Schweizer makes big strides
Victory in first race since surgery bodes well for season
Karissa Schweizer was all smiles after the elite race of the women’s 5,000 meters in the Mt. San Antonio College Relays on Friday night.
Not only had the Nike Bowerman Track Club runner won the event in 15 minutes 2.77 seconds, the fastest outdoor time in the world this year, but she had done it in her first race since undergoing surgery to shave down a bone spur on her right heel that had caused pain in her Achilles’ tendon.
“Obviously, the first 5K, it’s always a shock to your system,” Schweizer said. “So I’m glad to get that out of the way and just build from here.”
The race at Hilmer Lodge Stadium started out slow as the pack came through the first 200 meters in 37-38 seconds. The pace picked up about a lap later, but the lead pack only came through the first kilometer in 3:09.
The leaders ran the next two kilometers at 3:01 pace as a group of Schweizer, Emily Infeld, Laura Galvan, Jessica Judd, and Natosha Rogers came through 3,000 meters in 9:11.
Rogers began to drop off the pace at the end of the following lap, but the other four were part of a tightly-bunched group that came through 4,200 meters in 12:49. Schweizer had the lead at that point and she started a long drawn out push to the finish, running her second-to-last lap in 68.26 and her final lap in 65.36.
Infeld, who hung close to Schweizer until just over 200 meters remained when she began to lose ground, finished second in 15:05.80.
“My goal was just to wind it up from a long way out,” Schweizer said. “Just like a long kick with three or two laps to go.”
Schweizer was an Olympic finalist in the 5,000 and 10,000 in Tokyo last summer and she is leaning toward running both races when the USA Track & Field Championships are held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, from June 26-29.
“I have been trying to see if I’m going to be ready for the 10K and I think I’m at a good spot where I can be competitive,” she said.
In other distance carnival action on Friday night, Sam Gilman of the U.S. Air Force ran a strong final four laps to win the men’s elite division 5,000 in 13:33.26.
He was three seconds off the lead with four laps left, but ran his final 1,600 in 4:09.38. In contrast, Biya Simbassa ran his final 1,600 in 4:12.41 while finishing second in 13:33.56.
In other distance carnival action on Friday, the Northern Arizona University quartet of George Kushe, Abdihamid Nur, Drew Bosley, and Nico Young ran between 13:42.28 and 13:42.32 in crossing the finish line together in the second heat of the men’s university-open 5,000.
Earlier in the day at the Bryan Clay Invitational at Azusa Pacific University, Nur had run 3:36.33 to win his heat of the men’s 1,500, with Young fourth in 3:37.75 and Bosley 10th in 3:39.32. Kushe ran 3:37.31 to finish fifth in another heat.
In high school competition, the Newbury Park girls ran the fastest U.S. prep 4 x 1,600-meter relay time on record with their 19:48.81 clocking, but two other teams have run faster when their 4 x mile performances are converted to the 4 x 1,600 distance.
Junior Ailish Hawkins got Newbury Park off to a great start with a 4:53.42 opening 1,600. She was followed by freshman Tiffany Sax (5:04.58), senior Morgan Nygren (5:01.59) and senior Sam McDonnell (4:49.22).
Saratoga Springs of New York state set the national high school record of 19:40.67 in the four-mile relay last year and Niwot of Colorado posted the second fastest time with a 19:45.37 clocking, also last year. The four-mile distance is approximately 36 meters longer than 6,400 meters.
Nonetheless, the Newbury Park girls are the fastest team in California history as their time was more than four seconds faster than the previous best set by a Great Oak team from Temecula in 2016.
The daytime portion of the meet on Friday was devoted mostly to collegiate athletes.
Two top performances were turned in by Jonathan Jones of Texas, who ran 45.30 in the 400, and Lexi Ellis of Oregon, who won the women’s triple jump with a leap of 13.57 meters (44 feet 6¼ inches).
Ellis’ effort moved her to fourth on the yearly collegiate list.
Jordan Van Klinken of Arizona State and the Netherlands won the women’s shot put with a yearly collegiate leading mark of 18.05 (59-2¾). She is the defending NCAA champion in the discus.