Cliff Grassmick / Staff Photographer)
NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
When: Wednesday through Saturday.
Where: Eugene, Ore.
CU qualifiers: Men — Pierce Murphy (10K); Morgan Pearson (5K); Adam Peterman (steeplechase). Women — Maddie Alm (1,500); Kaitlyn Benner (5K); Mackenzie Caldwell (10K); Erin Clark (steeplechase); Val Constien (steeplechase); Dani Jones (1,500).
Pierce Murphy never envisioned the long and wildly successful road he embarked upon when he arrived at the University of Colorado almost five years ago.
In the fall of 2011 Murphy was a soft-spoken, lightly regarded recruit out of Hawaii with a natural penchant for distance running but, by his own admission, one who lacked the inner passion that typically separates the good from the great.