Matt Terrell was born in Champaign, Illinois, and moved to Indiana at the age of 11. He didn't get into the sport of track and field until after seeing his older brother running on the junior high team and he wanted to prove that he could also run and be somewhat good. Eighth grade was his first competitive season indoors. He can recall his first 200-meter race indoors like it was yesterday and remembers that it seemed a long way to the finish. The coaches yelled at him to cut in and he couldn't hear so he looked around while continuing to run. He finished first and everyone was amazed that he was able to win after looking around at the coaches! The following outdoor season was a success, gaining fundamentals and additional skills. He didn't really fall in love with track until his freshman high school season. After meeting with Ben Davis varsity Coach Mike Davidson, he knew he wanted to be a part of something greater than himself. He asked Coach Davidson on the first day of practice how he could attain varsity status and, after the seemingly long list was described, Matt was determined. A varsity sprinter was injured during spring break and Matt was selected to take his place. That day, he ran varsity and went on to win the state 200-meter championship three years in a row and the 100-meter championship his senior year in 2009.