OLYMPIA, Wash. – For the second time in 2011, junior Karissa Carlson (Pateros, Wash./Pateros HS) is packing her bags and heading east as she will compete this week in the 2011 NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Ind.
Carlson heads to the Hoosier State seeded 14th in the nation in the 800m run, having posted a school record time of 2:14.61 at the 2011 Cascade Conference Championships. Helen Crofts of Simon Fraser has the top time in the country headed into the championships, having run a 2:02.68 at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif.
Preliminary races for the 800m run are set for 4:10 p.m. EDT on Thursday. The semifinal races are set for 3:20 p.m. EDT on Friday with the championship race scheduled for 4:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday.