Running at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, sometimes known as TrackTown USA, brought a little of what Missouri track and field’s Karissa Schweizer called “magic.”
The historic field is the site of many professional races, World Championships, Olympic Trials and the NCAA championships. Many of the greats, such as Steve Prefontaine, Kenny Moore and Alberto Salazar competed there, and it holds some of the oldest records in track and field history.
It was also the home of Schweizer’s third-place finish in the 5,000-meter at the NCAA championships Sunday.
“You know you always look to go there and that’s always your goal, and when you finally get there and are on that track all these people are watching you, and I think that incredible things can be done,” the sophomore distance runner said. “You’re just watching all these races that inspire you for your race, which is so cool.”
Schweizer had plenty of time to watch other races, as she didn’t compete until the last day of competition. When the race finally did come around, she went in relaxed and prepared.
The racing started out fairly slow, as most big meets have athletes who run tactical and with strategy. Schweizer knew that going in, and she also knew that eventually the pace would quicken as the laps race went on.
Throughout the race, Schweizer held onto the back pack, settling into a controlled pace. With 800 meters to go, she suddenly found herself in the top 10.
“I was like, ‘Oh, I could be first team All-American,’” she said. “The adrenaline was just pumping and every lap from there I was going and going, and with 200 (meters) to go, I passed like five people, so I was really pumped.”
Her time of 16:02.82 was 4 seconds slower than a personal record and two seconds away from the second-place finisher, Aurora Dybedokken of Oklahoma State.
In preparation for the race, Schweizer set her goal to just finish in the top 16, even though her previous times had been with some of the top runners in the nation.
“It was just a matter of racing,” she said. “I knew if I could just stick with that top group of girls anything could happen. I never put myself out of the picture, but I didn’t really think it would happen. “It’s pretty surreal. I still can’t believe it.”
Along with Schweizer, the Missouri track and field team ended a historic season during the championships as well.
Three Tigers became first-team All-Americans, beginning with junior Alyssa Applebee on Thursday, June 9. The pole vaulter ended her first time at the NCAA championships on the podium with a seventh place finish and a jump of 4.20 meters (13 feet 9.25 inches), just 0.02 meters off her own school record mark.
Senior Markesh Woodson capped off a dominant career as a Tiger with a sixth-place finish in the 100-meter dash on Friday, June 10. Woodson entered the final race with a PR of 10.03 (that he hit during Wednesday’s semi-final round), and although he did not run a faster time during the finals, he ran a 10.32-second race to get a spot on the podium.
For the first time since the 1980s, the Tigers qualified women’s relays into the NCAA Championship meet as both the 4x100m and 4x400m squads advanced into the finals.The 4x100m team of freshman Maya Cody, junior LaQuisha Jackson, senior Alyssa Felton and junior Sandrae Farquharson hit their fourth school record of the season with a 44.31 crossing to place 13th.
Missouri took a record number of athletes to the national meet, and the men’s team broke the top 10 in rankings before the meet, another historic milestone. Schweizer said this all showcases the team’s growth.
“Our team has always been improving and improving and all of our hard work is finally showing off,” she said. “We’re a team that you can’t really count out because in those big races we end up doing pretty well. I’m really excited for cross because we have a good group of girls, and it’ll be exciting to see what we can do with it.”
Before cross-country season, Schweizer is taking some time to relax before hitting the trails. Although she doesn’t quite know how the next season will pan out, she said she’ll go into it with more confidence, thanks to her dominant racing during the track championships.
“There’s no limit it feels like, I’m excited to see what happens,” Schweizer said.
_Edited by Peter Baugh | pbaugh@themaneater.com_