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Murphy humbled
by hometown celebration
Local hero honored by Darke County
By George Starks
Full photo set at CNO
Sports Photos
NEW MADISON- With all the accolades that Tri-Village graduate Clayton
Murphy has received, none may have topped what happened in Patriot
Nation Friday night.
With print, online and television media being on hand for the welcoming
home celebration for Clayton Murphy, the 21 year old said he was
overwhelmed by the turnout.
It was August 15 in Rio and the 2016 Olympics was going on. The 800
meter run was about to take place and Murphy was determined to give it
everything he had.
In the last 200 meters, Murphy started to make his move and in the end,
it was a third place finish and a bronze for Murphy.
It all started with a parade on at the north end of Main Street in New
Madison at 6 pm.
It ended at Tri-Village High School.
With 20 minutes left before game time, Murphy was introduced to a
standing room only crowd and a standing ovation.
What happened after that was the overwhelming part for Murphy.
With many plaques and honors being awarded, there were some that will
be a part of the county’s history as well as school history.
1.) It was declared by county representatives that August 15,
will forever be known as Clayton Murphy Day in Darke County.
2.) The running track at Tri-Village will be changed to the
Clayton Murphy Track.
3.) The annual Tri-Village Invitational Cross Country meet will
be forever known as the Clayton Murphy Invitational.
4.) After only three years removed from Tri-Village, Murphy was
inducted into the Hall of Fame at his alma mater.
“This was awesome tonight,” said Murphy. “The parade was amazing and
the chills I got was incredible. The driver of the car asked if I knew
all these people. I told him I knew 99 percent of them. So it was
awesome to come home to this and see the small town pride. To bring
this from the American level to the small town and to just say ‘Thank
You’ and every person out there giving me a thumbs up and to tell me
thank you was just awesome.”
It was a phone call that started it all for Murphy.
“When they asked me to come home for this, I was really excited,” said
Murphy. “I was blown away and everything that went through my mind was
exceeded in every way. What Brad Grey and Josh Sagester was able to do
was incredible and the county commissioners coming out and doing what
they did was more than I could have ever imagined. This whole night is
special and all I can say is ‘Thank You’ to everyone.”
See the full set of photos at CNO
Sports Photos
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