Who: Kate Murphy over Marielle Hall
What: 1500m
Where: Swarthmore
Lake Braddock, Virginia, junior Kate Murphy is known for her kick -- she came back from a deficit to win the Penn Relays DMR for her school with a 4:37 anchor in April. But until recently, her kick's power was limited to prep-only competition. On Monday night, she moved into the next stratosphere with a scorching last quarter to win the Swarthmore Last Chance 1500m over Marielle Hall, an IAAF World Championships finalist last summer in the 5K for Team USA. Hall entered the bell lap with a 30-meter lead, but Murphy split about 65 seconds over the final quarter to catch the former Longhorn at the line. Both women entered with similar PRs: 4:16.36 for Hall and 4:16.98 for Murphy, but Hall has a lot of big-league experience over the prep phenom.
Murphy's time now ranks her as the sixth-fastest prep performer in U.S. history.