Community Champions: UTEP’s Burgher & Simpson return to NCAA ITF Championships March 14-15
EL PASO, Texas - UTEP’s Niesha Burgher and Marissa Simpson qualified for the 2025 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships as the NCAA Track and Field and Cross Country Committee announced the participants.
The championships, hosted by Norfolk State University, will be held March 14-15 at the Virginia Beach Sports Center in Virginia Beach.
The pair will compete at nationals for a second consecutive year. On Friday, March 14, Simpson will run the 60-meter hurdles semifinals at 2:30 p.m. MDT/4:30 EDT while Burgher will see action in the women’s 200-meter dash semifinal at 3:02 p.m. MDT/5:02 EDT.
Burgher ranks second in the nation in the 200 with a school and personal-record time of 22.39, which she turned in at the Don Kirby Elite Invitational on Valentine’s Day.
Before last year’s appearance, Burgher was the first Miner since Florence Uwakwe in 2016 to run the 200 at the indoor championships.
Burgher will be the first women’s indoor 200 sprinter in program history to make back-to-back appearances.
Simpson is 10th nationally in the 60H with an 8.02 at the Corky Classic on Jan. 17 to open the indoor season.
Simpson will be the first 60 hurdler since Janice Jackson to make repeat appearances at the championships. Jackson did so in 2013 and 2014.
Last season, the pair were named second team All-Americans following their performances.
Recently, Burgher clocked in a meet and facility-record 22.73 on her way to a three-peat victory in the women’s 200-meter dash at the Conference USA ITF Championships on March 1. She’s the first in program history to win three straight gold medals and the first in CUSA history to win three consecutive women’s 200 races. Burger racked up three medals claiming gold in the 60 and bronze in the 4x400.
Marissa Simpson also leaped to a three-peat, winning gold in the women’s 60-meter hurdles with an 8.14 at the conference meet. She’s the first CUSA women’s indoor hurdler since UCF’s Jackie Coward to win three consecutive 60 hurdles.
Burgher and Simpson will represent two of the four participants from CUSA. FIU’s Michaelle Valentin (weight throw) and Liberty’s Meredith Engle (pentathlon) will also make the trip to Virginia Beach.
For their accomplishments, Burger and Simpson are this week's Community Champions.
Community Champions is sponsored by Albertsons and the El Paso Community Foundation.
