Steve Murdock
11/05/2006
Steve Murdock looked up at the clock as the finish line came into view. He was more than 150 meters away and had to squint to make out the numbers. As the seconds ticked by, history appeared to unfold before him.

Murdock didn't let up at the line. And when he crossed in 14:36, the crowd of more than 500 fell silent as those in attendance looked at the clock in unison. The pause was broken by a sigh as onlookers realized Murdock, a Shenendehowa senior and one of the top runners in the country, missed the 22-year-old course record at Saratoga Spa State Park by one second. He won the Section II Class AA championship race with the second-fastest time in course history, but failed by the narrowest of margins to break the record he dreamt of holding since childhood.

He will be one of the favorites in the Class AA state championship next Saturday in Warwick and should contend for the Foot Locker National Championship, Dec. 9 in San Diego. Murdock also has a number of team competitions in the near future. He led Shenendehowa to the team title Friday as the Plainsmen placed all five scoring runners in the top 10 and averaged 15:17, four seconds faster than the team course record set last fall by Saratoga Springs.

We salute Steve as the BreakThru Athlete of the Week for his efforts!

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