Academy of Art University Athletics

Red-shirt freshmanShaquille Howard was among the Academy of Art University's highlights at the Grand Valley State Big Meet with Multi's this past Friday as he exploded to a time in the 400m dash to not only set a school record and a meet record, but also a facility record for the LAX Field/Track Complex which hosts four to five meets annually.

Howard posted a 47.35 mark in the 400m, taking 1st place out of 35 qualified sprinters after a strong final turn with about 60m to go. It was a rare sight at the facility which had previously featured a record of 47.37 by Sammy Biggs of Southern Illinois. Howard's mark, a provisional qualifier for the NCAA Indoor Championships as well as the USA Indoor Championships, is currently ranked 3rd overall in NCAA Division II.

"Shaq is in incredible shape and is starting to figure out how to run these races," head coach Charles Ryan said. "He is a monster when he is competition mode and I only expect him to continue to drop his times. NCAAs are 30 days away and I fully expect him to be in the mix for the title."