NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
Sarah Schwald
1995 Indoor 3,000 Meters
Amy Yoder Begley
2000 Indoor 5,000 Meters
Tracy Robertson
Sarah Schwald was a national competitor in many races but failed to win a national title until the 1995 indoor season. Entering the championships with a mark of 9:35.2 for 3,000 meters, Schwald improved during the prelims of the race with a time of 9:33.16, which placed her in good position heading into the finals where she would have to face the favorite, Christine Stief of Boston University. “Sarah was definitely a contender for the title,” said Lance Harter. “When she saw Trine Pilskog win her national championship, there was no stopping her in that race. She was extremely focused.” The race began with a large pack at the front of the field but many of the contenders started to fall off the lead group as the race wore on. Soon it came down to Schwald and Stief, and with 400 meters to go, both looked very strong. “They both looked good with two laps to go,” Harter said. “Then all of a sudden, Sarah passed Stief and the race was over.” Schwald would run a lifetime best 9:19.90 to win the race, less than one second ahead of Stief’s 9:20.69. The title was Arkansas’ second of the 1995 indoor championships, a feat that wasn’t duplicated until 2001, and allowed Arkansas to finish fourth overall at the meet.
Amy Yoder Begley entered the 2000 indoor track meet as a perennial bridesmaid. The junior had finished second or third in several NCAA competitions. All that changed on March 10, 2000, when Yoder Begley entered the 5,000-meter run at the NCAA Championships in Fayetteville with the fourth-fastest mark in the country. The race began like most distance competitions at national meets: a lead pack takes the race out and tries to thin the contenders for the top spot. Yoder Begley stayed with the lead group through the midway point where it became clear that there would be only two people vying for the lead, Yoder Begley and Carrie Tollefson of Villanova. Tollefson would sit on Yoder Begley’s side for most of the race, but with 600 meters to go, Yoder Begley made her final move and left Tollefson in her wake. Crossing the finish line in 15:46.89, Yoder Begley won her first national title, set the Arkansas school record and became the first Arkansas athlete to ever win a national championship in Fayetteville.
Entering the 2001 NCAA Indoor Championships, Tracy Robertson held the second-fastest time in the competition as well as a chip on her shoulder. A finalist in the event in 2000, Robertson was among the leaders before getting tripped midway through the race. She would recover for fourth in 2000 but had a point to prove as the 2001 race began. “Tracy was the epitome of the philosophy of the Arkansas program,” Lance Harter would say months later. “She got on the escalator at the bottom and rode it right to the top.” Robertson hung with the leaders for four of the eight laps, then took control. She would be challenged throughout by Mary Jane Harrelson of Appalachian State, the race favorite, but with each surge that Harrelson made, Robertson would fend it off and add more distance between herself and her opposition. Harrelson would make another strong push with one lap remaining, but as Robertson covered the move, Harrelson would drop off the pace giving Robertson a clear path to victory. Crossing the line in 4:39.10, Robertson established a personal best in the race and beat her competition by three seconds.
2012 WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD MEDIA GUIDE
2001 Indoor Mile
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