Francis Wins Gold In 60M At AAC Indoors

Friday, February 22

Birmingham, Ala.

SMU

AAC Indoor Championships

Francis Wins Gold In 60M At AAC Indoors

Feb 23 | Track & Field

SMU Finishes Fourth At American Conference Indoor Championships

MEET RESULTS

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (SMU) – Chelsea Francis won a conference championship in the 60 meter dash as SMU Track & Field finished fourth at the American Conference Indoor Championships.

As a team, the Mustangs would finish just six points back of third place Wichita State in an eventful weekend. Along with the Shockers, Houston and Cincinnati, the Mustangs had a wide gap on any other teams as SMU finished 19 points clear of 5^th-place UConn.

Francis came into the 60-meter final as the reigning silver medalist in the event and looking to improve her placement in the NCAA Qualifiers. The Carrollton, Texas native was able to win the gold with a time of 7.27, 0.03 seconds better than her closest rival, Brianne Bethel of Houston. In the 200m final, Francis would finish just a millisecond off a podium spot running a 23.64 in the event. Over the two-day event, Francis was responsible for 19 Mustang points. Francis will wait to see if her 60m time, which she improved upon on Friday, is good enough to earn her a spot back in Birmingham for the NCAA Indoor Championship. She would be the first Mustang to compete at the NCAA Indoors since 2014.

Sophomore Cassie Ackemann improved on her performance at the 2018 Championships where she took home bronze. Ackemann captured the silver from Birmingham on Saturday by clearing 1.76m in the high jump, setting a personal record.

Hannah Miller won the ninth medal of her AAC Indoor career with another remarkable performance, this time in the 3000m. The New Zealand native finished in a time of 9:33.07. Svenja Ojstersek would finish just off the medal stand in fourth place with a time of 9:44.40. Senior Anneke Grogan broke her personal record in the event by coming in 10^th with a time of 9:52.16. The Mustangs did their most damage in the three longest events, putting up 37 points across the DMR, 3000m and 5000m.

Freshman Chika Iwuamadi capped off her first indoor season with a medal in the 400m. Iwuamadi overcame some late season adversity to finish in third with a time of 54:28.

A pair of Mustangs scored team points for SMU in the triple jump. Nicole Iloyana tallied a distance of 12.70 on her final of six jumps, just three centimeters off of a medal. Atipa Mabonga set a personal record and came in 6^th with a distance of 12.58.

The Mustangs added to their total in the weekend's final race. The 4x400 team of Iwuamadi, Francis, Madison Pyle and Ashton Woods broke the program record in the event with a time of 3:42.74, beating the previous mark by three seconds. The time was good for a fifth-place finish in the race.

Senior Daniella Murchison competed in her second event of the weekend, the shot put. The Port Isabel native threw for a distance of 13.54m in her final AAC Indoor performance.

The Houston Cougars were the champions on both sides, pulling out the women's victory over No. 2 Wichita State in the meet's final race and running away with the men's title, winning by a 52-point cushion.

MUSTANGS MEDALIST
Chelsea Francis -- 60M GOLD
Hannah Miller -- 5000 SILVER
Hannah Miller -- 3000 SILVER
Cassie Ackemann -- High Jump SILVER
Svenja Ojstersek, Hannah Miller, Madison Pyle, Ashton Woods -- DMR SILVER
Chika Iwuamadi -- 400M BRONZE
Svenja Ojstersek -- 5000M BRONZE

SATURDAY's Results

60 M
1          Chelsea Francis        7.27

High Jump
2          Cassie Ackemann       1.76 (PR)
15        Olivia Witt                    NM

3000M
2          Hannah Miller              9:33.07
4          Svenja Ojstersek         9:44.40
10        Anneke Grogan           9:52.153 (PR)

400 M
3          Chika Iwuamadi        54.28

Triple Jump
4          Nicole Iloanya           12.70
6          Atipa Mabonga           12.58 (PR)

200 M
4          Chelsea Francis        23.64

Shot Put
18        Daniella Murchison   13.54

4x400
5 Woods, Francis, Iwuamadi, Pyle 3:45.66

FRIDAY's Results

DMR
2 Ojstersek, Woods, Pyle, Miller 11:36.89

60M
1-Q       Chelsea Francis         7.26 (MR)

200m Prelims
2-Q       Chelsea Francis         23.53 (PR)

400m
7-Q       Chika Iwuamadi        55.57

5000m
2           Hannah Miller            16:24.15
3           Svenja Ojstersek       16:36.62 (PR)
7           Anneke Grogan         17:04.41

LONG JUMP
14         Nicole Iloanya           5.50

WEIGHT THROW
18         Daniella Murchison 15.15m

PENTATHLON
11         Olivia Witt                  3334 (PR)

Witt's Pentathlon Marks
15         60 Hurdles                  9.60 (PR)
t-9        High Jump                   1.59m
14         Shot Put                      9.06m (PR)
13         Long Jump                  4.99m
2           800M                           2:20.06 (PR)

WOMEN's TEAM SCOREBOARD
1 Houston 98
2 Cincinnati 94.5
3 Wichita State 84
4 SMU 78
5 Uconn 59
6 UCF 54
7 ECU 43
8 Memphis 36.5
9 Tulane 35
10 Temple 31.5
11 Tulsa 14
12 USF 23.5