WESTERVILLE, Ohio. – Baldwin Wallace University freshman All-Ohio Athletic Conference women's cross country runner Hope Murphy (Mogadore) has been named 2021's OAC Runner of the Year. Murphy, who earns her first OAC Runner of the Year Award, becomes the seventh BW women's cross-country runner to claim the honor since the award's inception back in 1999.
Murphy was BW's top runner this season. She qualified to compete at this year's 2021 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships, hosted by Spalding University at the E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Kentucky. While at the 2021 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships, Murphy placed 194th in the 6k run in a time of 23:05.7 as she concluded her freshman season. She qualified for the national meet after finishing sixth at the Great Lakes Cross Country Regional Championships in Shelbyville, Indiana hosted by Franklin College, where she had a career best 6k time of 22:12.5.
Murphy won the OAC Championship meet in Wilmington in a time of 23:01.0.