SMU cross country is in Tulsa this weekend for the 2014 American Athletic Conference Championship. The Mustangs are competing for their fourth consecutive conference championship and their sixth conference win in the last seven years. SMU is ranked fourth in the South Central Region, trailing Arkansas, Baylor and Lamar.
Head Coach Cathy Casey is in her eleventh year as a Mustang and was named the conference’s Coach of the Year last season. The Mustangs received three votes in the most recent USTFCCCA national poll released on Oct. 21.
At last years championship SMU had six Mustangs finish in the top 11. The top finish for the Mustangs came from Agnes Sjöström who placed fourth in the field of 75 runners.
Sjöström is a sophomore from Sweden who is making her mark here in the US. She has already had four top-six finishes so far this season, including a first place finish at the UT Arlington Invitational in September.
Also returning for the Mustangs is junior Karoline Skatteboe who has had three top-ten finishes, including one at the Bear Twilight Invitational in August.
Junior teammates and best friends Holly Archer and Shanoah Souza will also be competing this weekend. The duo combined for five top-ten finishes this season. Souza had a third place finish at UT Arlington, marking her season best while Archer’s best was also at the UTA meet where she finished sixth.
During the 2013 season Archer, Sjöström, Skatteboe, Souza and junior Melanie Stemper earned all-conference honors after all placing in the top 11.
The Mustangs do have one less team to worry about this year as 2013 second place team, Louisville, moved into the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Mustang’s biggest threat for the conference title will come from UConn, UCF and USF. In 2013 the Huskies placed third at the AAC Championship and are now ranked No. 12 in the Northeast Region.
Junior Anne-Marie Blaney leads the UCF team and finished fourth place last season right behind UConn. Blaney has continued to strive this season and has recorded four first place finishes.
Ironically, Blaney’s sister, Caroline Blaney, paces the USF team. The “little” sister has four top-five finishes and has finished second to her older sister twice.
The 6K race will begin at 10 a.m. CT at the Mohawk Sports Complex on Friday. After the conference championship the Mustangs head to the South Central Regional in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on Friday, Nov. 14 at 11 a.m. CT.
