Ward Wins U.S. Championship, Schweizer Makes World Team at USATF Championships
7/28/2019 9:33:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field, Track & Field
Schweizer will represent Team USA in Qatar at World Championships
DES MOINES, Iowa – Mizzou Track & Field's Ja'Mari Ward (Cahokia, Ill.) and Karissa Schweizer (Urbandale, Iowa) each provided impressive performances at the USATF Outdoor Championships Sunday in Des Moines, Iowa. Ward captured a U.S. championship in the long jump, while Schweizer finished runner-up in the 5000m run. With Schweizer's second-place finish, she qualified for the World Championships in Doha, Qatar in October.
Ward, a two-time SEC Champion and two-time NCAA All-American, won the long jump with a season-best mark of 8.12m (26-7.75). His mark was a full two inches better than runner-up Will Claye, who posted a jump of 8.06m (26-5.5), and was just shy of his personal-best mark of 8.13m (26-8.25), which he set at the 2017 SEC Outdoor Championships. Ward was one of three collegians to be crowned U.S. Champions, joining Texas' Teahna Daniels (women's 100m dash) and Kentucky's Daniel Roberts (men's 110m hurdles). Unfortunately, Ward's mark did not meet the world championship standard of 8.17m (26-9.75), which means he will not represent Team USA in Doha.
Running in her home state of Iowa, Schweizer finished second in the 5000m run with a time of 15:17.03, finishing just behind her Nike Bowerman TC teammate Shelby Houlihan (15:15.50). Her time was fast enough to meet the world championships standard of 15:22.00, as the six-time NCAA champion earned her first spot on the U.S. National Team. Her season-best time of 15:01.63 at the Sunset Tour (July 9) is still the fastest time clocked by a U.S. female in 2019.
In the discus, recent Mizzou graduate Gabi Jacobs (Bloomington, Ill.) finished 15th with a mark of 49.12m (161-2).
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USATF Championships Results
5000m Run, Women – 2. Karissa Schweizer, 15:17.03
Long Jump, Men – 1. Ja'Mari Ward, 8.12m (26-7.75)
Discus, Women – 15. Gabi Jacobs, 49.12m (161-2)
