2018 American Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships
Date	Feb. 23-24, 2018
Location	Birmingham Crossplex (Birmingham, Ala.)
Live Results	XPressTiming
Meet Info	Schedule | Performance List |  Championship Central
Video Feed	American Digital Network Day 1 | Day 2

DALLAS (SMU) - The Mustangs will head to Birmingham, Alabama for the American Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships on Feb. 23-24 at the Birmingham Crossplex.
 
This is the third-straight indoor conference championship to be held at the Crossplex. Events are slated to begin at 9 a.m. Friday with the pentathlon and continue through Saturday, with the awards ceremony wrapping up competition at 3:20 p.m. The top men's and women's teams will be awarded, along with the top three performers in each event. The top finishers will be named All-Conference.
 
The Mustangs finished sixth last season at the indoor conference championship with 44 total points. Distance runner Hannah Miller led SMU as a freshman, with a second-place finish in the 5,000-meters, third in the 3,000-meters, and second as a member of the distance medley relay team. UCF won the championship with 122 points, followed by runner-up Cincinnati with 120 points.

Live video feed will be available through the American Digital Network on Day 1 and Day 2 of the meet. Live results will be posted through XPressTiming.com. More information is available at the American Conference Championship Central site.
 
CONFERENCE-LEADING MARKS (FEB 19):
Going into the conference championship week, the Mustangs hold five American Athletic Conference-leading marks:
60m – Chelsea Francis (7.30) – Tyson Invitational
200m – Latessa Johnson (23.29) – Tyson Invitational
Mile – Hannah Miller (4:45.01) – Music City Challenge
3000m – Hannah Miller (9:26.62) – Vanderbilt Invitational
5000m – Hannah Miller (16:26.76) – Music City Challenge
 
JOHNSON WINS AMERICAN CONFERENCE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK (FEB. 13):
SMU junior Latessa Johnson was named the American Athletic Conference Female Track Athlete of the Week on Feb. 13. Johnson raced a 23.29 in the 200m dash at the Tyson Invitational, breaking the SMU record of 23.48 that she set in 2016. She now holds the top time in the American and the No. 22 mark in the NCAA in the event. Johnson follows sophomores Hannah Miller and Chelsea Francis as the third SMU athlete to win the honor this season. The Dallas native also earned the honor in April 2017 after earning conference-leading marks in both the 200m and 100m at the Bobcat Invitational.  
 
FRANCIS WINS AMERICAN CONFERENCE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK (JAN. 30):
SMU sophomore Chelsea Francis was named the American Athletic Conference Female Track Athlete of the Week on Jan. 30. The Carrollton, Texas native ran a 7.39 in both the prelims and semifinals and improved to 7.34 in the finals to win the event. The mark gave Francis the top spot in the American Athletic Conference 60m rankings and put her at 23rd in the nation with an NCAA-qualifying time. Her finish also gives her the second-best indoor 60m time in SMU history behind Stephanie Kalu's time of 7.28 set in 2014. Francis was also a member of the second-place 4x400m relay at the Houston Invitational.

MILLER WINS AMERICAN CONFERENCE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK (JAN. 23):
SMU sophomore Hannah Miller was named the American Athletic Conference Female Track Athlete of the Week on Jan. 23. The award comes days after Miller set a new personal record and broke the existing SMU record in the 3000m at the Vanderbilt Invitational in Nashville, Tennessee. Miller placed fifth in the event with a time of 9:26.62, beating her own PR of 9:29.43 set in 2017 and the school record of 9:28.90 set by Mary Alenbratt in 2013. The mark also put Miller atop the American Athletic Conference rankings in the women's 3000m. The Invercargill, New Zealand native leads the second-place athlete by nearly 20 seconds.
 
UP NEXT:
Following the conference championships, qualifying student-athletes will compete at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships on March 9-10 in College Station, Texas at the Gilliam Indoor Stadium. Outdoor season begins March 16-17 with the TCU Invitational.
 
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. Find SMU Athletics on Twitter at @SMUMustangs or Instagram at SMU.Mustangs.