SMU Opens Outdoor Season At TCU Invitational

Friday, March 17

Fort Worth, Texas

ALL DAY

SMU

TCU Invitational

SMU Opens Outdoor Season At TCU Invitational

Mar 15 | Track & Field

Mustangs Set To Compete This Weekend In Fort Worth, Texas

TCU Invitational
Date	March 17-18, 2017
Location	Lowdon Track & Field Complex - Fort Worth, Texas
Live Results	Flashresults.com
Meet Notes	Meet Notes (PDF)
Meet Information	Heat Sheets \| Schedule \| Home Meet Information
Facebook	/SMUTrackFieldXC \| /SMUMustangs
Twitter	@SMUTrackFieldXC \| @SMUMustangs

March 15, 2017

DALLAS (SMU) – For the seventh consecutive year, the SMU women's track and field team will open the outdoor season at the TCU Invitational March 17-18 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Friday's events will start at 11:30 a.m. CT with the women's hammer throw, while Saturday's competition is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. CT with the women's javelin. Running events are slated to begin Saturday at 1 p.m. CT.

The Mustangs will be one of nine teams sending athletes to compete Friday and Saturday at the Lowdon Track and Field Complex. SMU will be joined by competitors from Abilene Christian, Baylor, North Texas, Northwestern State, Stephen F. Austin, TCU, Texas A&M University-Commerce and UTA.

Live results will be available at flashresults.com.

THE AMERICAN INDOOR CONFERENCE RECAP:
SMU placed sixth at the American Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships in Birmingham, Alabama. The Mustangs tallied 44 points, finishing behind team champion UCF (122 points), runner-up Cincinnati (120 points), Houston (99 points), Connecticut (92 points) and Tulane (52 points).

Freshman Hannah Miller led the Mustangs at the conference championships with 16 points as she reached the podium in three different events. Miller picked up eight points for the Mustangs with a runner-up finish in the 5,000-meters with a personal-best time of 16 minutes, 16.84 seconds, which is the second-fastest time in school history.

Miller added two more points as a member of the distance medley relay (DMR), which is composed of legs of 1,200, 400, 800 and 1,600 meters for a total of 10 laps, or 4,000 meters. She teamed up with classmates Charlotte-Tara Murphy, India Simmons and senior Holly Archer to run the second-fastest time DMR in school history with a time of 11:35.56. Murphy, Simmons and Archer also picked up all-conference honors.

Miller and Archer both finished third to capture the bronze in the 3,000-meters and mile, respectively. Miller picked up another six points for SMU and registered her second personal-best mark of the meet with a time of 9 minutes, 29.4 seconds in the 3K to nab her third medal (5K – silver, distance medley relay – silver, 3K – bronze) of the championships. Archer ran a season-best 4:50.59 in the mile to collect six points for the Mustangs as she secured her second medal of the meet (distance medley relay – silver, mile – bronze).

American Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Honors
Silver
Miller – 5,000-meters (16:16.84 – second fastest in school history)
Miller, Murphy, Simmons, Archer – Distance Medley Relay (11:35.56 – second fastest in school history)

Bronze
Miller – 3,000-meters (9:29.4 – second fastest in school history)
Archer – Mile (4:50.59)

ABOUT THE LOWDON TRACK AND FIELD COMPLEX:
The Lowdon Track and Field Complex was selected as the "Outstanding Track Complex" by the United States Tennis Court and Track Builders Association in 2000. Located on the southwest corner of the TCU campus, the Lowdon Track and Field Complex allows the program to take on the nation's finest collegiate competition on its home turf.

The all-purpose facility was made possible by the generosity of long-time TCU supporters Robert and Maria Lowdon and was officially dedicated on October 25, 1999. The Lowdon Track and Field Complex had a new Benyon surface installed during the 2011 summer that gives TCU's already phenomenal sprints program the chance to post even faster times.

The most visible long-term impact on the program may have been the addition of an outstanding area for throwing and jumping events. It has enabled TCU to pursue excellence in the field events and afforded the chance for the Horned Frogs to add to a rich heritage built primarily on sprinting greatness.

2017 OUTLOOK:
The 2017 SMU track & field team returns 18 letterwinners and will seek to claim its first conference outdoor championships since the Mustangs won back-to-back American Athletic Conference titles in 2014 and 2015. Second year head coach Cathy Casey and the Mustangs are coming off a sixth-place finish last year at The American Outdoor Championships. Casey will look to a senior-laden distance group led by Archer, Agnes Sjostrom and Shanoah Souza to guide this Mustangs' team that includes 18 underclassmen.

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 Track & Field 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 and relays (100 meters, 200 meters, 4x100 , 4x400), while Simmons will focus primarily on the hurdles as well as the 400 meters. SMU also strengthened its distance group adding Miller and Murphy, who ran the mile, 3K and 5K 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 remain in Texas next week and compete at the Bobby Lane Invitational on March 24-25 in Arlington, Texas.

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.