Schweizer repeats in women’s 5,000, with Hassan defending men’s shot put crown; Al Hizam, Brooks, Ewen, Greene, Knight and Williams all secure championships

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Lilli Burdon helped Oregon make history for a second time in the women’s distance medley relay Friday at the NCAA Division 1 Indoor Championships.

Burdon ran the leadoff 1,200-meter leg last year and was supported by Ashante Horsley, Raevyn Rogers and Katie Rainsberger when the Ducks set the collegiate record 10 minutes, 48.77 seconds at the Columbia East-West Challenge at The Armory in New York City.

With a completely different supporting cast this season, Burdon was moved to the anchor to run the final 1,600 and led Oregon to its first women’s DMR championship in program history in 10:51.99 in at Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium in College Station, Texas.

Following legs by Jessica Hull, Vanessa D’Arpino and Susan Ejore, Burdon held off a late push by Christina Aragon, as Stanford (10:52.02) – whose lineup also included Vanessa Fraser, Missy Mongiovi and Elise Cranny – was runner-up for the second year in a row after Colorado edged the Cardinal by two-hundredths last season.

“I believed in myself the whole way and I’ve been working really hard and we’ve been working really well together in practice, so I knew I could do it,” Burdon said. “I think it really shows how great our program is. Susan ran her first 800 the whole season and split 2:03 running by herself the whole way. Everyone did their job (Friday). We all believed in each other, which I think is the most important thing, and it was really fun that everyone executed their plan perfectly and we could pull it off.”

Oregon now boasts three of the top six women’s DMR performances in collegiate history, with Stanford running the fifth-fastest all-time mark, giving the Cardinal four of the top 11 Division 1 efforts. It marked the fourth time in five years Stanford placed second.

Virginia Tech finished third in 10:53.62, improving to No. 8 in collegiate history.

The Hokies also made history with their first men’s DMR title, with Vincent Ciattei, Greg Chiles, Patrick Joseph and Neil Gourley winning in 9:30.76, despite late surges by Notre Dame (9:31.22), Oregon (9:31.45) and Stanford (9:31.95).

“It was up to me to hold them off, which wasn’t easy after the (mile) prelim earlier, by I just managed,” said Gourley, who also qualified for the mile final, along with Ciattei and Joseph.

“I was just holding on for dear life. I had a bit left, but not that much.”

Missouri senior Karissa Schweizer became the first female athlete since Dartmouth standout Abbey D’Agostino in 2013-14 and fifth in Division 1 history to repeat in the 5,000, pulling away from New Mexico’s Ednah Kurgat (15:47.46) in the final three laps to prevail in 15:43.23.
It was the first time the past two NCAA cross country champions had met since Dec. 2 at the Boston University Season Opener, when Schweizer held off Kurgat by a 15:17.31 to 15:19.03 margin, producing the Nos. 5 and 7 times in Division 1 history.
“I had a lot of confidence in the pace I was running and I had to make sure I was just comfortable and ready for a change of gears at the end,” said Schweizer, who rebounded after an 11th-place finish Nov. 18 at the Division 1 cross country final to win her fourth career NCAA title.

“I obviously didn’t have the race I planned in cross country, so yeah, you could say it’s a little bit (of redemption), but I was just going out there trying to execute the best race I could.”

Syracuse senior Justyn Knight followed his cross country championship with a first career 5,000 title, benefiting from a slow early pace to surge in the final lap and triumph in 14:14.47. Alabama’s Vincent Kiprop (14:15.01), Oklahoma State’s Hassan Abdi (14:15.38) and Southern Utah’s Mike Tate (14:15.67).

“I got a cross country title under my belt, but I’ve always wanted a track one. I’ve come really close too many times, so it means a lot to finally do it on the track,” Knight said. “All the guys here are very talented physically and mentally, and I never try to compare myself to anyone, I just know that when I came back from Worlds, I just came back a lot wiser and a lot more calm.”

Juniors Nicole Greene from North Carolina and Loretta Blaut of Cincinnati engaged in the most dramatic women’s high jump competition in Division 1 finals history, both taking nine jumps during competition, before tying with 6-1.50 (1.87m) clearances to force a jumpoff.

Greene and Blaut then needed seven additional attempts in the jumpoff, before Greene cleared 5-11.50 (1.82m) to finally secure the title.

“I couldn’t be more proud of myself. Just the endurance of doing the jumpoff, the mental skills I had to use for that, it was amazing. I’m still in shock right now,” said Greene, who cleared two of seven bars in the jumpoff to Blaut’s one.

“It was nice (in the jumpoff) that I was after her, so I didn’t have the pressure of if I don’t make it, then she has a chance to make it and win. In the mental game, I always had the last say.”

Arizona State senior Maggie Ewen became the first female thrower in Division 1 history to win titles in the shot put and hammer throw. Ewen executed a third-round effort of 60-8 (18.49m) to beat the field by more than two feet.

“It feels great, there’s really no other way to put it,” Ewen said. “That first one (58-7.50) was a little bit of a safety throw to make sure to feel out the ring, feel out the environment and feel out everything I needed to, and then I was able to build on it from there. We never quite found that big one, but outdoors is just around the corner.”

Colorado State senior Mostafa Hassan became the first male athlete since 2013-14 and the 11th in Division 1 history to repeat as men’s shot put champion, taking the lead on his opening throw with a 68-5.25 (20.86m) and never relinquishing control.

“It was one of the best competitions I’ve ever been in. It was really tough and I had to be on my absolute best to win,” Hassan said. “When I heard how well everybody was doing (during the regular season) and guys throwing 70 feet, which is a huge mark, it just pushed me to train harder in practice and do my best to be able to compete well (Friday).”

Texas A&M senior Will Williams produced a lifetime-best 26-10.50 (8.19m) on his final attempt to win the first men’s long jump title for the Aggies, edging Florida sophomore Grant Holloway, who leaped 26-8.25 (8.13m) in the fifth round but was unable to take his final jump since he had to race in the 60-meter hurdles prelims.

“I just stayed composed back there and executed my run and the crowd really carried me down that runway,” Williams said. “Once I hit the board, I knew it was something big because I struggled to hit the board the whole competition. The whole field are very tough competitors and I’ve been running third to those guys the past couple of years, but this year, I just wanted it to be different.”

Arkansas senior Taliyah Brooks won her first career NCAA title in the pentathlon with 4,572 points, giving her two of the top 10 scores in Division 1 history. Brooks ran 8.05 in the 60 hurdles, becoming the second-fastest athlete in that event all-time in the collegiate pentathlon, establishing a 54-point advantage over Kansas State sophomore Nina Schultz (4,467) after one event and never looking back.

“That really set the entire thing up. To come out and bust a PR, that set up the energy for the rest of the day,” Brooks said. “It propelled me into the shot put and the high jump and allowed me to finish the day strong.”

Kansas junior Hussan Al Hizam cleared 18-8.25 (5.70m) on his second attempt to knock off defending men’s pole vault champion Chris Nilsen, who cleared 18-4.50 (5.60m).

“I’m glad I won it. It was great. There was a lot of competition, but good thing I was able to pull through,” Al Hizam said. “I was third at outdoor NCAA and I was kind of disappointed with how it ended up because I could have done a lot better, but it inspired me to work a lot harder to be where I’m at right now.”