Murphy Breaks School Record in 5,000 at Stanford Invitational

Friday, March 31

Palo Alto, Calif.

All Day

University of Utah

Stanford Invitational

Murphy Breaks School Record in 5,000 at Stanford Invitational

3/31/2017 11:37 PM | Track & Field

Grayson Murphy now holds school record in outdoor and indoor 5,000.

STANFORD, Calif. – Led by junior Grayson Murphy breaking the school record in the 5000-meter run, the Utah distance runners had a successful opening day at the Stanford Invitational, San Francisco State Distance Carnival, and Utah Valley Invitational on Friday.

"Today was a terrific day for the most part. Grayson did it again, breaking the school record in the 5,000 but she did it this time in outdoor competition. We had some kids who would like to get their performances back but it is the beginning of the year and we are only going to get better," head coach Kyle Kepler stated.

Murphy recorded a time of 15:58.29, placing 14^th in her heat, to break the previous school record set by Susannah Hurst back in April of 2014, when Hurst finished the 5,000 in a time of 16:06.31. Murphy now holds the school record in the indoor and outdoor 5000-meter run.

Junior Hannah McInturff also competed in the 5,000 and finished in a time of 17:07.59 to place 16^th in her heat.

Freshman Amanda Gehrich competed in the 1500-meter run at the Stanford Invitational, where she placed third in her heat with a time of 4:26.05, which ranks sixth all-time in school history.

Senior Becky Sarmiento placed 12th in the 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:59.76.

Utah also had distance runners competing in the San Francisco State Distance Carnival. Sophomore Jade Mulvey started off competition in the 10000-meter run, where she placed 38^th with a time of 38:39.83.

Freshman Poppy Tank highlighted the Distance Carnival when she placed third overall in the 5000-meter run. Tank finished with a personal best time of 16:37.48, which ranks seventh all-time. Junior Jessica Sams finished with a time of 16:58.47 to earn 20^th.

In the 1500-meter run, junior Dakota Grossman placed 18^th with a personal best time of 4:34.62. Sophomore Sadie Wassum finished with a personal best time of 4:37.15 to place 24^th. Freshman Nicole Griffiths placed 58^th with a time of 4:45.06.

Freshman Ashley Licata placed 29^th in the 3000-meter steeplechase with a time 11:11.93, which ranks seventh all-time.

Competing at Utah Valley, freshman Melissa Taggart finished in eighth place in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:18.79. Sophomore Hannah Allred and junior Shaylen Crook represented the Utes in the 3000-meter run. Allred finished in second place with a time of 10:32.16, Crook placed sixth with a time of 10:57.10.