COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Track & Field senior Karissa Schweizer (Urbandale, Iowa) was named the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Midwest Regional Women's Track Athlete of the Year, announced Monday. Schweizer has swept the regional track/runner Regional Athlete of the Year honors over the last two athletic seasons, as she also took home the 2016 cross country, 2017 indoor, 2017 outdoor and 2017 cross country awards.
Schweizer continued her distance dominance at the 2018 SEC Indoor Championships, capturing her sixth and seventh conference titles in the 3000m run and distance medley relay. Schweizer set a conference meet record in the 3000m run, clocking a time of 9:00.56, while her 4:25.56 anchor leg split gave the Tigers the DMR title. The Tiger senior's seven career conference titles match Sabrina Dornhoefer for the most conference championships by a female in program history.
The six-time All-American's 2018 indoor campaign has been a historic one, as she holds the top-time in the 3000m run and 5000m run entering the 2018 NCAA Indoor Championships. Schweizer set the collegiate record in the 3000m run at the Millrose Games (Feb. 3), winning USTFCCCA Division I Women's National Athlete of the Week and the Southeastern Conference Women's Runner of the Week honors in the process. Schweizer was the top collegiate finisher in the race, as she crossed the finish line fourth at 8:41.60. Schweizer's time surpassed the previous collegiate record from 2009 by Colorado's Jenny (Barringer) Simpson (8:42.03), as well as the Mizzou school record mark of 9:06.39, which was set by Sabrina Dornhoefer in 1984. The mark is also the seventh-fastest time in the world this season.
Schweizer now holds top-five all-time NCAA marks in the mile run, 3000m run and 5000m run, all set this season. She clocked a time of 4:27.54 in the mile run at the Columbia Challenge (Jan. 27), the fifth-fastest time in NCAA history, and a 15:17.31 in the 5000m run at the BU Season Opener (Dec. 2, 2017), the fifth-fastest time in NCAA history. Schweizer also clocked a school record 2:44.12 in the 1000m run at the Arkansas Invitational (Jan. 12). All four marks ran this season are school record marks.
Schweizer will look to continue building her legacy as one of the top student-athletes in Mizzou Athletics history at the NCAA Indoor meet, which will be held March 9-10, in College Station, Texas. Her impressive resume already includes three national titles, six All-America honors and five conference titles. Schweizer is the only female in Mizzou history to win multiple NCAA titles, while her six All-America honors rank tied for third in women's program history and tied for fifth overall. Her five conference titles are tied for the fourth-most in women's program history.
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