With SEC victory, Karissa Schweizer lays foundation for Missouri cross country
Marc Burns had a hunch after Karissa Schweizer finished third in the 5,000-meter at last season’s NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore.
Burns, Missouri’s third-year cross country coach, thought Schweizer, now a Missouri junior from Urbandale, Iowa, could have a breakout year in 2016. Did he think it would be one that would include Schweizer winning Missouri’s first conference championship since Erin Windler, who took home the 5,000-meter crown in the Big 12 back in 1997? Not so much.
Last Friday, though, at Agri Park in Fayetteville, Ark., Schweizer stole the show in the women’s 6,000 race by garnering the individual Southeastern Conference Championship victory. For the third time in the 2016 season, Schweizer emerged victorious, something she attributed to her training.
Burns spoke of Schweizer’s work ethic, too, one with many layers.
“Being here at Missouri, we talk a lot about sports psychology and things that can help our kids have an extra edge over people,” Burns said. “(Karissa) is the perfect example of someone with a growth mindset.”
Yes, Schweizer has the physical work ethic — the training regimen fit for a champion. Yes, Schweizer has the lineage — her parents were both All-American track and field athletes at Minnesota State-Mankato and her grandfather is “one of the most famous” high school coaches in the state of Iowa, according to Burns — but it’s the strides Schweizer has made mentally that have made the biggest difference.
Schweizer said entering the realm of athletics was “overwhelming.” And although she was a 12-time IAHSAA All-State athlete in cross country and track back at Dowling Catholic High School, holding the mantle as Missouri’s leader never crossed her mind.
Since Schweizer’s arrival, her confidence has grown to the point she feels pressure at races. It’s a pressure she welcomes because she doesn’t want to let her team, her coach or herself down.
Weeks ago, on Oct. 1, Schweizer garnered a win in the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival in Fayetteville. Last Friday, on a familiar track for the SEC Championship, Schweizer admitted she was a bit nervous.
“I was going to be proud with however I did, but I just went out there knowing that it could be anyone’s day,” Schweizer said, “and that I had a chance and I was going to take that chance at the end.”
In 20 minutes, 10.5 seconds, Schweizer set a personal best, which made Burns proud.
On Monday, Burns said it only takes “one” — one to lay a foundation, to build a program and to carry a team. With Schweizer, with this victory and ahead of the NCAA Regionals on Nov. 11, Burns believes he’s found exactly that.
“It always takes somebody to break through the glass to kick things off and for the rest of the girls on the team and the rest of the guys on the team,” Burns said. “To see Karissa accomplishing things at such a high level, (they can) see that (anything) is possible.”
This story was originally published November 1, 2016 at 7:15 PM with the headline "With SEC victory, Karissa Schweizer lays foundation for Missouri cross country."