May 9, 2017
DALLAS (SMU) – After two weeks off from competition, the SMU track and field team returns to action this weekend at the 2017 American Athletic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Houston. The three-day event, hosted by the University of Houston, will be held this weekend at the Carl Lewis Track & Field Complex.
Events begin at 11Â a.m. CT Friday with the men's decathlon and continue through Sunday with the awards ceremony concluding at 8 p.m. CT.
The top men's and women's teams will be awarded, along with the top three performers in each event. The top three finishers in each event will be named All-Conference.
The Mustangs finished in sixth place last year with 89 points. Cincinnati took home the team title with 111 points, followed by runner-up UCF with 98 points. Connecticut placed third with 97 points. Former Mustang
Lucija Cvitanovic was named the 2016 American Athletic Conference Championship Most Outstanding Field Performer after winning her third heptathlon title (2014-2016) and her runner-up finish in the javelin. Senior
Tochi Nlemchi won the Mustangs second gold medal of the championships with a conference meet and stadium record in the shot put after recording a 16.76m toss.
SMU AT THE AMERICAN OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS:Â
Since the creation of the American Athletic Conference, the SMU track and field team has won two outdoor championships. During the inaugural championship in 2014, the Mustangs downed UCF by 14.6 points (153.2-138.6) to earn the program's first conference title. In 2015, SMU successfully defended its title, edging host-school Connecticut by six points (131-125). The Mustangs placed sixth at The American outdoor meet last year.
FOLLOW THE CHAMPIONSHIPS:Â
All championship information and results can be found at
www.TheAmerican.org/OTF. Live coverage of the event can be viewed on any computer, tablet or mobile device via The American Digital Network (TheAmerican.org/DN).
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:
Facebook - /AmericanConf
Twitter - @AmericanXCTrack, @American_Conf
YouTube - AmericanAthleticConf
Instagram - American_Conf
LIVE VIDEO COVERAGE:
The American Digital Network will be producing live video coverage of the championships. Below are the links for each day:
Friday, May 12: 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7BVAqNvVeE
Saturday, May 13: 1 p.m. ET/12 p.m. CT -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vI5DYohE9BA
Sunday, May 14: 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZJDenUE3m4&feature=youtu.be Â
ABOUT THE CARL LEWIS TRACK & FIELD COMPLEX:
The University of Houston continued enhancing its facilities for Cougar student-athletes when it opened the Tom Tellez Track at the Carl Lewis International Complex. Named after two of the greatest individuals associated with the UH track and field program, the $4 million facility features a nine-lane European oval-shaped track. The wider turn radius was designed to allow faster turns for runners. The track also is equipped with dual jumping lanes, throwing areas and high jump aprons that will allow fans to watch all field events.
In addition, the complex includes a regulation-sized soccer field inside the new track that is used by the UH women's soccer team.
The track was named to honor former UH track and field coach Tom Tellez who spent 22 seasons at Houston and coached 17 athletes who won 30 NCAA individual championships. Tellez also led his men's and women's teams to 13 Southwest Conference and Conference USA championships between 1977 and 1998.
His most decorated pupil was Carl Lewis. UH honored Lewis by naming the complex as a momento of his illustrious career that included nine Olympic Gold Medals and five NCAA individual championships.
The construction of the facility was made possible through the generous donations of Roy and Mary Cullen, Mike Baker, Lewis, John and Julie O'Quinn, Tellez, the Cullen Foundation and the Houston Athletics Foundation.
LAST TIME OUT - MICHAEL JOHNSON INVITATIONAL RECAP (APRILÂ 22):
Holly Archer ran a personal best as the senior won the 800 meters to lead SMU at the Michael Johnson Invitational.
Archer sprinted past Katie Willard of Texas A&M in cold and windy conditions with 50 meters left in the race to secure the win with a time of 2 minutes, 7.80 seconds, which is the fifth-fastest time in school history. Last week, the Bury Saint Edmunds, England, native ran a personal best in the 1,500 meters at the Mt. SAC Relays with a time of 4:22.92, which is the third-fastest in the program.
SMU put together its first successful 4x100-meter relay team of the season, which included
Alexis Center,
Chelsea Francis,
India Simmons and
Latessa Johnson. The young relay that consists of three freshmen and a sophomore (Johnson) did not disappoint as the team finished third with a time of 45.66 seconds, which is the fourth-fastest in program history. Miami won the meet (45.28), followed by runner-up TCU (45.64).
Archer was the lead-off leg for the Mustangs sixth-place 4x400-meter relay team, which also included Francis, Johnson and
India Simmons. The quartet closed out the meet winning the second heat with a time of 3:46.47.
In the 100-meter dash, Johnson and Center posted season best times finishing fourth and 11th overall. Johnson ran in the evening section and ran a time of 11.48 seconds (+2.3 mps), while Center won the afternoon section with personal best time of 11.83. Francis placed third overall in the 200-meter dash (23.93) and Center placed 13th overall (24.99), but won the afternoon section.
In the distance events, the Mustangs recorded three third-place finishes. Senior
Shanoah Souza placed third (17:07.77) in her first 5,000m of the season, while freshman
Alison Esparza also claimed the bronze in the steeplechase (11:55.88). Freshman
Hannah Miller finished behind Hope Schmelzle (4:21.25) of Northern Illinois and Maggie Montoya (4:21.51) of Baylor with a time of 4:32.97. Freshman
Charlotte-Tara Murphy placed 10th (4:39.57).
In the field,
Kennedy Godsey posted two personal best marks in the throwing events. The sophomore improved by eight meters in the hammer throw with a toss of 146 feet, 0.60 inches (44.65m) to finish 15th. Godsey then placed 10th in the shot put with a mark of 43-09.25 (13.34m). Junior
Jacquetta Cannon hammer throw of 150-09 (45.92m) was good for 15th, while she finished eighth in the shot put with a throw of 47-03.75 (14.42m). Sophomore
Daniella Murchison only competed in the hammer and finished 15th (42-11.00, 13.06m).
Other notable performances came from juniors
Anna Novosadova and
Marlene Gomez-Islinger. Novosadova set her third personal best of the season in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.45, while Gomez-Islinger ran 2:20.30 in her first 800m of the season.
MUSTANG MARKS: Â
SMU has 13 Mustangs that rank in the top nine in 12 events on the outdoor
American Athletic Conference performance list.
100-meter dash:
Chelsea Francis (11.42, 1st)
Latessa Johnson (11.48, 4th)
200-meter dash:
Latessa Johnson (23.12, 1st)
Chelsea Francis (23.75, 6th)
800-meters:
Holly Archer (2:07.80, 3rd)
1,500-meters:
Holly Archer (4:22.92, 2nd)
Hannah Miller (4:31.32, 7th)
5,000-meters:
Hannah Miller (16:12.55, 3rd)
Charlotte-Tara Murphy (16:57.00, 7th)
Marlene Gomez-Islinger (16:57.54, 8th)
Shanoah Souza (17:07.77, 10th)
10,000-meters:
Alison Esparza (37:35.96, 10th)
400-meter hurdles:
India Simmons (1:00.73, 5th)
3,000-meter steeplechase:
Shanoah Souza (10:26.81, 2nd)
4x100-meter relay:
Alexis Center, Francis, Simmons, Johnson (45.66, 6th)
4x400-meter relay:
Archer, Francis, Johnson, Simmons (3:46.19, 6th)
Shot Put:
Jacquetta Cannon (48'8.75", 7th)
Daniella Murchison (47'2.5", 9th)
Heptathlon:
Anna Novosadova (4,511 points, 3rd)
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 2016 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 Francis and
India Simmons. Center and Francis compete in the short sprints and relays (100m, 200m, 4x100m and 4x400m), 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 competes in both the 1,500 meters and 5,000 meters. 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:
Following the conference championships, qualifying Mustangs will compete May 25-27 at the NCAA Division I West Preliminary Round in Austin, Texas. For each individual event contested at each of the Preliminary Round sites, the top 48 declared student-athletes will be accepted into the competition. For each relay event, the top 24 declared relay teams will be accepted into the competition. Combined events (Heptathlon and Decathlon), are not contested at the Preliminary Round sites.
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.
