Island School’s Pierce Murphy headed to the Mainland in order to compete in California’s Arcadia Invitational track meet over the weekend, representing Kaua‘i well with a third-place finish in the 3,200 Meter Run for the rated division. One of the
Island School’s Pierce Murphy headed to the Mainland in order to compete in California’s Arcadia Invitational track meet over the weekend, representing Kaua‘i well with a third-place finish in the 3,200 Meter Run for the rated division.
One of the state’s top long-distance high school runners, Pierce ran the 3,200 for the first time ever and put up a time of 9 minutes, 14.09 seconds. That placed him just 1.18 seconds behind first-place finisher Kevin Barnard.
Murphy kept a good pace for much of the race, creeping forward into the second pack during the latter stages, then made a strong push in the final lap.
He had been a few seconds behind Barnard and Parker Schuh, but cut the distance around the final turn and just followed them past the finish line for a bronze medal.
He also took ninth place in his heat for the Mile Run with a time of 4:19.86. That was the 15th-fastest time among the 56 competitors.
Some of the nation’s best prep athletes, along with international competitors, all gather at the Arcadia High School meet, which has seen 125 U.S. Olympians participate and 24 national high school records set.
