COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Track and Field junior Karissa Schweizer (Urbandale, Iowa) was selected to participate in the 2017 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, March 10-11, in College Station, Texas. Schweizer, who will make her first appearance at the NCAA Indoor meet, is set to compete in the 3,000m run and 5,000m run.
The top-16 declared entries and top-12 declared relay teams from marks set this season qualified for the Indoor Championships.
Schweizer has carried her stellar cross country season over into the 2017 indoor season, cultivating in two conference titles at the SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships this past weekend. Schweizer was named the Cliff Harper Trophy winner at the meet for being the top female scorer (20 pts), marking the first time a Mizzou athlete, male or female, has won the award. The Tiger junior captured the 3,000m run conference title on Feb. 24, finishing with a time of 9:18.32, then won the mile run on Feb. 25, crossing the finish line at 4:37.44.
With conference titles in the mile run and 3,000m run, Schweizer became the first Mizzou athlete to capture two individual titles at a conference meet since 1989 when Teri LeBlanc won the Big Eight Outdoor 100m hurdles and heptathlon.
Schweizer currently holds the fourth-fastest time in the nation in the 5,000m run (15:37.40) and the 11th-fastest time in the 3,000m run (9:06.60). Just two short weeks after capturing the NCAA National Championship in cross country, Schweizer smashed the Mizzou indoor 5,000m run program record by finishing at 15:37.40 at the Boston University Season Opener on Dec. 3, surpassing the previous school record of 16:33.30, which was set by Susan Bliss in 1990. On Feb. 10, Schweizer ran a 9:06.60 in the 3,000m run at the Iowa State Classic, a time which ranks second in indoor program history.
According to the preliminary schedule, Schweizer is slated to race in the 5,000m run at 8:20 p.m. CT on Friday, March 10, and in the 3,000m run at 6:15 p.m. on Saturday, March 11. A live stream of the event will be available through ESPN3 on March 10 starting at 5:25 p.m. CT, and March 11 starting at 3:55 p.m. CT. A re-airing of the championships will take place on Sunday, March 12, beginning at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
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