FORT WORTH, Texas (SMU) – The SMU Track and Field team picked up right where they left off after indoor season, opening the outdoor campaign with five first-place finishes at the TCU Invitational Friday and Saturday at the Lowdon Track & Field Complex.
Distance runner
Hannah Miller followed her dominant indoor season with two top finishes. The sophomore earned first in the 1500-meter with a time of 4:28.11 and also claimed the top spot in the 3000-meter in 9:34.90. Both finishes were outdoor personal bests for the Invercargill, New Zealand native.
Miller was joined by four Mustangs in the top 10 of the 1500-meter event.
Svenja Ojstersek took third with a time of 4:35.54, followed closely by
Marlene Gomez-Islinger in fifth at 4:37.65. Charlotte Tara Murphy claimed seventh with a mark of 4:39.72, and
Anneke Grogan took ninth in 4:45.10.
Alison Esparza (4:46.39) and
Robin Montemayor (4:55.60) also established personal records in the 1500-meter, taking 11
th and 18
th, respectively.
The Mustang distance runners also impressed in the 3000-meter, with six athletes finishing in the top 10. Grogan established a new PR of 9:50.68 to take second place, followed by Murphy in fifth with a personal-best mark of 9:55.65. Ojstersek took seventh (9:57.29), Gomez-Islinger claimed eighth (10:14.72), and Esparza finished tenth (10:25.51) in the event.
With her second PR of the day, Montemayor finished 17
th in 10:55.07.
Tess Misgen delivered a first-place finish in the 800-meter with a time of 2:12.26, continuing the successful freshman season she began with an all-conference distance medley finish in indoor.
Madison Pyle completed SMU's middle distance finishes for the day, claiming tenth in the 400-meter dash with a personal-best time of 56.69.
SMU's sprinters were led by junior
Latessa Johnson, who finished first in the 100-meter dash in 11:35. The mark sets a new personal best and is the third fastest time in SMU history. She was joined by
Chelsea Francis (11:54) in fourth and
Alexis Center (11.74) in 13
th.
The Mustangs continued to build momentum in field events with a top finish by 2016 Second Team All-American
Tochi Nlemchi in shot put with a throw of 16.2m (53-1.75).
In the high jump, freshman
Cassie Ackemann delivered a 1.73m (5-8.00) finish to claim second-place.
Atipa Mabonga finished third in the triple jump with a mark of 12.10m (39-8.50), the fifth-best mark in SMU history.
The Mustangs will continue the season at the Arkansas Spring Invitational on March 23-24 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
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