Austin, Texas - Trinity senior Maddie Murphy competed in the 5K event at the Texas Relays on Thursday night, racing to the finish in her fastest career time.

Murphy posted a time of 17:25.25 in the event, which is the second-fastest time in school history.  She crossed the line in seventh place in the event, racing against non-Division III opponents.

Murphy led Trinity's cross country team to a 12th-place finish at the NCAA Championships this past fall - the second-best placement in school history.  Individually, Murphy won both the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference title and the NCAA South/Southeast Regional meet, earning SCAC Runner of the Year and USTFCCCA South/Southeast Region Women's Athlete of the Year honors.

The women's cross country team won its second consecutive SCAC Championship, under the leadership of Murphy and second-year Head Coach Derick Lawrence.  Lawrence was also the SCAC Coach of the Year and the USTFCCCA South/Southeast Region Women's Coach of the Year.

Trinity Head Track & Field Coach Marcus Whitehead is in his second season at the helm of the Tiger men's and women's teams.  In his first year as head coach, Whitehead led both teams to conference titles, marking the first time Trinity swept the championships since 2007.  Along with his entire coaching staff, Whitehead earned SCAC Men's and Women's Coaching Staff of the Year awards.

Trinity will host the Tiger Relays tomorrow afternoon, beginning at 12:00 p.m.  It will be Trinity's final home meet prior to the conference championships on April 25-26.