SMU Set To Compete At UT Arlington Bobby Lane Invitational

Friday, March 24

Arlington, Texas

ALL DAY

SMU

Bobby Lane Invitational

SMU Set To Compete At UT Arlington Bobby Lane Invitational

Mar 24 | Track & Field

Women’s Hammer Throw Is Set For Friday At 9:30 A.M. CT

Bobby Lane Invitational
Date	March 24-25, 2017
Location	Maverick Stadium - Arlington, Texas
Live Results	Deltatiming.com
Meet Notes	Meet Notes (PDF)
Meet Information	Schedule \| Home Meet Information \| Heat Sheets
Facebook	/SMUTrackFieldXC \| /SMUMustangs
Twitter	@SMUTrackFieldXC \| @SMUMustangs

March 24, 2017

DALLAS (SMU) – After opening the outdoor season last week at TCU, the SMU women's track and field team will remain in the Metroplex and will compete at the 38th Bobby Lane Invitational March 24-25 in Arlington, Texas.

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

The Mustangs will be one of 18 teams sending athletes to compete Friday and Saturday at Maverick Stadium. SMU will be joined by competitors from Cowley Community College, Dallas Baptist, Eastern New Mexico, Little Rock, Midwestern State, North Texas, Northwestern State, Oklahoma, TCU, Texas A&M-Commerce, Texas A&M-Kingsville, Texas State, Texas Wesleyan, UIW, ULM, UTA and Wiley Community College.

Live results will be available at deltatiming.com.

TCU INVITATIONAL RECAP (March 17-18):
Holly Archer and Hannah Miller claimed individual titles Saturday to lead SMU on the final day of the TCU Invitational.

In the 800 meters, Archer won the event easily in a time of 2 minutes, 10.55 seconds. The senior finished well ahead of Midwestern State's Ana Lopez, who finished second with a time of 2:15.86.

SMU dominated the 3,000 meters with five Mustangs placing in the top-10. Miller won her first outdoor collegiate race with a time of 9:36.22. Shanoah Souza and Charlotte-Tara Murphy completed the sweep finishing second (9:53.17) and third (9:57.85), respectively. Justine Anthony ran a personal-best time 10:00.78 to finish fifth, while Anneke Grogan placed ninth with a time of 10:19.85.

Three Mustangs finished in the top-10 in the shot put. Jacquetta Cannon picked up runner-up honors after a throw of 46 feet, 9 inches (14.25m), while Daniella Murchison was close behind with a toss of 46-04.75 (14.14m) to finish third. Kennedy Godsey recorded a personal-best throw of 42-02.25 (12.86m) place eighth.

In the sprints, the Mustangs welcomed back All-American Latessa Johnson, who redshirted the indoor season. The sophomore blew off the rust in the 100 meters with a time of 11.54 seconds, just .02 second off her personal record (11.52). Johnson placed second in her heat and fourth overall with a legal-wind of 2.0 meters per second. Freshman Chelsea Francis and Alexis Center competed in their first outdoor collegiate race. Francis and Center went 1-2 in the third heat of the 100 meters, but finished eighth (11.74) and 15th (12.09) overall.

MUSTANG MARKS:
SMU has nine Mustangs that rank in the top 10 in eight events on the outdoor American Athletic Conference performance list.

100-meter dash:
Latessa Johnson (11.54, 1st)
Chelsea Francis (11.74, 4th)

400-meter dash:
India Simmons (58.42, 8th)

800-meters:
Holly Archer (2:10.55, 2nd)

1,500-meters:
Justine Anthony (4:42.17, 6th)

100-meter hurdles:
Anna Novosadova (14.94, 9th)

4x400-meter relay:
Archer, Francis, Pyle, Simmons (3:52.85, 4th)

Shot Put:
Jacquetta Cannon (46'9", 5th)
Daniella Murchison (46'4.75", 6th)

Discus:
Daniella Murchison (119'3", 10th)

ABOUT MAVERICK STADIUM:
Built in 1979, Maverick Stadium is a 12,500-seat multipurpose facility located on the University of Texas at Arlington campus, and serves as the home of the UT Arlington men's and women's track and field teams.

UTA track team members compete on a state-of-the-art, 400-meter Polytan USA track surface, while field event participants perform in the expansive land surrounding the stadium. Each March, UTA hosts the Bobby Lane Invitational to kick off the outdoor season. In 2013, Maverick Stadium was selected as the host site of the Western Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Maverick Stadium features spacious locker rooms, meeting rooms and a weight room for UTA track and field athletes. In addition, coach's offices are in the adjacent Gilstrap Athletic Center. A large press box that also contains private suites sits above the west stands. Due to its prime location in the heart of the Dallas/Fort WorthMetroplex and its numerous amenities, Maverick Stadium is selected as the site of many high school and community events each year. The stadium annually hosts the University Interscholastic League's (UIL) Regional Track and Field Championships. In addition to hosting high school football games on its FieldTurf playing surface, Maverick Stadium is a proud home to numerous events during the Texas Special Olympics Summer Games.

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:
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 send athletes to three different meets next week. SMU will compete in the 90th Nike Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays (March 30-April 1), Stanford Invitational and the Bobcat Invitational (March 31-April 1).

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.