After likely a long and arduous decision making process, the nation's best returning track athlete, Kate Murphy announced via twitter that she would be an Oregon Duck.
Entering her senior season at Lake Braddock Secondary, Kate Murphy is very much in a rare position. Any other girl who has arguably been as talented as her in the past has chosen to turn professional. Kate though has chosen a different path and that path leads to one of the best track and distance programs in the entire nation in Eugene Oregon.
She enters the track season ranked third all-time in the 1500 (4:07.21), fifth all-time in the 3K (9:10.51), and sixth all-time in the Mile at 4:39.47. She also helped anchor Lake Braddock's 4x800 to a VA #3 all-time 8:57 this past track season.
She is literally so talented she had to turn down pro contracts to remain a high school runner.
The highlight of her career though has be the mere fact that she was able to compete in the USA Olympic Team Trials this past July as a high schooler. She even advanced to the semi-finals.
Though she has proven everything she would ever need to prove, she still has a lot on her mind. She wants a another state title, a national title, and all the records in the books.
This XC season is going to be a fun one for her. She opened with a strong win at the Great American XC Festival and will have some decent competition at states and NXR. The real test though will be out at NXN where she will hopefully be running alongside her Bruin teammates.
Unlike some stars of our sport, Kate Murphy was not a huge freshman star. She finished that year ranked 22nd in XC for her class. But as her coaches would tell you, something clicked soon thereafter.
Though she gradually was gaining ground on everyone by her sophomore XC seson, it wasn't until CNU's Winter Frolic Meet in 2014 that she burst onto the scene.
She won that 3200m indoor race with a US #1 time of 10:40. It was her first major win and obviously wasn't her last.
From that point on she has worked to be the best athlete in the entire nation and almost anyone could make the argument she is.
Nothing seems to be impossible for her and if you watched her workouts you would understand why. She is not only talented, she is the toughest, hardest worker on the track day in and day out.
