Nathan Snider witnessed Madison Murtland tough out more than a workout or two in her track and cross country career at Greensburg Salem High School.
The Golden Lion coach believes the same toughness that the 2019 graduate displayed on tracks and courses throughout western PA will be vital in the coming days and weeks as Murtland continues to recover from potentially life-threatening injuries sustained in an ATV accident about a week ago.
"Even up to this point, it wasn't looking real great at the beginning," Snider said of Murtland's myriad of injuries. "Just for her to have made it to this point is a testament to how tough she is. She is just a monster."
Murtland, who just finished her freshman year at Shippensburg University, was injured while driving an ATV on July 6. Three surgeries later, she remains at Forbes Hospital, recently upgraded from the Monroeville facility's Intensive Care Unit to its Progressive Care Unit.
Murtland, who lettered in each of her track and XC campaigns at Greensburg Salem, finished third to classmate Malia Anderson in the Tri-State Coaches indoor championships and qualified for the 2019 PFTCA state indoor finale in her specialty, the 800 meters. She also was a key contributor to the Lions' 4x800 relay team, which was No. 7 in the 2019 state indoor rankings and sixth in the state final at Penn State.
Snider initiated a GoFundMe campaign to help with the finances connected to Murtland's recovery. As of this publish time, 129 donors had pledged a total of $6,100 in the fund's opening days.
"I know the running community is a pretty tight-knit community, so I hope this can help her some," Snider said of the grassroots effort.
The Lion XC and girls' track head coach said he has been a regular running partner of Murtland's since his former athlete returned home from Shippensburg after closures because of COVID-19.
"In my opinion, she's awesome," Snider stated. "Just a super tough kid, works extremely hard. We've had hard workers along the way anyways, but she would fit right in with them.
"She's a super determined girl who pushes herself to the max. (She) had what I thought was a pretty decent first year at Shippensburg. Obviously, it was cut short with the coronavirus. She's just a tough kid."
The GoFundMe campaign can be accessed here.
