Karissa Schweizer has done it again. The senior from the University of Missouri has declared herself the queen of the 5k in the NCAA realm, winning the indoor championships last year, the outdoor championships last year, and the indoor championships this year in a time of 15:18. The former Dowling prep is a true underdog story, coming out of high school certainly as a notable athlete, but not the dominant force she is today. She has continued to improve every year and has become one of the greatest female distance athletes of all time in the NCAA.
Schweizer set the pace from the gun, coming through the 1600 in 5:20, casually increasing the speed as she went- a tactic seen in some of the greatest distance athletes of all time like Steve Prefontaine and Frank Shorter. She came through 3200 in 10:26 and closed in an impressive 5:01, using the same speed that got her to a 4:27 mile earlier this year and an NCAA record in the 3000. The race was tight between her and New Mexico's Edna Kurgat for quite some time, until there were 2 laps to go and Schweizer dropped the hammer. With a lap to go she had a sizable lead on Kurgat, taking the win by a 5 second lead.
She will return to the track on Saturday to compete in the 3000 in hopes of improving on her runner-up finish from last year and bringing another National Title home.