San Francisco, CA --- An almost completely new squad took to the track this season and made good things happen for the Academy of Art University men's and women's track and field teams in 2010.
The women's side saw a significant increase, as they added seven new and talented athletes to the previous seasons’ roster, while still maintaining their excellence. A major strength of this team was the depth of the squad, as well as its balance as each group held their own against the best. Coach Anne Ricketts reflects, “It was great to see that in one year we went from an almost entirely distance team to a well-rounded team of sprinters, jumpers and throwers. This year Academy of Art had a real presence at track meets".
The men’s side saw five additions, in an area that was lacking from the previous season, sprints. The 2009 AAU men’s track team relied heavily on their distance runners to bring home the teams top finishes. This year, with those additions, it was the sprinters turn to bring home the high marks. And that is exactly what they did.
"The sprinters worked hard in the fall building a solid base and came back after Christmas ready to work", said Ricketts. "The work ethic of these guys and how they feed off of each other is great to watch and had an immediate effect on our team”.
In the opening meet of the season, newcomers asserted themselves as valuable commodities by helping the squad seize 15 top 10 finishes three of which were in the top five.
Top female returner
Briana Stewart seized one of the three top five finishes in the opening meet, placing second in the women's 100m with a time of 12.71. Sophomore
Kristen Lee had a stellar debut performance for the Urban Knights as well; she placed third in the women's 100m just a hair behind her teammate.
Lee also grabbed her second top five finish in the women's 200m dash, as she placed second with a time of 26.06. "Kristen is a very talented sprinter who, in my opinion, is just getting started as this is only her second season competing. She has the desire and the talent to do big things", said Ricketts.
Senior
Durelle Williams returned for his final season as an Urban Knight and produced some great results. Among them was finishing within the top 10 in all of the field events his participated in; including a season and career best 13.83m in the triple jump during the UC Davis Classic, while also placing third against some of the west’s top Division I programs.
"Durelle has so much talent and is a natural leader. Unfortunately, again this year he was plagued with hamstring and ankle problems that held him back from being able to compete at the level he could", Ricketts said.
Williams was also a component of the Urban Knights first relay team, Williams, along with
Stephan Jeanpierre,
Aric Armon,
Joey Villasenor,
Ezra Tacosa, and
Erik Piedad all played a hand in expanding the Urban Knights arsenal on the track.
Ricketts continued, " He will be missed a lot by our team, he lead warm-ups and drills every day. The other athletes really looked up to him and admire his talent; he makes everything look easy. I think he will get healthy and continue to compete post -college."
Despite challenges in every meet, the Urban Knights managed to create favorable results. Six male and four female athletes were invited to participate in the Brutus Hamilton Invitational hosted by UC Berkeley on April 23. The honor placed AAU athletes against some of the top-notch athletes from the nations top Division II and Division I programs.
Stewart returned with the schools highest honors of the day; she placed second in the women’s 100m hurdles with a qualifying time of 13.65 and fourth in the Triple Jump (12.01m). The sophomore competed in 14 events over the season, and placed in the top five in 13 of them. She also managed three first place finishes, two in the triple jump; first during the UC Davis Aggie Open (12.43m) and again at the American River Invitational (11.56m) where she also picked up a first place finish in the 100m hurdles (13.56).
“Briana is motivated when others challenge her, which didn't happen on our squad last year because we had so few athletes. It was fun to see her get competitive in practice this year when she saw that some of the other girls were really motivated and could push her", said Ricketts.
Stewart was not the only athlete excelling during the year;
Kennedy Kurgat achieved a lifetime best in the 800m run, finishing eighth in a time of 1:52.78 at the Brutus Hamilton meet. The time improved upon his previous best time by two seconds.
Kurgat could be counted on to run consistently for the Urban Knights in an event that he had not competed in before this year.
"Kennedy was hurt last year so cross country was all about getting him back in shape", said Ricketts. "When he is healthy and injury free, he can do big things. He's like a freight train coming down the track. He's so strong, fast, and not afraid to go for it", Ricketts added.
Ricketts continued with this, "It was satisfying to see him start to get his speed and confidence back after a long lay off and bring his time down week to week"
Aric Armon made an immediate impact on this young Urban Knight squad; as captain he pushed his teammates to get better every day in practice and in every meet. The junior transfer set the bar high to open the season, his time of 22.90 in the 200m dash earned him a seventh place finish at the CSU Stanislaus Open.
Armon bested that time at the SF Distance Carnival; he placed fourth with a time of 22.65. The SF Distance Carnival is also where
Armon earned his only first place honor of the season, he clocked in with a time of 11.17 in the 100m dash.
"After a pulled hamstring, Aric was reluctant to sprint so he wanted to do the 800", said Ricketts. "I've always felt Aric could be a strong 800 runner, he's already got the speed, and his build looks like an 800 runner", Ricketts continued.
"I'm hoping next year we can get him to do a few more 800's. He's got a strong middle distance group to push him and it would also help his 400", Ricketts concluded.
Another fresh face that made an immediate impact was junior transfer
Jazmin White.
White brought more speed to the women’s lineup and challenged Stewart everyday in practice.
"Jazmine is a very focused young woman. She's so strong when she runs and really wants to be pushed to be better. That attitude and willingness to work is great for the team because it pushes everyone around her", added Ricketts.
White earned 11 top 10 finishes this season, including one first place honor at the SF State Distance Carnival. The junior won the Women's 200m dash in 25.87 as well as placed second in the 400m dash, finishing in 59.88. It was at the American River Invitational where
White earned her season best time of 25.69 in the 200m dash.
Emily Allis was another new comer who immediately contributed. The freshman dominated in the hurdle events for the Urban Knights, she earned four top five finishes to go with her six top 10 performances.
Allis earned a lifetime best in the 400m hurdles during the Brutus Hamilton Invitational; she finished the race in 1:05.94.
Allis also achieved a personal best in the 100m hurdles; she finished in 15.16 at the UC Davis Aggie Open. She tied her season lowest finish of fourth place three times this season, twice during the Kin Duyst Invitational and once during the American River Invitational.
"Coach Vic really worked with Emily on her hurdle technique [this season] so she started to see her times go down as she started to catch on to the technique. With more technical work next year, I think Emily is going to continue to get better and better. She's a very versatile athlete for us to have", said Ricketts.
Simon Mutai,
Geoffrey Cheruiyot,
Daveson Marindich, and
Amos Maru were the Urban Knights key returners, they continued to run strong in the distance events and were called upon to participate in some middle distance events as well.
Cheruiyot took second in the Urban Knights first meet of the season at the CSU Stanislaus Open running the 800m in 2:00.03.
Cheruiyot continued to lower his time in each meet he entered, he recorded a personal best 1:55.18 at the Brutus Hamilton Invitational competing against some of the top DI and DII runners in the country.
Maru also found success in the 800m, while also recording a career best 4:03.07 in the 1500m run during the American River Invitational.
Maru , who only ran the 800m once last season, broke the two minute mark on two separate occasions this season, with his personal best time of 1:58.09 during the Brutus Hamilton Invitational.
Marindich earned five top 15 finishes and one top three finish this 2010 season.
Marindich garnered his highest finish during the Kim Duyst Invitational, placing third in the men’s 5000m run in a season best time of 14:46.77. While
Mutai tackled the 800m with much success this season.
Mutai achieved a lifetime best 1:55.58 during the UC Davis Woody Wilson Classic as he placed fourth in the 800m run.
Mutai finished the season by breaking the two minute mark in his last four races.
Looking back on the season this squad has accomplishment most of what they set out to do, and has overcome many firsts for the program. The Academy of Art track & field team and coaches have established a solid foundation and hope to continue to build on it for years to come.