Grayson Murphy Breaks School Record in 5000 at Husky Classic

Friday, February 10

Albuquerque, N.M.

All Day

University of Utah

Don Kirby Elite

Grayson Murphy Breaks School Record in 5000 at Husky Classic

2/10/2017 10:46 PM | Track & Field

Husky Classic Results Don Kirby Invitational Results Day One

Murphy breaks 35 year old record on first day of competition.

SEATTLE, Wash. – As the sole Ute to compete Friday night at the Husky Classic, junior Grayson Murphy took the spotlight as she broke the 35 year old school record in the 5000-meter run at the Dempsey Indoor Track in Seattle, Wash.

"This race was her first ever 5K indoors so that definitely adds to how special this race was. Very awesome race and even paced. She got out with one slow lap and took the lead in her heat to force the pace a little bit. She had a huge last lap and broke the record," head coach Kyle Kepler said. "I am really proud of her. She has been a great addition to our program not only from a physical standpoint but she has been a great teammate and leader for us. We are excited for her and her effort."

Murphy crossed the finish line with a time of 16:16.62 to win her heat and place 16^th overall. Murphy's time became the fastest time since February of 1982 when Jill Molen became the school leader in the 5K with a time of 16:18.52.

"This is a new school record which was the oldest one in the book held by the great Jill Molen, multiple time All-American and an awesome runner in the early 80s in our program. To be able to knock that off was a tribute to how hard Grayson has worked and how hard our whole team works. Her teammates help her immensely," said Kepler.

The Utah distance runners will close out competition at the Husky Classic beginning Saturday morning at 11:25 a.m. PT in the 800-meter run.

Meanwhile, there was a group of Utes competing at the Don Kirby Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M.

Freshman Ann Wingeleth competed in the long jump for the Utes. Wingeleth finished in seventh place after jumping a distance of 19 feet, 7 inches.

Freshman Holly Stallman competed in the 60-meter dash where she placed 47^th after running a time of 7.87 seconds.

Utah had a trio of athletes compete in the 60-meter hurdles. Sophomore Lauren McCluskey finished in 48^th with a time of 9.55 seconds, junior Madison Lanford followed in 50^th place in a time of 9.61 seconds, and freshman Piper Wehrli rounded out the Utes placing 53^rd with a time of 10.19 seconds.

Stallman and Lanford also made an appearance in the 200-meter run. Stallman finished in 88^th place with a time of 25.83 seconds. Lanford placed 106^th in a time of 26.84 seconds.

In the high jump, sophomore Eliza Hansen and Wehrli tied for 38^th place after clearing a mark of 5 feet, 1 inch. McCluskey finished in 43^rd place after clearing a mark of 5 feet, 1 inch.

"Today went pretty well," assistant coach Pete Herber said. "We put together a couple of PR's and had some really good efforts. We are close to turning the corner with a lot of kids so that's exciting."

The Utah athletes will close out competition at the Don Kirby Invitational beginning Saturday morning at 11 a.m. MT with the triple jump event.