Six Mustangs To Compete In NCAA Championship
Jun 8 | Track & Field
| SMU at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship | |
| Date | Wednesday, June 10 - Saturday, June 13 |
| Location | Hayward Field | Eugene, Ore. |
| Television | ESPN | Broadcast Schedule |
| Meet Information | Meet Central | | Live Results | Schedule | List of Qualifiers | SMU Notes |
| /SMUMustangs | /SMUTrackFieldXC | |
| @SMUMustangs | @SMUTrackFieldXC | |
DALLAS -- A total of six Mustangs are headed to Eugene, Oregon, for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship June 10-13 at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field.
Lucija Cvitanovic (javelin), Isabella Marten (triple jump) and the 4x100 relay of Shahira Ehiemua, Stephanie Kalu, Rachel Scruggs and Craishia Washington all qualified for NCAAs after finishing in the top 12 of their respective events at th e NCAA West Preliminary in Austin, Texas.
ESPN will provide coverage of all four days of the championship. For the full broadcast schedule, visit here.
The Mustangs are scheduled to compete on Thursday and Saturday. The 4x100 relay team is the first to compete for SMU, running in semifinals on Thursday at 6 p.m. CT/4 p.m. PT. Cvitanovic then competes in the javelin at 7:30 p.m. CT/5:30 p.m. PT. On Saturday, Marten competes in the triple jump at 4 p.m. CT/2 p.m. PT. With a qualifying time in the semifinals, the 4x100 relay team would then run in the final at 4:05 p.m. CT/2:05 p.m. PT on Saturday.
The top eight finishers in each event earn First Team All-American honors, while finishers 9-16 land on the second team.
Cvitanovic and Kalu are the only two Mustangs out of the six with previous experience at nationals. Cvitanovic has competed in NCAAs the past two seasons. As a freshman, in 2013, Cvitanovic finished 14th in the javelin and earned Second Team All-American honors. Last year, as a sophomore, she finished 17th in the heptathlon. Kalu competed as a sophomore in 2013, finishing 22nd in the 100-meter.
The 4x100 relay team made history, as they are the first 4x100 team in SMU history to qualify for NCAAs.
EVENT PREVIEWS
4x100 Relay
The SMU 4x100 relay team enters the championship seeded 22nd out of 24 teams with a time of 44.71. Florida is the top-seeded squad with a time of 42.93. Reigning NCAA Champion and 2015 West Region champion Texas A&M is seeded third (43.29). With a top-16 finish, Ehiemua, Kalu, Scruggs and Washington would be SMU's first ever All-Americans in the 4x100.
Javelin
Cvitanovic is seeded 23rd out of 24 competitors in the javelin with a throw of 46.92 meters in prelims. Two years ago, in 2013, Cvitanovic placed 14th in the javelin at NCAAs with a PR throw of 50.73 meters. Irena Sediva of Virginia Tech is the top-seeded competitor (56.59m) and West Champion Hannah Carson of Texas Tech is seeded second (56.56m). Reigning NCAA Champion Fawn Miller of Florida is the 14th-seed (48.80m). Cvitanovic was SMU's last All-American in the javelin when she finished 14th in 2013, earning Second Team honors. Andrea Kvetova (4th in 2008) was SMU's last First Team All-American in the javelin. Windy Dean was SMU's last NCAA Champion in the javelin in 1998.
Triple Jump
Marten is the highest-seeded Mustang with a sixth seed in the triple jump (13.06m). West Champion Allie Saunders of Texas State is the top seed with a 13.64-meter jump. Florida's Ciarra Brewer, who won the bronze last year, is the top returnee and is seeded 15th (12.88m). SMU's last outdoor All-American in the event was Zivile Pukstiene in 2003. The Mustangs have never had an outdoor champion in the triple jump.
