Alyssa Campbell’s running resume is impressive. She’s coming off of a dominant sophomore season, where she was named an NAIA All-American, won three gold medals at the indoor track championship for the River States Conference (RSC), and won the RSC 5k cross country championship. She capped it all off by winning the RSC Female Athlete of the Year for 2019-2020. And she’s not slowing down (literally).

At the Youngstown State University College Invitational on January 15, Campbell, a junior advertising and public relations major, set a new personal record in the mile, with an astonishing 4:58.61 time. This was good for 2nd place in the meet, as well as 2nd place in the entire NAIA.

This is the second year in a row that Campbell has bested herself in the mile, going from a 5:13.32 as a freshman, to a 5:03.63 as a sophomore, to her current sub-5 minute time.

A sub-5 minute mile is no small task, and it’s something Campbell has been set on achieving for years. “The sub-5 mile has been a goal for me since my senior year of high school when I ended my track career with a 5:03,” Campbell said. “Since then it’s been my number one goal to achieve in my running career.”

“We were thrilled for Alyssa to break five minutes in the mile for the first time,” said Coach Jim Spisak. “She had been close to that barrier for a few years and has worked extremely hard, so it was awesome to see her finally dip under.”

As for her goals going forward, Campbell is looking to support her teammates, and continuing to push herself as a runner. 

“My goals have all been met, and I’m not saying I’m giving up or done trying, but I really want to be there for my teammates and do my part for them, that’s my goal!”

That being said, Campbell’s running career is far from over; she’s only a junior, and the season has just begun. If you can, try to catch one of Alyssa’s races in the near future. The next meet is the YSU Mid-Major Classic, this Friday and Saturday, Jan. 29-30. You can go to pointparksports.com or follow Point Park University Athletics on Twitter for a link to watch live. But when Alyssa Campbell is running, be warned: blink, and you might miss her.