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"That was a personal best - and a school record," said Murphy, who also ran on the Patriots' 4x100-meter relay. "I was seeded eighth, so I was happy to make it to the finals. I wanted to get a good jump in early.
"I'm not sure what my first jump was. I fouled my second and then got 18-9 on the third. When I jumped it, it felt far. I had good height. And, I heard the board, so I knew I hit it. I had a nice spring.
"I came in thinking - it's just another meet. I focused on the basics - don't reach for the board, drive and count to eight. They have a really nice runway here. It's fast. And, the wind was good - not to heavy. It was just a good day for jumping."
In the high jump, Altoona Area's Rachel Gehret took first at 1.74 meters (5-7).
Ashley Heaslip (Lake Braddock High, VA), Brittany Dexter (Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, NY) and Kajunski all cleared 1.7 but the two out-of-state girls placed higher than the Cougars' jumping ace based on fewer misses.
Coatesville High's Kaleena Gray made her Penn Rlays debut an impressive one by finishing seventh in the High School Girls Shot Put.
The freshman's best throw was 12.3 meters, which converts to 40-4¼ in feet and inches.
Conestoga and West Chester Henderson both ran in the same heat of the High School Girls 4x800 Large Schools event. 'Stoga placed sixth when the team of Kierstin Quinn, Liz Costello, Ashly Niness and Carly Niness clocked a 9:26.64.
"This is the first time we've run the 4x800 outdoors with this lineup," said Costello. "We're just seeing what we can do - seeing what we have."
Henderson's foursome of Rachel Rosenthal, Amy Jordan, Melissa Murtaugh and Megan Durkee was eighth at 9:29.59. Both squads narrowly missed qualifying for today's Championship of America final.
"This was one of our best times," said Murtaugh. "It's our p.r. (personal record) for the season by nine seconds. I think we all had our best splits."
Jordan said, "Our lineup has stayed the same but we've changed the order. The handoff between Rachel and me wasn't that good. It was really crowded and we couldn't see each other."
Villa Maria Academy's quartet of Bridget Carroll, Caitlin Reusche, Maggie Kramer and Kelly Wolf was fourth in its Girls 4x800 Small Schools heat with a 9:37.31 while Downingtown East finished in the middle of the pack in its Large Schools heat with a clocking of9:52.31.
"We ran to get a good district time," said Wolf. "Bridget ran an awesome race. She really got us in good position. I was in fourth when I got the baton and I held my place."
Henderson and Conestoga also set the pace for area schools in the 4x400 races.
Henderson's foursome of Rachel Rosenthal, Richelle Adams, Megan Durkee and Jessica Weaver crossed first in the Girls 4x400 Suburban A at 3:59.01 while Conestoga's team of Quinn, Costello, Ashly Niness and Carly Niness took first in the Girls 4x400 Central at 4:02.79.
"That wasn't our best," said Henderson's Durkee. "We wanted a better time. Our best this season was a 3:58 at the Great Valley Relays."
Also in the Girls 4x400 Suburban A, Downingtown East (4:01.18) was second while Downingtown West (4:04.18) was third, Coatesville (4:12.00) fifth and West Chester East (4:21.48) eighth.
In the High School 4x400 Suburban B, Villa Maria Academy's quartet of Amanda Reyher, Morgan Matecki, Carroll and Wolf was runner-up with a 4:00.94, followed by Owen J. Roberts (third, 4:09.11) and Garnet Valley (fourth, 4:12.71).
Another local event winner was Avon Grove in the High School Girls 4x400 Suburban C. The Red Devils' foursome of Alannah Crooms, Kate Lucas, Alison McWilliams, Brianna Cavallarro clocked a 4:10.40 to win the event and set a new school record.
"Our best time before today was a 4;12," said Crooms. "We have two freshmen, a sophomore and a junior on our 4x400. We were a little nervous running here. It hit us when we were on the line. But everybody settled down once the race started."
Spring-Ford (4:14.53) was third, Oxford (4:24.58) sixth, Great Valley (4:27.34) eighth, Phoenixville (4:29.04) 10th, Unionville (4:31.47) 11th and Octorara (4:33.29) 12th.
Westtown School was 11th in the Prep School Girls 4x400 Tri-State at 4:33.56.
The top times by area schools in the 4x100 races were posted by Coatesville (48.78), Henderson (49.65), Great Valley (50.69), Avon Grove (51.39), Bishop Shanahan (51.43), Villa Maria (51.61), Downingtown West (51.63), Owen J. Roberts (51.66) and West Chester East (51.84).
