The SMU track and field team participated in the Conference USA Track and Field Indoor Championships this weekend in Houston and took eighth place with several strong performances from the Mustangs’ top athletes.
 

Sophomore Simone Du Toit led the way for SMU, capturing first place in the shot put with an NCAA Provisional mark of 16.55m. This is an improvement from last year, when Du Toit finished second in the same event with a throw of 14.63m.
 

Sophomore Victoria Leks, who took first in the high jump at the Iowa State Classic two weeks ago with a mark of 1.73m, came through with another strong performance. This time, her mark was 1.70m, which was good for seventh place.
 

Junior Kristine Eikrem-Engeset, one of SMU’s top runners during fall cross-country, finished with two top-10 finishes in her events, the mile run and the 3000-meter run. In the mile, she crossed the finish line with a time of 4:54.37. She finished just four seconds behind the winner, Becky Wade from Rice University, 4:50.11. She took ninth place in the 3000 with a final time of 9:56.18.
 

Sophomore Amber Evans was another top-10 finisher. She took ninth place in the 400-meter dash. Her final time was 57.41, which was a slight drop from her preliminary time of 56.59. She finished fourth in the prelims.
 

The Mustangs took seventh in the 4×400 meter relay. The team, composed of junior Alexandria Smith, sophomore Alex Pegram, sophomore Amber Evans and sophomore Ebony Cuington, finished with a final time of 3:52.39.
 

SMU did even better in the Women’s Distance Medley, taking second place after being edged out by the Tulsa squad by just .6 seconds. The team, made up of freshman Sara Sjokvist, Pegram, freshman Mary Alenbratt and Eikrem-Engeset, finished in 11:37.95.
 

The team will take to the field again on March 6 at the Notre Dame Last Chance.