It is no secret that Andrew Hunter and Kate Murphy are next level good. They are so good in fact that they have both been invited (and obviously accepted that invite) to compete in the 2015 Brooks PR invitational out in Seattle, Washington. Both of these runners will be lacing up their spikes in the 2 Mile races that are stacked with depth and talent beyond reckoning. Below are both of their chances and how their races should go.
Kate Murphy (Lake Braddock Secondary)
- 10:19.94 (6A States 3200)
- #8 All-time 3200
- Sophomore
- US #1 3K (9:32.82)
- Penn Relays 3K Champ
- National Runner-up indoors 2 Mile
Kate is scary good. Aside from her obvious talent, Kate has a visible drive and competitive nature you do not find everyday in high school distance runners. Watch her before a race, she is dialed in and ready to rumble. That combination is going to make her deadly in these big races and this weekend. Though she is the 9th seed out of 12 runners, do not be surprised to see her in the top 5 when it is all said and done.
The record she is chasing is Erin Keogh's 10:03.07 record set back in 1987 for 3200m. That means she needs to run around a 10:07 to be in conversion range of breaking it. She is also chasing Sophie Chase's 10:15.55c school record which is just one of five Lake Braddock times inside the top 13 all-time!
We want to keep it 100% with everyone, though those times are fast and a huge improvement from her current 10:20 pr, they are well within range this season! She is a competitor and with Allie Ostrander and co. in this race, we should see some very impressive times.
Predicted finish: 4th, 10:04.86c (3200)
Andrew Hunter (Loudoun Valley)
- 8:48.22 (Indoors)
- #4 All-time (3200)
- Junior
- US #1 2Mile 8:52.30 (Southern Track Classic)
- Penn Relays 3K Champ (14), Mile Champ (15)
- Indoor National 2 Mile Champion
- National Runner-up 2 Mile, Outdoors (14)
Though there is some tough, and we mean historically tough, competition in between Drew and a Brooks PR title this year, he enters the competition as one of the three favorites for the race. He is joined in this honor with Mikey Brannigan and Grant Fisher who is the two-time defending Foot Locker Champ and as of last week, adidas Dream Mile Champ. The best part of it though is the fact that Drew is one of only two juniors in the race (Austin Tamagno).
He will enter this race with a ton of confidence and more importantly, the ability to come away with the title and state record (currently 8:42.56c by Sean McGorty). He attempted to break the record at Southern Track Classic when he ran by himself for all eight laps and still managed to run a US #1 time... if he has company on this venture then that record is history.
To win the race though is going to take a little better move then his Dream Mile move. He will likely look to make a very strong move between 600-500m left in the race and this time chose to lead at that point at whatever cost. In the Dream Mile he hit the railing and got cut off and still managed to finish second, we are sure he does not want that to happen again. Though he will likely have at least a couple guys next to him when he makes this move, he is one of the best racers and runners in the field and should be able to pull it off.
Predicted finish: 1st, 8:39.52c (3200)