SMU To Compete In A Pair Of Weekend Meets

Thursday, February 9

Frisco, Texas

ALL DAY

SMU

Frisco Invitational

Photo by: Josh Gateley

SMU To Compete In A Pair Of Weekend Meets

Feb 8 | Track & Field

Mustangs Sprinters Will Remain In Texas; SMU Distance Runners And Throwers Will Travel To Tennessee

2017 Indoor Track & Field Classic
Date	Feb. 9-10, 2017
Location	The Ford Center at the Star - Frisco, Texas (Hosted by Dunamis Sports Group)
Live Results	jwtiming.com
Heat Sheets	College Classic I \| College Classic II
Meet Information	Meet Info \| Schedule \| Performance List #1 \| Performance List #2
Facebook	/SMUTrackFieldXC \| /SMUMustangs
Twitter	@SMUTrackFieldXC \| @SMUMustangs
2017 Music City Challenge
Date	Feb. 10-11, 2017
Location	Vanderbilt Multipurpose Facility - Nashville, Tenn. (Hosted by Vanderbilt)
Live Results	pttiming.com
Heat Sheets	Music City Challenge
Meet Information	Meet Info \| Schedule
Facebook	/SMUTrackFieldXC \| /SMUMustangs
Twitter	@SMUTrackFieldXC \| @SMUMustangs

Feb. 8, 2017

Meet Notes (PDF)

DALLAS (SMU) – After a week off from competition, the SMU women's track and field team will be back in action this weekend when the Mustangs send athletes to Frisco, Texas, for the Indoor Track & Field Classic and to Nashville, Tennessee, for the Music City Challenge.

"We are ready to get back to competition and test where were are," head coach Cathy Casey said. "We are splitting up this week to make sure everyone gets what they need to be at their best before the conference championships in two weeks."

The Mustangs sprinters will compete at the Indoor Track & Field Classic Thursday and Friday at the Ford Center at the Star—the world headquarters and practice facility of the Dallas Cowboys. The meet will be streamed live on FloTrackPro. Running events are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. CT on Thursday and Friday. Live results can be found at jwtiming.com.

The SMU distance runners and throwers will head to Nashville, Tennessee, for the Music City Challenge on Friday and Saturday at the Vanderbilt Multipurpose Facility. Friday's events will start at 4 p.m. CT, while Saturday's competition is set to start at 11 a.m. CT. Live results can be found at pttiming.com.

ABOUT THE INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD CLASSIC:
After a more than 30-year hiatus, a major indoor track and field event for collegiate and high school athletes is coming to North Texas. The event, scheduled for February 9-11, 2017, will be held in Frisco, Texas at the newly built Ford Center at the Star--the world headquarters and practice facility of the Dallas Cowboys.

The meet will feature 25 collegiate teams including schools from The American, Big 12, Conference USA, Southland Conference, Sun Belt Conference and more. Some 200 high schools will be represented as well. In all, nearly 3,000 athletes will participate in what is considered to be the largest indoor track meet ever to take place in Texas.

ABOUT THE MUSIC CITY CHALLENGE:
The Mustangs will compete at Vanderbilt for the fourth consecutive year. SMU will be one of 23 teams to compete Friday and Saturday at the Vanderbilt Multipurpose Facility, which features a 120-yard indoor practice field, surrounded by a 6-lane, 300-meter Mondo track.

Some of the teams sending athletes to Nashville this weekend include Belmont, Cincinnati, East Tennessee State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Jacksonville, Illinois, Kennesaw State, Louisville, Memphis, Middle Tennessee State, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, South Alabama, Southeast Missouri State, Southern Illinois, Tennessee State, UTEP, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech and Western Kentucky.

Last year, senior Tochi Nlemchi led the Mustangs with a first place finish in the shot put with a mark of 51 feet, 10.5 inches (15.81m).

RECAP: J.D. MARTIN INVITATIONAL (Jan. 27-28):
Holly Archer, Marlene Gomez-Islinger and Hannah Miller claimed individual titles to lead the Mustangs to a third place finish at the J.D. Martin Invitational.

In the mile, Miller won the event in a time of 4 minutes, 56.22 seconds. The freshman entered the weekend with the American Athletic Conference fastest time at 4:54.47.

Two Mustangs finished in the top five of the 800 meters with Archer claiming the victory in a season best time of 2:14.78, while Miller finished fourth in 2:18.74.

SMU dominated the 3,000 meters with eight Mustangs placing in the top 10. Marlene Gomez-Islinger won her first collegiate race in a time of 9:59.67 and was the only competitor to break the 10-minute barrier. Shanoah Souza and Archer completed the sweep finishing second (10:07.99) and third (10:13.59), respectively. Anneke Grogan and Alison Esparza placed fourth (10:21.91) and fifth (10:29.22), while Agnes Sjostrom placed sixth with a time of 10:31.38. Rebekah Bosler and Justine Anthony finished ninth (10:37.74) and 10th (10:50.94), respectively.

The Mustangs' throwers all set personal-bests in the weight throw. Tochi Nlemchi second throw of 57 feet, 3 inches (17.46m) was good for fourth place and is ninth all-time in SMU history. Jacquetta Cannon finished fourth with a toss of 55-11 (17.04m), while Daniella Murchison placed tenth with a mark of 51-6 (15.71m). Nlemchi also placed second in the shot put with a throw of 52-1 (15.88m), while Cannon recorded her second personal best of the weekend with a mark of 48-10 (14.88m) to finish fourth.

SMU sprinters Chelsea Francis and Alexis Center made the final in the 60 meters in just their second collegiate meet. Francis won the first heat with a time of 7.56 seconds in the preliminary round, which is tied with Center for the fourth-fastest time in program history. Center placed second in her heat in time of 7.64. In the final, Francis and Center placed seventh and eighth, respectively. India Simmons placed third in the 600 yards with a time of 1:25.55.

MUSTANG MARKS:
The SMU women's track and field team has eight Mustangs that rank in the top 10 on the indoor American Athletic Conference performance list.

60-meter dash:
Chelsea Francis (7.56, tied for 7th)
Alexis Center (7.56, tied for 7th)

800 meters:
Holly Archer (2:13.25, 9th)^

Mile:
Hannah Miller (4:53.32, 3rd)^
Charlotte-Tara Murphy (4:55.06, 4th)^

3,000 meters:
Hannah Miller (9:47.12, 6th)^
Charlotte-Tara Murphy (9:49.19, 9th)^

Shot Put:
Tochi Nlemchi (52'1.25", 1st)
Jacquetta Cannon (48'10", 8th)

Pentathlon:
Anna Novosadova (3,019), 10th)^

(^ adjusted time/mark due to altitude)

2017 OUTLOOK:
The 2017 SMU track & field team returns 18 letterwinners and will seek to claim its first conference indoor championships since the Mustangs won the inaugural American Athletic Conference title in 2014. Second year head coach Cathy Casey and the Mustangs are coming off a fourth-place finish last year at The American Indoor Championships. Casey will look to a senior-laden distance group led by Holly Archer, Agnes Sjostrom and Shanoah Souza to guide this Mustangs' team that includes 18 underclassmen.

LOOKING BACK:
After winning the 2016 American Athletic Conference Cross Country Championship in the fall, the Mustangs will now try to carry that momentum into the indoor track and field season. The SMU cross country team were ranked as high as No. 21 in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) poll during the season. Individually, SMU had four individuals receive All-Conference honors and three student-athletes earn All-Region accolades.

ALL-AMERICAN MUSTANGS:
SMU returns senior Tochi Nlemchi and sophomore sprinter Latessa Johnson after both Mustangs earned All-American honors last spring at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Nlemchi finished ninth in the shot put with a personal best throw of 16.77 meters (55-00.25) at the NCAA Championships to earn second-team All-American honors, while Johnson earned second-team All-American accolades after finishing ninth in the 200 meters. Both Mustangs set conference indoor records last year with Nlemchi recording a heave of 16.32 meters (53-06.50) to win the shot put title, while Johnson held off seven upperclassmen to win the 200 meters with a time of 23.48 seconds as a freshman.

WELCOME TO THE HILLTOP:
With the graduation of all-conference performers Craishia Washington and Rachel Scruggs, the Mustangs added some depth in the sprints with the addition of freshmen Alexis Center, Chelsea Franics and India Simmons. Center and Francis will compete in the short sprints (60 meters, 200 meters), while Simmons will focus primarily on the hurdles as well as the 400 meters. SMU also strengthened its distance group adding Hannah Miller and Charlotte-Tara Murphy, who will run the mile and 3,000 meters indoors. Both freshman made an immediate impact in the fall during the cross country season helping SMU end its two year conference championship drought to win its fourth league title in six years. Miller finished as The American runner-up, while Murphy placed fifth as both Mustangs were named to the All-Conference team. Miller and Murphy led the Mustangs to a fifth-place finish at the NCAA South Central Regional and both garnered All-Region honors after finishing fourth and 19th, respectively. Miller qualified for the NCAA Championships and was one of 38 individual qualifiers.

UP NEXT:
The Mustangs will have the next two weekends off in preparation for the American Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships on Feb. 24-25 at the CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama. SMU finished fourth at The American meet last year.

FOLLOW THE MUSTANGS:
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Mustangs by following SMU Track & Field Team on Twitter at @SMUTrackFieldXC, on Facebook at Facebook.com/SMUTrackFieldXC, and on Instagram at Instagram.com/SMUTrackandXC. Twitter at @SMUMustangs or Instagram at SMU.Mustangs.