Junior men's track standout Robert Murphy has been named IUPUI's Male Athlete of the Month for February 2016. The Warsaw, Ind.-native was superb throughout the month, culminating in a standout effort at The Summit League Indoor Championships.
Murphy opened the month with an outstanding 3,000m race at the Meyo Invitational, turning in a school record time of 8:16.52 inside Notre Dame's Loftus Sports Center, taking nearly five seconds off the program's previous best mark.
He followed with a school record mile time at the Hoosier Hills Invitational, spinning a time of 4:08.87 to place third in the 10-man elite race at Gladstein Fieldhouse.
Murphy saved his best for last though, capping the indoor season with an unprecedented effort at The Summit League Championships. Murphy earned Championship MVP honors by winning both the mile and 3,000m races and finishing as runner-up in the 5,000m event inside IPFW's Athletic Recreation Center.
Murphy opened the meet with a two-second win in the 3,000m race, crossing the finish line in a time of 8:21.98. The following day, he notched a win by nearly a full second in the mile, ending that race in a time of 4:09.41. He closed the day with a second-place finish in the 5K, registering a time of 14:58.33, trailing only teammate Joey Zielinski.
