Sarah Callister was a nine-time Big Sky champion at Weber State from 2009-12.
In only her second career marathon race, former Weber State track and field standout Sarah Callister Sellers finished second in the Boston Marathon Monday, in extremely windy and rainy conditions.
Sellers posted a time of 2:44:04 to finish second to Desiree Linden. It was the first time two Americans have finished first and second in Boston since 1979.
Her finish is the best ever by a native of Utah at the Boston Marathon.
WSU Track Alum, Sarah Sellers Callister, finished 2nd at the Boston Marathon this morning!!! Way to go, Sarah!#WeAreWeber pic.twitter.com/8MPaZwEztp
— Weber State Track (@WeberStateTrack) April 16, 2018
She also qualified for the US Olympic trials.
"I think I'm going to wake up and this will be a dream," Sellers said of her race. "It was a like a hurricane out there."
Sellers graduated from Ogden High School in 2009, before attending Weber State. She was a nine-time Big Sky champion during her career at Weber State from 2009-13. She won the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meter title three times each at the Big Sky outdoor championships and won the 5,000 meters twice and the 3,000 meters once at the indoor championships. She also currently holds six places in WSU career top 10 list and earned Big Sky All-Conference honors 15 times in track and field and cross country.
She also excelled in the classroom where she had a 4.00 G.P.A. in Nursing. She was awarded the prestigious NCAA Elite 89 award at the 2012 NCAA Cross Country Championships. She was also a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-American, the only athlete in Weber State history to earn Academic All-America honors three times. She was also twice named as the Weber State Female Athlete of the Year.
Sellers now lives in Tucson, Arizona with her husband Blake. She works as a nurse anesthetist. She is still coached by current Weber State women's track and field head coach Paul Pilkington.
Marathon finishes by former @WeberStateTrack standout Sarah Callister Sellers: 2017 Huntsville Marathon - 1st, 2018 @bostonmarathon - 2nd. Pretty good start to her marathon career. #WeAreWeber pic.twitter.com/AFEfKsr42N
— Paul Grua (@PaulGrua) April 16, 2018
"This is a game changer for Sarah, in just her second marathon," Pilkington said. "This was one of the best fields they have ever had and was really tough conditions. I knew she was in good shape because her workouts were going so well. She has persevered through injuries, graduate school and has a full-time job, and still able to train in world class conditions."
