Schweizer and Burns Earn USTFCCCA Regional Honors
3/6/2017 10:38:00 AM | Track & Field
Schweizer named Midwest region Women’s Track Athlete of the Year, Burns Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Track and Field junior Karissa Schweizer (Urbandale, Iowa) and assistant coach Marc Burns each garnered United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Indoor Track and Field regional awards, announced by the organization on Monday. In the Midwest region, Schweizer was selected as the Women's Track Athlete of the Year, while Burns was named the Women's Assistant Coach of the Year.
Schweizer, the 2016 NCAA Cross Country National Champion has carried her stellar cross country season over into the 2017 indoor season, culminating in two conference titles at the SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships (Feb. 24-25). 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 the first day of competition, finishing with a time of 9:18.32, then won the mile run on the second day of competition, 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 8 Outdoor 100m hurdles and heptathlon.
Just two short weeks after capturing a NCAA National Championship in cross country, Schweizer kicked off her indoor season by competing in the 5,000m run at the Boston University Season Opener meet on Dec. 3. Schweizer smashed the Mizzou indoor 5,000m run program record by finishing at 15:37.40, which at the time stood as the 15th-fastest indoor 5,000m run time in indoor collegiate history. Schweizer surpassed the previous school record of 16:33.30, which was set by Susan Bliss in 1990. In addition to the school record in the indoor 5K, Schweizer also now holds the second-fastest time in program history in the mile run and 3,000m run. Schweizer posted a time of 4:35.61 in the mile run at the Razorback Invitational on Jan. 28 and a time of 9:06.60 in the 3,000m run at the Iowa State Classic on Feb. 10, winning both events.
The distance specialist's times in the 5K (15:37.40), 3K (9:06.60) and mile run (4:35.61) currently rank fourth, 11th and 13th, respectively, in the nation this season. She will compete in the 3,000m run and the 5,000m run at the 2017 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, March 10-11 in College Station, Texas.
Burns has played a vital role in the Mizzou's success throughout the 2017 indoor season, as the Tigers' distance runners made up 26 of 30 points produced by the women's team and all three points by the men's team at the 2017 SEC Indoor Track & Field Championships.
In addition to Schweizer conference titles, two other Tigers scored at the SEC meet under Burns' direction. Redshirt sophomore Jamie Kempfer (Festus, Mo.) and redshirt senior Drew White (Crystal City, Mo.), each scored in the 5,000m run, as Kempfer took third place and White finished sixth.
Burns has assisted in five Tigers posting eight top-10 times in program history this indoor season, including the top-three times in the women's 5,000m run. Schweizer (15:37.40), Kempfer (16:05.23) and redshirt junior Nicole Mello (Columbia, Mo.) (16:31.56) all surpassed the previous 1990 time of 16:33.30 set by Susan Bliss. Schweizer has also posted top-10 times in the mile run (4:35.61) and 3,000m run (9:06.60), ranking second in both events, while Kempfer has also posted the fifth-fastest 3,000m run time in program history at 9:26.36. At the SEC meet, White and senior Ollie Lockley (Colby, Isle of Man) each posted top-10 times in the 5,000m run, ranking third at 14:14.12 and ninth at 14:26.47, respectively.
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