Mustangs Head to American Conference Outdoor Championships

Friday, May 11

Cincinnati, OH / Gettler Stadium

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SMU

American Athletic Conference

Mustangs Head to American Conference Outdoor Championships

May 9 | Track & Field

2018 American Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships
Date	May 11-13, 2018
Location	Gettler Stadium (Hosted by Cincinnati)
Live Results	FinishTiming.com
Live Coverage	American Digital Network (Facebook Live)
Meet Info	Heat Sheets \| Schedule \| Championship Central
Social Media	Facebook \| Twitter \| Instagram

DALLAS (SMU) – SMU will travel to the American Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships on May 11-13 in search of its first outdoor track and field conference title since winning back-to-back in 2015 and 2014. The conference meet will be held at Gettler Stadium on the campus of women's defending champion Cincinnati for the first time.

The Mustangs finished fifth at last season's outdoor conference championship with 96 points.

Women's events kick off on Friday at 1:30 p.m. with the hammer throw followed by the first four events of the heptathlon at 1 p.m. Saturday's slate features the remainder of the heptathlon in addition to long jump, discus, sprints trials and the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Competition concludes Sunday with the remainder of track and field events and the awards ceremony at 8:10 p.m.

Live results will be available here and live coverage will be on the American Digital Network via Facebook Live.

The Mustangs are fresh from a week off of competition after concluding the regular season at the Bobcat Classic. Chelsea Francis earned NCAA West qualifying marks in the 100m dash after winning the event in 11.22w. The mark ties for 17^th in the NCAA and puts her on top of the American Conference performance list. Senior thrower Tochi Nlemchi earned her third shot put title of the season with a mark of 16.49m and finished second in the discus with a PR mark of 48.27m. Hannah Miller tallied SMU's third and final event win with her 1,500m finish. Her time of 4:28.40 earned her fifth event win of outdoor season.

OUTDOOR SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

Hannah Miller picked up four straight event titles at the first three meets of outdoor season (TCU Invitational, Arkansas Spring Invitational and Stanford Invitational). At Stanford, she won her section of the 10,000m in a PR 33:43.35 for the third-best time in program history. The sophomore set a meet record in the 3,000m at the Arkansas Spring Invitational (9:35.67). Miller closed out the regular season by winning the 1,500m at the Bobcat Classic in 4:28.40.
Latessa Johnson tops the 200m conference performance list and sits at second on the 100m list behind teammate Chelsea Francis. She ranks nationally in both events at 23rd in the 100m and 18th in the 200m. She took eighth in the 100m against elite competition at the Texas Relays in 11.25w. The junior took second place in the invitational 200m at the Mt. SAC Relays with a time of 22.92, just short of her SMU record time of 22.80.
Chelsea Francis gained momentum leading into the conference championships when she won the 100m dash in a personal best 11.22w at the Bobcat Classic. The mark sits her at No. 1 on the conference performance list and No. 17 in the nation Her 200m time of 23.04 at the same meet is second in the conference behind teammate Latessa Johnson.
Tochi Nlemchi earned podium-worthy marks in shot put at each of the Mustangs first three outdoor meets. She collected shot put titles at the TCU Invitational and the Arkansas Spring invitational and followed it up with a second-place and conference-leading mark of 16.71m at the Texas Relays. Nlemchi won her third shot put title of the season at the Bobcat Classic (16.49m).
Freshman Atipa Mabonga found her stride at the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate, collecting her first collegiate triple jump title with a measure of 12.48m. Just a week later, Mabonga beat that mark with a jump of 12.50m at the Bobcat Classic. The mark ranks fourth in the American, fifth all-time at SMU and is a collegiate best for the freshman.
Junior Madison Pyle won the 800m at the Bobcat Invitational in 2:12.60, shaving nearly ten seconds from her previous outdoor PR of 2:22.05 and earning her first collegiate event win. Pyle set a PR in the 400-meter dash at the Bobcat Classic, recording the program's ninth-best time (56.04m) in the event.

LAST YEAR'S OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Mustangs recorded nine all-conference honors at last year's American Conference Outdoor Championships, with Hannah Miller and Chelsea Francis leading the way with two medals apiece.

Latessa Johnson claimed her second-career 200m conference title with a stadium record time of 23.10 (+2.8 mps). Francis set The American record in the 100m dash with a personal best time of 11.34 seconds. The Carrollton, Texas, native just missed tying Stephanie Kalu's school record by .01 seconds. The freshman also collected six points for the Mustangs in the 200m running a personal best 23.24 (+2.8 mps) to grab her second medal of the championships.

Miller earned a third-place finish in the 10,000-meters in a time of 34:47.28 for the fourth-fastest time in school history. She claimed bronze in the 5,000m in 16:26.63.

SMU totaled 96 points for fifth place.

MUSTANGS WITH TOP-25 NCAA RANKINGS (MAY 9)
Based on the TFRRS.ORG NCAA performance list:
100m
17. Chelsea Francis (11.22w) – Bobcat Classic
23. Latessa Johnson (11.25w) – Texas Relays

200m
18. Latessa Johnson (22.92) – Mt. SAC Relays

10,000m
19. Hannah Miller (33:43.35) – Stanford Invitational

Shot Put
19. Tochi Nlemchi (16.71m) – Texas Relays

MUSTANGS WITH TOP-10 CONFERENCE MARKS (MAY 9)
Based on the TFRRS.ORG American Athletic Conference Performance List:
100m
1. Chelsea Francis (11.22w) – Bobcat Classic
2. Latessa Johnson (11.25w) – Texas Relays
8. Alexis Center (11.61) – Arkansas Spring Invitational

200m
1. Latessa Johnson (22.92) – Mt. SAC Relays
2. Chelsea Francis (23.04w) – Bobcat Classic

800m
10. Tess Misgen (2:11.30) – Arkansas Spring Invitational

1,500m
3. Hannah Miller (4:28.11) – TCU Invitational

5,000m
1. Hannah Miller (16:09.99) – Mt. SAC Relays
5. Svenja Ojstersek (16:44.85) – Mt. SAC Relays
7. Anneke Grogan (16:56.61) – Mt. SAC Relays

10,000m
1. Hannah Miller (33:43.35) – Stanford Invitational
3. Svenja Ojstersek (34:54.72) – Mt. SAC Relays
6. Marlene Gomez-Islinger (35:14.57) – San Francisco State Distance Carnival

400H
8. Madison Pyle (1:01.28) – Arkansas Spring Invitational

3,000m Steeplechase
9. Anneke Grogan (10:52.47) – Mt. SAC Relays

4x100 Relay
5. SMU (45.48) – Arkansas Spring Invitational

High Jump
5. Cassie Ackemann (1.73m) – TCU Invitational

Triple Jump
4. Atipa Mabonga (12.50m) – Bobcat Classic

Shot Put
1. Tochi Nlemchi (16.71m) – Texas Relays

Discus
10. Tochi Nlemchi (48.27m) – Bobcat Classic

Heptathlon
4. Anna Novosadova (4,613 points) – Bobcat Invitational

INDOOR SEASON RECAP
The Mustangs finished indoor season with a runner-up finish at the American Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships, earning seven all-conference finishes. SMU totaled 85 points and finished behind Cincinnati (147 points) for the team's best finish since 2014.

The push was led by Hannah Miller, who picked up individual titles in the 3,000-meter and the 5,000-meter and a second-place finish as a member of the distance medley. She earned the Most Valuable Performer on the women's side of the meet, totaling the most points of any individual. Miller placed fifth in the 3,000-meter at the Vanderbilt Invitational, setting a new PR and school record with a mark of 9:26.62. The finish earned her the American Conference Female Track Athlete of the Week award on Jan. 24.

Latessa Johnson added to her SMU legacy in indoor, finishing first in the 200m dash at the conference championships with a meet and school record-breaking time of 23.17. The mark edged out her previous record time of 23.29, which she set just weeks before at the Tyson Invitational. Johnson earned the AAC Women's Indoor Track Most Outstanding Performance Award and the conference Athlete of the Week honor on Feb. 13. She finished indoor season with the 22^nd best time in the NCAA and the top time in the American.

Chelsea Francis was a standout in the 60m and the 200m throughout indoor season. The sophomore earned All-AAC honors in both events, with silver in the 60m and bronze in the 200m. She finished indoor with two wins in the 60m (Red Raider Invitational, Houston Invitational) and ran a 7.30 at the Tyson Invitational to secure the second-best time in program history. She won the American Female Track Athlete of the Week on Jan. 30 and finished indoor with the top 60m time and the third-best 200m time in the American Conference.

The Mustangs also picked up an All-Conference finish in the distance medley, comprised of Tess Misgen, Madison Pyle, Ashton Woods and Hannah Miller. The relay finished in 11:35.33. Freshman Cassie Ackemann added the final medal to SMU's count, earning bronze in the high jump with a mark of 1.73m.

INDOOR SEASON CONFERENCE HONORS
Hannah Miller
    Female Most Valuable Performer Award
    All-Conference – 5,000m (gold), 3,000m (gold)
    American Conference Female Track Athlete of the Week (Jan. 23)
Chelsea Francis
    All-Conference – 60m dash (silver), 200m dash (bronze)
    American Conference Female Track Athlete of the Week (Jan. 30)
Latessa Johnson
    AAC Women's Indoor Track Most Outstanding Performance Award (200m dash)
    All-Conference – 200m dash (gold)
    American Conference Female Track Athlete of the Week (Feb. 13)
Cassie Ackemann
    All-Conference – High Jump (bronze)
Tess Misgen, Madison Pyle, Ashton Woods, Hannah Miller
    All-Conference – Distance Medley (silver)

UP NEXT
The Mustangs will continue to train until the American Athletic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships May 11-13 in Cincinnati, Ohio.

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