NEW ORLEANS— Heather Murphy made Montreat College women's track & field history late Monday afternoon when she was named the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NAIA Women's National Athlete of the Week.
 
For Murphy, this is the third such honor of her collegiate career, with the initial two awards coming during cross country season. Meanwhile, it marks the first time in program history in which a female athlete from Montreat has been selected as the USTFCCCA NAIA National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor track & field season.
 
Competing at the Raleigh Relays on Thursday, Murphy made her outdoor 10k debut. Running like a seasoned pro, Murphy finished runner-up out of 80 participants, most of whom were NCAA Division I athletes. The Portarlington, Ireland native ended her race in 33:45.36, more than three minutes faster than Montreat's previous program record. Murphy's time also easily met the NAIA 'A' standard by several minutes, and it currently ranks as the quickest 10k this year.
 
The historic nature of Murphy's time didn't stop there. Not only was the 33:45.36 effort the fastest run by a NAIA women's outdoor track & field freshman, but it was also the third-fastest 10k time in NAIA women's outdoor track & field history.
 
To see a complete list of this week's USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week winners, click here.
 
Murphy and the Montreat women's track & field team look to build upon their remarkable starts to the outdoor slate this coming Friday and Saturday at the Electric City Invitational in Anderson, S.C.