ALLIANCE – Senior Sarah Murphy was named Ohio Athletic Conference Co-Sprint Athlete of the Year as the Wilmington College women's track and field team finished fifth of 10 teams in the 2015 OAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, hosted by Mount Union.
"Our women had an amazing weekend," said Wilmington head coach Ron Combs. "I thought for the most part we scored where we thought we could. Sarah Murphy was amazing. Last year, she didn't make the 100 hurdles final, and this year she wins it against a really good field. It was great to see her get the MVP. She has been focused and worked her tail off."
Murphy (West Liberty, OH/West Liberty Salem) claimed the OAC championship in the 100 hurdles (14.74), and then finished second in the 400 hurdles with a personal best time 1:04.74. She earned All-OAC by finishing third in the 400 hurdles last season. The 14.74 in the 100 hurdles is currently 21st nationally. The top 21 women's times/distances will earn berths to the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
She also joined with senior Veronica Burnam (New Richmond, OH/New Richmond), sophomore Angela Dorsett (Pittsburgh, PA/West Mifflin) and freshman Elizabeth Davis (Springfield, OH/Northeastern) to score in the 1600 relay (4:20.82).
Murphy wasn't the only athlete to bring home an OAC title as junior Marissa Bolen (Gibsonburg, OH/Gibsonburg) improved on last year's second place finish in the shot put to earn her first conference championship. After being passed right before her last attempt, Bolen reclaimed her spot atop the standings with a toss of 13.99 meters. With three meets remaining until the NCAA Outdoor Championships selections, Bolen's toss has her sixth nationally.
The junior had a great meet, barely missing All-OAC honors in the discus. She finished fourth with a toss of 41.23 meters and she added an eighth-place finish in the hammer (40.59).
Bolen was the ring leader for a great showing by the women throwers as they combined for 33 of Wilmington's 72 total points.
Sophomore Lauren Stacy (Bethel, OH/Western Brown) scored in three throwing events. She was fifth in both the shot put (12.23) and hammer (43.61), and was sixth in the discus (37.86). Freshman Tara Karnes (Greenfield, OH/McClain) was third in the shot put (13.30), and it has her 16th nationally. It's also the second-best distance among freshmen.
"Our female throwers were very strong again," said Combs. "Marissa was amazing in stepping back in the ring on her final throw, after being passed, and throwing a bomb to take the OAC title back. Tara has also proven herself to be one of the top freshmen in the country in the shot put."
Senior Tricia Steffen (Baltimore, OH/Liberty Union) earned All-OAC in both the 1000 with a second place finish (39:30.55) and a third place finish in the 5000 (18:31.56). Dorsett scored in the triple jump (10.2 meters), and then teamed with Davis, sophomore Hannah Rolf (Springfield, OH/Northeastern) and freshman Christina Paskow (Felicity, OH/Felicity Franklin) to score in the 400 relay (53.62).