June 3, 2010

NEWPORT NEWS, VA. - Saint Joseph's cross country and track standout Kyle Murray (cross country/track) has been named the recipient of the Atlantic 10 Sporting Award, in voting conducted among the senior woman administrators at each of the Conference's 14 institutions. The female winner was also a Saint Joseph's student-athlete, Brooke Darreff of the softball team.

Darreff and Murray become the first-ever Saint Joseph's student-athletes to win this award while it also marks the first time in Conference history that both recipients were from the same institution. Darreff and Murray also attended the same high school - Central Bucks South.

The Sporting Award is presented annually to a male and female student-athlete who exemplifies good sportsmanship. To be nominated, a student-athlete must be a member of an intercollegiate athletics team in a sport sponsored by the Atlantic 10 Conference; be in good academic standing; be active within the campus community; embody the highest standards of leadership, integrity, and sporting conduct; be enthusiastic about the sport in which they compete; and have noteworthy act(s) of sporting conduct.

Murray was tabbed a first-team All-Atlantic 10 selection for the second time in his career after finishing fifth overall with a time of 26:40.4 as the Hawks seized the 2009 A-10 Cross Country Championship on Oct. 31 at Forest Park in St. Louis, Mo. The Jamison, Pa., native qualified for the 2008 NCAA Cross Country Championships and registered a personal-best time of 9:05.48 to place fifth overall in the steeplechase at the 2009 Atlantic 10 Outdoor Track & Field Championship.

A graduate student who maintained a 3.56 grade point average while majoring in management, Murray received the cross country team's 2010 Academic Award for the highest grade point average, and is a member of both the Commissioner's and Saint Joseph's Athletic Director's Honor Roll.

Despite battling a hamstring injury all year that ultimately rendered him unable to complete the 10,000m at the 2010 A-10 Outdoor Track & Field Championship, head coach Mike Glavin says Murray never complained.

"Kyle really set an example of perseverance and the never-say-die attitude for the rest of the team."