Nelson reaches next level with mile championship

Unheralded Samford junior elevates from 21st at last year's outdoor 1,500 meters and 107th at national cross country finals to win school's first NCAA track and field crown in any event

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Before March Madness began with the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments, one of the great Cinderella stories in the history of the Division 1 Indoor Track and Field Championships unfolded Saturday in College Station, Texas.

Samford junior Karisa Nelson relied on an impressive surge in the final 100 meters to prevail in a loaded women's mile final in a personal-best 4 minutes, 31.24 seconds at Rhonda and Frosty Gilliam Jr. Indoor Track Stadium, securing the program's first national title in any event, indoors or outdoors.

"I can't believe I was worried about making it into nationals and I just won," said Nelson, who lowered her time from 4:35.31 in Friday's prelims.

"I've been dreaming about this moment for the past two weeks. I wanted to do it. I've been envisioning that last 200 for the past month. I knew I could run at least 4:32."

Nelson arrived in 2014 at Samford, a private Christian university located in Homewood, Ala., with an enrollment of less than 6,000, after sweeping 800-, 1,600- and 3,200-meter state titles for TR Miller High in nearby Brewton.

During her career, Samford has had three coaches in as many years, most recently 26-year old Patrick McGregor, who ran at Hoover High in Alabama and for the University of Texas before being hired in August to replace Kevin Ondrasek, who followed Lori Strand.

"Kevin and Lori really did a great job in her development and getting her to this point and I think it's just the perfect storm of me catching her at the tail end of a good process," said McGregor, who also used to run for New Jersey New York Track Club.

"As soon as I saw her doing strides on the first day of practice, I was like 'I got one.' I'm just really glad I have someone like her to work with. I never thought I would be in this position a year ago."

Before taking over at Samford, where he had previously coached as a volunteer assistant. McGregor attended the NCAA Indoor Championships last season in Birmingham, Ala.

Nelson's season had ended two weeks earlier at the Southern Conference Indoor Championships, but she did later qualify for the Division 1 Outdoor Championships, finishing 21st in the 1,500 in 4:22.02, her only national experience before this year.

"I was pretty excited, but at the same I was really nervous that I would mess up again," Nelson said. "I tried not to think about it and just focused on winning. I knew I came in 12th, but as long as I'm in the race, I have a chance. I thought I had maybe a 25 percent chance, but I knew I could do it, I knew I could."

In her first season working with McGregor, Nelson advanced to another national final, competing in the NCAA Cross Country Championships in November, finishing 107th in the 6-kilometer race in Terre Haute, Ind.

"Being (at outdoor nationals) and getting my butt kicked like that, I was like 'I don't want that to happen again,'" Nelson said. "Then I went to cross country and I got my butt kicked again, but then I was like 'OK, I'm really done getting my butt kicked, I want to go win,' and I did."

With a renewed focus and commitment to training, Nelson ran 4:38.27 in the Camel City Invitational mile Feb. 4, which qualified her for the NCAA prelims. Her mile PR in high school was 5:08.16.

Following a 13-second drop in the outdoor 1,500 from her freshman to sophomore year, Nelson followed with a 17-second improvement in the indoor mile from last season to Saturday.

"You have to learn in an organic way and unfortunately losing is a part of that process," McGregor said. "It was important for her to lose and know what it feels like and now she needs to learn how to handle success."

Although she had visions of attending Alabama when she was younger, Nelson couldn't picture herself attending school anywhere else after visiting Samford's campus for the first time.

Despite only one track and field athlete representing Samford at the NCAA Indoor finals in program history before Saturday and just six individuals qualifying for the outdoor championships, Nelson was able to put the program on the map with her performance.

She defeated defending-champion Kaela Edwards of Oklahoma State, returning finalist Elinor Purrier of New Hampshire and freshman standout Danae Rivers of Penn State by covering the final lap in 30.84 seconds.

"It's awesome. I love that I could do this for my school, they're so great to me and I still can't believe I won," Nelson said. "I just do what my coach says and the last practice we practiced the last 100 where you've just got to keep going and I just did what he taught me, to keep hitting the ground as fast as you can."

McGregor knows Nelson's victory will increase expectations for outdoor season, but wants her to continue to trust in the process that allowed a promising young talent from a small school in Alabama to become an NCAA champion.

"I'm no better a coach than I was two hours ago and I don't think she's any better of an athlete, but now everyone's perception of her is going to change," McGregor said. "It's an incredible moment and I hope she enjoys every bit of it."