Missouri
USA Championships
Ward Makes Junior World Team, Schweizer Sets School Record at USATF Championships
6/24/2017 9:27:00 AM | Track & Field
Ward advances to Junior Pan American Championships, July 21-23 in Peru
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Freshman Ja'Mari Ward (Cahokia, Ill.) and junior Karissa Schweizer (Urbandale, Iowa) shined for Mizzou Track & Field at the USA Track & Field Championships on Friday as Ward made his second consecutive junior world team and Schweizer reset her 5,000m run school record. Ward's win in the long jump punched his ticket to the Junior Pan American Championships, while Schweizer finished fourth in the 5K.
After fouls on his first two attempts, Ward produced a jump of 7.81m (25-7.5) with his third attempt to take the junior long jump title for a second straight season. Last year, fresh out of high school, Ward posted a mark of 7.84 (25-8.75) to win the title. With the win, Ward clinches his spot on the U.S. junior national team and is slated to compete in the Pan American Junior Championships in Lima, Peru, July 21-23.
In the 5,000m run, Schweizer shattered her previous school record with her fourth-place finish, crossing the finish line with a time of 15:18.69. The three-time national champion stayed near the top-five for the first 2,000m of the race, but then slipped down to seventh place in the middle of the race before again using her signature kick to surpass three runners on the last lap to grab fourth place, finishing just under five seconds behind the winner, Shelby Houlihan (Nike/Bowerman TC). Schweizer's 5K time of 15:18.69 was a 20-second improvement from her time of 15:38.93, which she clocked on June 10 to capture the NCAA 5,000m outdoor title. If any of the top-three finishers choose to not compete at the World Championships, Schweizer would be an alternate on the national team.
Schweizer will now make the trek south to Los Angeles to attend the Collegiate Women Sports Awards Show on Monday. The Tiger junior is one of 12 finalists for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year award and Honda Cup, which will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network at 8 pm (CT).
Three other Tigers or former Tigers competed at the meet, with redshirt sophomore Gabi Jacobs (Bloomington, Ill.) throwing in the senior discus, freshman Emily Stauffer (Reinholds, Pa.) competing in the junior shot put and former Tiger Tony Carodine jumping in the senior triple jump. Jacobs failed to place after fouling on each of her three attempts, while Stauffer finished 12th with a mark of 14.34m (47-0.75) and Carodine finished ninth with a jump of 16.01m (52-6.5).
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