A faster, higher Murdock won state hurdles titles

Tommy Murdock had a leg up on the competition throughout the high school track and field campaign this spring.

And a big reason the La Conner High School junior was head and shoulders above all comers was his mental toughness, Braves' head coach Peter Voorhees told the Weekly News after Murdock swept the state 2B boys' 110 and 300-meter hurdles contests at Yakima in May.

A case in point, Voorhees noted, was how Murdock handled a late start time for his preliminary heat in the 110s.

"In the heat before Tommy's," said Voorhees, "a kid broke his leg coming off the last hurdle. Tommy's heat was de...