CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Junior Max Murphy placed 69th at the NCAA Championships on Saturday morning with a 30:13.9 personal best in the 10,000-meter race.
“I thought Max performed at a very high level today,” distance and associate head coach Randy Hasenbank said. “More importantly, he kept his poise, found his rhythm, and just let the race come to him. For his first time in this meet environment, I thought he performed very well. This is the best finish by a Hawkeye in this meet in a long time. We are very proud of him.”
The Bettendorf, Iowa, native is Iowa’s first NCAA qualifier since 2019, when Nathan Mylenek placed 85th overall. Murphy’s finish is the highest since 2010, when Jeff Thode placed 30th.
𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝘅 🤩
A 10K career best earns Murphy a 69th-place finish at the NCAA Championships! Max sets Iowa’s best individual placing since 2010.#Hawkeyes x #NCAAXC pic.twitter.com/sLjFuTu5DA
— Iowa Track & Field/Cross Country (@IowaXC_TF) November 18, 2023
Murphy saved his best race for last, with an average 1,000-meter split of 2:57.4. As he has done all season, the Hawkeye junior kept pace and climbed toward the front of the pack with each passing split. Out of 236 runners, Murphy broke into the top 100 at the 6K mark and continued to push forward to his personal best finish.
Murphy wraps up a record-setting cross country campaign that began with a new 6,000-meter program best on Sept. 1 at the Hawkeye Invite. He finished his season by moving to fifth in school history in the 10,000-meter event at Saturday’s NCAA Championships.
Harvard’s Graham Blanks won the individual men’s title with a 28:37.7. Oklahoma State ran away with the team title, scoring 49 points.
Up Next: Iowa’s cross country season has come to a close. The Hawkeyes begin their indoor track and field season on Dec. 2 at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener in Boston, Massachusetts. Iowa hosts the Jimmy Grant Alumni Invitational at the Hawkeye Indoor Track Facility on Dec. 9.
HAWKEYE RESULTS
69. Max Murphy – 30:13.9, PR, 5th at Iowa