STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford's Grant Fisher, fresh off his American collegiate indoor record in the 3,000 meters and Millrose Games victory, was named National Athlete of the Week by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association on Tuesday.
Fisher ran 7:42.62 to edge Wisconsin's Morgan McDonald at The Armory in Manhattan. Running against mostly pros, Fisher and McDonald placed 1-2 in the fourth- and fifth-fastest indoor times in collegiate history.
Because the three fastest collegiate indoor 3,000s were run by foreigners, Fisher, who grew up in Grand Blanc, Michigan and is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, broke the American collegiate record of 7:44.69 that Oregon's Galen Rupp set in 2009. Rupp is a two-time Olympic medalist and regarded as one of the greatest American runners in history.
Fisher broke Chris Derrick's 2012 Stanford record by four seconds and dipped nearly six seconds under his personal best. He is next expected to race at the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championships in Seattle on Feb. 22-23, and then should double at the NCAA Indoor Championships on March 8-9 in Birmingham, Alabama.
Fisher is an electrical engineering major and a nine-time All-American who is a senior academically and a junior in indoor eligibility. He was the 2017 NCAA outdoor 5,000 champion, the 2018 NCAA cross country runner-up to McDonald and a two-time Pac-12 cross country champion while leading the Cardinal to team titles.
This is the first time that a Stanford athlete has been named National Athlete of the Week during the indoor season. It is also the first time that the Pac-12 Conference has had a National Athlete of the Week since 2017.