”

The finishing touches on his cross-country career come later this month with FHSAA district meets Nov. 3-8, followed by regionals from Nov. 12-15 and the state meet Nov. 22. His favorite time of year — track and field season — will arrive in the spring.

And Graber’s medal that started it all?

It still hangs in Gyurka's bedroom after all these years. His own medals have piled up alongside it, and there's still space for more.