Grayson Murphy Finds Success as a Runner After Leaving Soccer Behind

By Adam Kopet

Grayson Murphy finished eighth at the NCAA Division 1 Cross Country Championships last month. It was her third All-America honor. However, Murphy started her collegiate career as a soccer player on the other side of the country, according to a feature by Christopher Kamrani in the Salt Lake Tribune.

Murphy ran her first ever cross country race in 2014 after transferring from Sweet Briar College in Virginia to Santa Clara. At Sweet Briar, Murphy had been a soccer player.

After two years at Santa Clara where Murphy experienced some success, she transferred to Utah where she has seen a big leap toward the upper echelons of the sport at the NCAA level.

Murphy made her first NCAA Division 1 Cross Country Championships in 2016, finishing 53rd. She followed that up with a 15th-place finish in the 5,000 meters at the NCAA Division 1 Indoor Championships.

Murphy's big breakthrough occurred outdoors where she finished fifth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Championships.

Now a senior, Murphy has accumulated three All-America awards. She has also broken the Utah school record in the 5,000, running 15:44.45 at last weekend's Boston University Season Opener. You can read a recap of the fast early racing at the BU Season Opener.

The only question remaining for Murphy is what the former soccer player can do in her final track season at Utah before she graduates.