Schweizer Named USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week
9/18/2017 12:21:00 PM | Women's Cross Country, Cross Country
Schweizer set a course record in Commodore Classic victory
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Following a dominant season debut, Mizzou Cross Country senior Karissa Schweizer (Urbandale, Iowa) was named the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division I Women's National Athlete of the Week, announced Monday. Schweizer won the Commodore Classic Saturday, doing so in record fashion by setting the course record at Percy Warner Park.
This is the second time Schweizer has received the honor in her career, after also being named the National Athlete of the Week on Dec. 6, 2016, following a school-record performance in the indoor 5000m run at the Boston University Season Opener. She was also named the National Athlete of the Year in cross country in November following her first national title.
"This was a nice start to Karissa's season," said cross country head coach Marc Burns. "The course was actually softer than last year, so her time could have been even faster without the rain Nashville got during the week. She ran in control the whole way and it shows us that she is in a good place for mid-September. There is still lots of work to be done as we move through the season, but this was a great start."
Schweizer crushed the competition in Nashville, clocking a time of 16:25.4 in the 5k race, besting the second-place finisher, All-American Jordan McDermitt (Eastern Kentucky), by more than a full minute (1:03.3). The time bested Michigan's Erin Finn's previous course record of 16:43.4, which was set in 2015. Schweizer's course-record performance lifted the Mizzou women to a third-place finish at the meet with 103 points, as the Tigers finished behind Ohio State (60 points) and Vanderbilt (93 points).
The Tiger senior is looking to build off a fantastic junior campaign which saw her become the fourth female in NCAA history to win the distance triple crown (cross country, indoor 500m and outdoor 5000m NCAA titles). She also became the first female in Mizzou Athletics history two win multiple NCAA titles and second overall to win three (Wrestling's J'den Cox). Schweizer also won four SEC titles throughout the year, in addition to numerous conference, regional and national awards.
Schweizer will be recognized as the Honda Award winner for cross country on Saturday during Mizzou Football's game against Auburn. She will next be in competition Sept. 30, when the team heads to Stillwater, Okla., for the Cowboy Jamboree.
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