Mustangs Open NCAA Outdoor Track & Field West Preliminary Round Action Thursday

Thursday, May 25

Austin, Texas

ALL DAY

SMU

NCAA West Preliminary

Mustangs Open NCAA Outdoor Track & Field West Preliminary Round Action Thursday

May 22 | Track & Field

Archer (1,500m), Francis (100m), Johnson (200m), Miller (5,000m) and Souza (3,000m Steeplechase) Set To Compete In Austin May 25-27

2017 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field West Preliminary Round
Date	Thursday, May 25 – Saturday, May 27
Location	Mike A. Myers Stadium – Austin, Texas (Hosted by the University of Texas at Austin)
Live Results	Pttiming.com
Performance Lists	NCAA West Preliminary Round Qualifiers \| NCAA East Preliminary Round Qualifiers
Broadcasts	Day 1 – Thursday \| Day 2 – Friday \| Day 3 – Saturday
Meet Information	Schedule \| Championship Central \| T&F Fan Guide \| Meet Notes \| Heat Sheets
Facebook	/SMUTrackFieldXC \| /SMUMustangs
Twitter	@SMUTrackFieldXC \| @SMUMustangs
Instagram	@SMUTrackandXC \| @SMU.Mustangs

May 22, 2017

Participant Manual (PDF) | Preliminary Rounds Program (PDF)

DALLAS (SMU) – After an outstanding team performance at the American Athletic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships, SMU will have five Mustangs compete in five events at the NCAA West Preliminary Round May 25-27 in Austin, Texas. The three-day event, hosted by the University of Texas at Austin, will be held at Mike A. Myers Stadium.

Two Mustangs compete Thursday with senior Holly Archer in the first round of the 1,500-meters at 5:30 p.m. CT, followed by freshman Chelsea Francis in the first round of the 100-meter dash at 6:30 p.m. The 100m quarterfinal is scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m. and the 1,500m quarterfinal is slated for Saturday at 6:30 p.m.

On Friday, sophomore Latessa Johnson and senior Shanoah Souza hit the track for the last two events of the day in the 200-meter dash and the 3,000-meter steeplechase, respectively. Johnson is slated to start the first round of the 200m at 7:30 p.m. and Souza will run the steeple quarterfinal at 8:20 p.m. The 200m quarterfinal is scheduled for Saturday at 7:35 p.m.

Freshman Hannah Miller will be the last Mustang to compete at the meet as the semifinal of the 5,000-meters will start Saturday at 8:05 p.m.

For each individual event contested at each of the Preliminary Round sites, the top 48 declared student-athletes were accepted into the competition. For each relay event, the top 24 declared relay teams were accepted into the competition. Combined events (Heptathlon and Decathlon), are not contested at the Preliminary Round sites. The University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky will host the NCAA East Preliminary Round May 25-27.

The top-12 qualifiers in each event out of both preliminary rounds will compete in the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships held June 7-10 in Eugene, Oregon.

ABOUT MIKE A. MYERS STADIUM:
Made possible through the generous donations of UT benefactor Mike A. Myers, The Mike A. Myers Stadium and Soccer Field is home to the Texas Soccer and Texas Track and Field programs. The state-of-the-art facility possesses all the amenities that comprise the top dual-sport venues in the nation. Located adjacent to Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, the complex features a European-style layout with a full-sized soccer field in the center. The stadium seats more than 20,000 spectators and contains two separate scoreboards for track and soccer, full lighting for night events, and ample concessions areas. Myers Stadium also boasts a fully-functioning field house which includes spacious locker rooms, a training room, a full-sized press box and team lounge areas. The track is a nine-lane European oval featuring a wider turn radius than traditional tracks to allow for more speed in the turns. Field event performers enjoy the all-inclusive site that is equipped with dual jump lanes, several throwing circles and a pair of high jump aprons.

LAST TIME OUT - THE AMERICAN OUTDOOR T&F CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP (May 12-14):
The Mustangs wrapped up the 2017 American Athletic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships at the Carl Lewis Track & Field Complex in Houston, Texas. SMU boasted seven different medalists over nine events, claiming four gold and five bronze medals. Francis and Archer etched their names in the records book as both Mustangs set meet records in the 100m and 1,500m, respectively. Francis won her first conference title with a personal best time of 11.34 seconds, while Archer outkicked UCF's Anne-Marie Blaney in the final 200 meters to secure the victory in a personal best 4:22.36. SMU placed fifth overall with 96 total points, finishing behind team champion Cincinnati (138 points), runner-up Connecticut (107 points), East Carolina (104.50 points) and UCF (99.50 points). The meet was extremely close among the teams that finished second through fifth as 11 points separated SMU from runner-up UConn.

THE AMERICAN OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIP MEDALISTS AND ALL-CONFERENCE HONOREES
3,000-meter steeplechase - Shanoah Souza (Gold, 10:19.93)
1,500-meters - Holly Archer (Gold, 4:22.36)
100-meter dash - Chelsea Francis (Gold, 11.34)
200-meter dash - Latessa Johnson (Gold, 23.10)
200-meter dash - Chelsea Francis (Bronze, 23.24)
400-meter hurdles - India Simmons (Bronze, 1:00.66)
5,000-meters - Hannah Miller (Bronze, 16:40.76)
10,000-meters - Hannah Miller (Bronze, 34:47.28)
Heptathlon - Anna Novosadova (Bronze, 4,713 points)

NCAA WEST PRELIMINARY ROUND QUALIFIERS

Holly Archer | Bury Saint Edmunds, England | Senior | 1,500-meters | 4:22.36 - Seeded 29th
Archer will compete in the 1,500-meters at the NCAA Preliminary Round for the second consecutive year. She finished 30th in the event a year ago and 34th in the 800-meters. Archer won her first conference title in the 1,500m at The American Outdoor Championship in a personal best time of 4 minutes, 22.36 seconds, which has her seeded 29th heading into Austin.

Chelsea Francis | Carrollton, Texas | Freshman | 100-meter dash | 11.34 - Seeded 13th
Francis will continue her impressive freshman campaign after winning the 100m in a conference record time and claiming the bronze in the 200m at The American Outdoor Championship. She will only compete in the 100m as she has the Mustangs highest seed at 13th. Francis ran a personal best 11.34 seconds to set the meet record and ranks second in program history. The Carrollton, Texas, native just missed tying Stephanie Kalu's school record by .01 seconds.

Latessa Johnson | Dallas, Texas | Sophomore | 200-meter dash | 23.10 - Seeded 20th
For the second consecutive year, Johnson has qualified for the NCAA Preliminary Round in the 200m. The All-American placed seventh in the event last year with a school record time of 22.80 seconds, qualifying for the NCAA Championship where she just missed a place in the final finishing ninth. Johnson is seeded 20th with a season best time of 23.10, which was her winning time at The American Outdoor Championship.

Hannah Miller | Invercargill, New Zealand | Freshman | 5,000-meters | 16:12.55 - Seeded 31st
Miller stellar freshman season continues after claiming the bronze in both the 5,000m and the 10,000m at the conference outdoor championships, but will look to advance to the NCAA Championship in only the 5K. She is seeded 31st with a time of 16:12.55, which was set in April at the Stanford Invitational.

Shanoah Souza | Encinitas, Calif. | Senior | 3,000-meter Steeplechase| 10:19.93 - Seeded 24th
Souza qualified in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, marking the second time she has qualified for the NCAA Preliminary Round. Skatteboe competed in the event in 2014, finishing 41st. Souza won the steeple at The American Outdoor Championship with a season best time of 10:19.93 seconds. Her personal best was set at the 2014 American Outdoor Championship (10:18.74). She is seeded 24th heading into the meet.

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.