Girard's Murray claims title

The junior won the Division II long jump and hopes to defend sprint crowns today.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
COLUMBUS -- On her first jump of the first flight of the first day, Akron Buchtel senior Courtney Ponder, the defending Division II state long jump champion, jumped 19 feet.
It was six inches past her winning jump last year.
It was almost two feet off her jump at last week's regional.
Think Cachet Murray was impressed? Yeah, a little.
"I was like, 'Oh my goodness. Oh wow. She pulled that out of her behind,' " the Girard junior said. "The competition was very great today."
Murray wasn't too shabby either, but she trailed Ponder by an inch entering her last attempt of the finals at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
"I was like, OK, I need to understand that I'm not in first," she said. "I needed to focus mentally and get pumped up."
She walked over to her coach, Walt Brame, who told her to get more speed and to get her knees up.
"You got this," he said.
Thing is, she didn't think she did. Her last jump felt OK. Nothing special.
"But then I heard coach yell, 'Yes!' " she said. "And I was like, 'Oh my goodness, I pulled that out of my behind.' "
Coming back from injury
Murray, who didn't place at state in last year's long jump, spent most of the year nursing an injured hamstring. She didn't start running consistently until the Trumbull Athletic Conference meet. She didn't start long jumping until the district meet.
"Any other athlete, I don't see this happening," Brame said.
But Murray, of course, is different.
"We only had a month to prepare, so we really had to crack down and turn up the heat," said Brame, who is also her sprint coach. "All jokes were put aside. We had some hard-core practices."
"It was tough," Murray added. "I practiced hard. I had mud up my shirt. I was sweating and bleeding and crying. I just wanted to stop. But it paid off."
Record setter
And, despite the early season injury, she got faster. Earlier in the day, she ran 11.82 in the 100-meter dash and 24.04 in the 200 to break her own Div. II state meet records. The previous records were 11.89 and 24.22.
She also broke the overall Div. II state record of 11.86, set by Ironton's Anissa Campbell in 1993. Murray already held the overall 200 record.
"I don't know what came over me," said Murray, who has now won five state titles in six tries. "I felt great. It doesn't even feel like I'm running hard. It feels like I'm gliding.
"That means my form is getting better."
That's a good sign. But, as Brame said, Friday's preliminaries don't mean much.
"She needs to do it [today]," he said. "But she can. She just takes everything in stride. Not me. I'm a basket case right now."
Targeting times
Murray may not have a significant challenge from her peers, but she is still chasing history. Columbus Brookhaven's Khaliah Carpenter holds the overall state records in the 100 (11.59) and 200 (23.69), which she set in Div. I competition in 2000.
If she does, she can credit her lucky charm. Murray's cousin, Ursuline senior Courtney Davidson, gave her a wristband that she wore when the Irish won this year's Div. III state basketball championship.
Murray had it on her foot following Friday's race.
"This was great, but I want to do better [today]," she said. "I think I can."
scalzo@vindy.com