Results
 

Lakeland, Fla. -- The Mustangs came in fourth place in the 2021 American Athletics Conference Championship – the highest team placement since 2018 – with two athletes receiving AAC All-Conference awards.

Kaitlyn Gearin crossed the finish line for second place at the championship race with a time of 21:18.7. She was awarded AAC Freshman of the Year award for her race along with All-Conference honors. Her race is now written in SMU history as the highest finish since 2018 when Svenja Ojstersek placed second.

"I am very happy with my race today and proud of the effort that the team put in," Gearin said. "I went into the race confident that I could finish in the top ten, but I was unsure of how the race would unfold, so crossing the finish line in second place felt really great."

"We had some serious individual performances," Head Coach A' Havalha Haynes said. 

Maddie Hulcy had her best race of the year, according to Haynes, earning All-Conference honors for her 14^th place finish with a time of 22:02.6. Hulcy said going into the race, she knew the team was going to have to focus on having a tough mentality after they got caught in a rainstorm during the race preview leaving behind extremely muddy conditions. 

"During the race, I was really just focused on listening to our coaches about my position in the race and trying to improve the team score," Hulcy said. "I was really proud to be All-Conference for the first time in my collegiate career and represent SMU because I think this program is on the rise and I'm proud to be a part of it."

Mia Olsen was next across the line for the Mustangs placing 24^th among the field. She ran a time of 22:31.1 overtaking athletes until the very end of the race. At the half way point of the race, she was in 30^th and Coach Hav believes she moved up seven to 10 placements over the final two kilometers.

"Mia Olsen did not back down over the final kilometers," Haynes said.

However, the team performance turned out to be a disappointing outcome for the Mustangs. Haynes said it is "a tough pill to swallow" that they were so close to reaching their goals being only eight points from their initial goal of third and 10 points from second place.

"We came in with clear goals for this championship," Haynes said. "As a team, we missed the mark."

The mindset of their coach was also reflected in how the team felt about their performance as a whole.

"In the end, I think we fell a little short of our goal, but it was still a major improvement from last year and I know that everyone gave their all," Hulcy said.

Gearin said, moving forward, she is excited for the team to finish the season strong, and she is grateful for her teammates and her coaching staff.

"It was tough to come in fourth place as a team being just 10 points out of second place, but I am so proud of the work that the team has put in to get to this place and all of us are ready to race tough at regionals," Gearin said.

Despite the highest team finish ever under this coaching staff and the highest since 2018, the team and coaching staff is hungry for more and won't back down from their goals as they prepare for the NCAA Regionals in Waco, Texas on Friday, Nov. 12.

"Regardless, I know what this group of women is capable of," Haynes said. "We will regroup, get back to the grind and get it right at regionals."

TEAM RESULTS

1. Tulsa 48
2. Cincinnati 91
3. Temple 93
4. SMU 101
5. East Carolina 137
6. Wichita State 165
7. UCF 171
8. Houston 182
9. Memphis 214
10. Tulane 254
11. South Florida 303

SMU INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

2 Kaitlyn Gearin 21:18.7

14 Maddie Hulcy 22:02.6

24 Mia Olsen 22:31.1

30 Steffi Jones 22:38.8

33 Cayla Eckenroth 22:47.6

36 Jessie Crowley 22:54.9

55 Kendall Saeger 23:36.2

56 Leoni Mierswa 23:40.7