Murphy places third in 800 meters to spark Akron to 12th-place finish at NCAA Championship

Friday, June 12

University of Akron

NCAA Outdoor Championships

Murphy places third in 800 meters to spark Akron to 12th-place finish at NCAA Championship

June 12 | Track & Field

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EUGENE, Ore. – A strong finishing kick over the final 50 meters fueled Akron sophomore Clayton Murphy (New Paris, Ohio) to a third-place finish in the finals of the 800 meters at the NCAA Track and Field Championship on Friday, June 12, in Eugene, Ore., as he crossed the line in 1:49.52 to spark the Zips track and field team to a program-best 12th-place finish.

Collectively, Akron finished the men's portion of the NCAA Championship 16 points, a total that represents the highest scoring output in program history.

"We just missed the top 10 for the men," Akron head coach Dennis Mitchell commented. "Top 12 in the nation is not shabby as we were the top-rated non BCS "Big 5 Conference school". We are vey proud of the direction of our program. We have some very special athletes and if we can keep it all together next year's team looks very promising."

Starting from the outside in lane seven, Murphy raced in the middle to front of the pack for the majority of the race before parlaying a finishing kick into first-team All-America accolades for the second time. The margin between first and third place in the race was .26 of a second.

"What an exciting race for Clayton," said Mitchell. "He was a little blocked in at the 500m mark. He did a great job of adjusting and taking it outside and putting himself back in contention. He has that amazing kick. He was close to winning it all. What an exciting future for him."

Making his first-ever NCAA Championship appearance, sophomore Phil Jagers (Solon, Ohio) registered a throw of 181-8 to place 18th in the men's discus. By virtue of his finish, Jagers collected honorable mention All-America honors.

The final day of women's events occurs on Saturday, June 13, where the school-record holder in the women's high, senior Claudia Garcia Jou (Barcelona, Spain), who placed second at the 2015 NCAA Indoor Championship in March with a school-record leap of 6-2.75, will take to the track at 4:30 p.m. ET. She will be the eighth of 24 jumpers in the field.

Senior Alexis Cooks (Colorado Springs, Colo.), who owns the school record in the discus, will compete in the first of two flights in the event starting at 4:35 p.m. ET. A year ago, she earned first-team All-America honors placing fourth in the discus with a throw of 182-3.

"We look forward to what Alexis and Claudia do tomorrow," stated Mitchell.

FINAL MEN'S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM SCORES (TOP-20)

1) Oregon (85 points), 2) Florida (56), 3) Arkansas (53), 4) LSU (45), 5) USC (40.5), 6) Texas A&M (27), 7, Texas (26), 8) Mississippi State (20), 9) Texas Tech (18), 10) Illinois (17), Penn State (17), 12) Akron (16), 13) BYU (14), Baylor (14), 15) Georgia (13), 16) Stanford (12), 17) Virginia (11), 18) Tennessee (10.5), 19) Buffalo (10), TCU (10), Oklahoma State (10), Florida State (10), Iowa State (10), Kansas (10), Arizona (10), Penn (10), UTEP (10).

FRIDAY MEN'S RESULTS:

Finals: 800 Meters: Clayton Murphy (third-1:49.52); Discus: Phil Jagers (18th-181-8/55.38)

THURSDAY WOMEN'S RESULTS:

Finals: Hammer: Alexis Cooks (12th-196-7); Pole Vault: Caroline Hasse (12th-13/9.25/4.20m); Shot Put: Alexis Cooks (eighth-55-1)

WEDNESDAY MEN'S RESULTS:

Semifinals: 4x100 Relay: Julius Ruby, D.J. Williamson, Miles Baldwin and Anthony Young (21st-41.38); 800 Meters: Clayton Murphy (sixth-1:47.29)

Finals: Pole Vault: Shawn Barber (first-18-4.50/5.60m); Long Jump: Jordan Latimer (24th-23-2.50/7.07m)