Faith Academy’s Murphys pace the cross country teams

CAPTION: Faith Academy of Marble Falls runner Jett Murphy is finishing the 5K run at the Savio Early Bird Meet with a solid pace. Courtesy photo

The Faith Academy of Marble Falls boys and girls cross country teams competed at the Savio Early Bird Meet hosted by Austin Dominic Savio Catholic School to begin the 2022 season.

Head coach Steve McCannon said the meet helped the Flames and Lady Flames in multiple ways.

“Good first meet, and we know where we are at and where we want to be,” he said. “We must compete as a team. We will continue to work on having a tighter spread between our first and fifth runners. I think on the girls side, we can give ourselves a chance at (winning) our first ever team state title. On the guys side, I think we can find a path to the podium as we pick up more runners. We will be ready when it counts.”

The Lady Flames finished sixth and were paced by sophomore Faith Murphy, who won the two-mile race in 12 minutes and 56.99 seconds.

“Faith ran a smart, tactical race for the win,” McCannon said. “She has really worked hard and looked strong. Faith will be a force to be reckoned with and will get stronger throughout the season.”

McCannon noted the importance of the team standings at this meet. Faith was ahead of Temple Holy Trinity.

“Our girls were able to finish one point ahead of one the teams we will face at district and state (meets),” he said. “Our younger girls are learning quickly that every place and point counts. I am excited to watch them develop over the season. This team works hard and will learn to get uncomfortable. Lots of upside for this team. “

Jett Murphy led the Flames in the boys division by finishing the 5K in 18:31.

“Jett was able to get in the top 10 and dropped almost 3 minutes from his time last season,” McCannon said. “He has had a good summer of training and is ready to race. I am proud of him.”

Overall, McCannon said he saw plenty Faith can build on.

“We will keep working hard to put ourselves in a position for success when it really counts,” he said. “We have several new runners and some experience as well. We have a cross country schedule with a good mix of competition that will help prepare us for district and state (meets).”

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RESULTS

BOYS

Faith Academy

9, Jett Murphy, 18:31; 34, William Eppler, 21:41.06; 52, Will Lewis, 23:20.01, 54, Noah Frederick, 23:20.54

GIRLS

Faith Academy

1, Faith Murphy, 12:56.99; 28, Mackenzie Ahrlett, 15:16.91; 31, Claire Poage, 15:26.23; 41, Ella Schooler, 16:20.11; 52, Haley Kruger, 17:11.28; 53, Carly Owens, 17:15.73; 57, Susanna Slyker, 18:40.14