Heading into the 2017 Southeastern Conference Indoor Track and Field Championship from Feb. 24-25, there was plenty of hope that the Missouri men’s and women’s teams would leave Saturday with medals. The two teams boasted some of the biggest names in the tournament, including junior Karissa Schweizer, redshirt sophomore Valerie Thames, senior LaQuisha Jackson, sophomore Kahmari Montgomery, redshirt senior Drew White and others.
Missouri, however, left with just three medals at the end of Saturday’s events, two of them belonging to Schweizer.
Schweizer began her dominant performance Friday with a gold medal in the 3,000-meter run. She won by more than two seconds to secure the victory, finishing in 9:18.32, 12 seconds off of her season high. Schweizer also ran a 4:45.33 to qualify for the final in the women’s 1,600-meter run on Saturday.
The rest of the team struggled on Friday. The men’s and women’s teams were both unable to finish in the top 10 of any event during prelims, even as some athletes nearly hit career bests.
Sophomore Thomas George ran a 4:11.91 in the 1,600-meter run for a 12th-place finish. Had he run his season-best time of 4:08.86, George would have finished sixth and earned a spot in Saturday’s final.
In the men’s 400-meter dash, Montgomery, the returning SEC champion, failed to make Saturday’s finals. He finished first in his heat with a time of 46.80 seconds, beating the second-place finisher by more than a second. However, his time placed him No. 14 overall, keeping him from advancing. Montgomery had a disappointing indoor season, as he failed to come close to his performance from last season.
In the women’s 200-meter dash, Jackson finished 12th with a time of 23.77 and failed to make the finals. Had she run her her personal best of 23.57, she would have qualified.
In the field events on Saturday, sophomore Karissa Roman placed 11th in the high jump with a leap of 1.69 meters. Sophomore Avery Carter finished 10th with a throw of 17.85 meters.
The highlight for the men’s team came Saturday as White earned the team its only points by placing sixth in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 14:12.12, a personal best by 14 seconds. This time also earns the senior a spot on Missouri’s all-time indoor record list, placing him third for the 5K. This race was White’s only 5K of the indoor season.
In the women’s 1,600-meter final, Schweizer did not falter in her third race in two days. She finished first with a time of 4:37.44 seconds, only two seconds off of her personal best.
After earning gold medals in both of her events, Schweizer received the Cliff Harper Trophy, which is awarded to the top female athlete of the meet.
Sophomore Jamie Kempfer was the only other Tiger to earn a medal over the weekend, earning third place in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 16:10.15 seconds to win the bronze and earn second-team all-SEC honors. She led the race at the 4,100-meter mark but fell back into third in the last 300 meters.
With most of the indoor season complete, only the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships remain, which are set to take place March 10-11. The top 16 in each event qualify for the championships, and as of Wednesday, only Schweizer would qualify, as she is ranked 10th in the mile and 11th in the 3K.
_Edited by Eli Lederman | elederman@themaneater.com_