The Mustangs track and field team began their season over the weekend at the Texas Tech Invitational, where they had eight top-five performances.

SMU’s most successful event was the 3000-meter run, where Kristine Eikrem-Engeset finished first, Monika Korra finished second, and Kajsa Barr placed fourth.

Also with standout performances was Lisa Egarter, who finished second in the high jump when she cleared 1.70 meters.

Gill earned a second place in the weight throw for the Mustangs with an 18.34-meter toss.

Freshman Craishia Washington, competing in her first meet as a Mustang, ran the 200-meter dash in 24.99 seconds, the fourth-fastest indoor time at SMU.

SMU’s track and field schedule this year is busy as usual.

Following the Texas Tech Invitational, their next competition will be the Arkansas Invitational on Jan. 27. Then the Mustangs will head back to Lubbock, Texas, to compete in the Red Raider Invitational on Feb. 4. Shortly after, they will head to Iowa to compete in the Iowa State Classic on Feb. 9.

The Conference USA Indoor Championships will begin on Feb. 9 in Birmingham, Ala.

The Mustangs finished fourth in this competition last year, which was their best result in the competition since joining Conference USA.

Discus and shot put specialist Simoné Du Toit led the Mustangs in this impressive finish last year. Du Toit also finished last year’s season with a fourth place in the NCAA Track and Field discus finals, earning All-American honors for the second straight year. Unfortunately for the Mustangs, the 23-year-old South African is now back home at the University of Johannesburg.

That means key athletes like Kristine Eikrem-Engeset, Monika Korra, Ayla Gill, Lisa Egarter, Helena Perez, and the rest of the track and field squad will have to pick up the slack this season.

For the rest of the track and field team, the season will continue on March 15, for the TCU Horned Frog Invitational.

After the trip to Austin, the Mustangs will be competing at the UTA Bobby Lane Invitational and the Texas Relays shortly afterwards in Austin.

The Sooner Invitational on the April 28 will conclude the season’s Invitationals for the Mustangs.

The Conference USA Outdoor Championships will now begin on May 10. At this point last year, the Mustangs were ranked 15th nationally, and Simoné Du Toit held the nation’s second best score in discus.

Despite not having Du Toit this season, the Mustangs should still expect a strong showing out of their current athletes.

Assuming some of these athletes qualify, the NCAA Outdoor Championships will be held in Des Moines, Iowa, and will begin on June 6.

The Mustangs had eleven players qualify for Nationals last year, and four of these athletes are still with the Mustangs.

There’s no doubt that SMU lost some big talent from last season, but the Mustangs still have strong athletes on both the track and field side of the team that will be looking to prove that SMU can still compete with the best this season, too.