Nerinx Hall junior Grace Murphy hadn't stepped onto a 5-kilometer course since her all-state performance last year in the Class 4 state meet.

But Murphy was ready to tackle the loaded field laid out in front of her — with a radiant smile on her face.

"That's part of our thing," Nerinx Hall coach Marina White said. "We have these big smiley faces and we use those because it's a mental trick."

Murphy powered her way through a gauntlet of elite runners and captured the Green Division title in the Forest Park Festival girls cross country meet with a time of 18 minutes and 18.9 seconds.

The time was a huge drop off from her previous personal best of 19:04 in a 5K race.

"A lot of patience and a lot of training," Murphy said. "I think I had a lot of struggle last winter going into track. Tra

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