2012 University of New Mexico Invitational Complete Results

Albuquerque, NM – In an encore to her NCAA leading long jump on Friday, junior Vashti Thomas continued to open eyes around the country with an impressive triple jump Saturday at the 2012 University of New Mexico Invitational. Thomas turned in a 41-6.5 (12.66m) to become the new Academy of Art University record holder in that event and finish off a special weekend for the Texas A&M University transfer. Inside the Indoor Track Convention Center, ART U track & field also saw highlights from three men's sprinters in the 60m.

“Overall I thought it was a pretty good weekend with some amazing feats,” head coach Charles Ryan said. “Obviously there are events we need to run better, but with the indoor season half over, we're in a good place heading into the month of February as we get prepared for outdoor.”

Thomas came right out of the gate with the 41-6.5 triple jump in her first attempt. The mark becomes a new program record significantly improving upon the previous distance of 39-6 Briana Stewart achieved last year in Seattle, WA.

Additionally on the women's side, the Urban Knights saw action in both the 60m dash and 60m hurdles. Senior Jesseka Raymond had her best 60m dash in an ART U uniform, qualifying for the finals with an 8.05 time. She would go on to drop down to an 8.01 in the finals. Junior Dominique Berry (8.36) and Ashley Austin (8.25) also competed in the 60m.

Berry shined in the 60mH where she qualified for the finals after turning in a 10.26 for the preliminary round. She would then go for a 9.42 result in the ultimate race.

In the women's 400m dash, senior Jazmin White led the way with a 57.90 mark which put her 8th overall out of 24 competitors. The time was not only White's lifetime best for indoor, but it also ranks second lowest in the ART U record books.

“Jaz is starting to really understand how to run the race and, as she becomes more comfortable, her time will continue to drop,” Coach Ryan said. “It was exciting to watch her run today.”

Sophomores Chantel King and Kylie Long also partook in the 400m. Senior Stacey Toth was in action in the 1 mile run and completed the race in 6:09.21 to surpass her previous record. Senior Kristen Sanzari achieved success in the 800m with a 2:20.22 run which ranks second all-time.

Two ART U women's teams competed in the 4x400m relay with the foursome of White, Berry, King, and Raymond capturing 6th overall (4:00.00) and the group of Thomas, Sanzari, Long, and Austin taking 8th (4:05.93).

Highlights of the men's action included several lifetime bests in the 60m. All three Knights who ran, freshman Jaylon Hicks, senior Emil Tolliver, and junior Erik Piedad, qualified for the finals after producing top times in prelims. Hicks' time of 6.90 in the preliminary round led the way and now ranks second overall in school history. Tolliver qualified with a 6.95 and then dropped to 6.94 in the finals to finish 7th overall with his lifetime best. Hicks took 9th with a 7.01 in the finals, but Piedad's improvement was most impressive. Piedad qualified with a 7.28 to start and sprinted his way to a 7.17 with a strong lifetime best in the final.

“I was very proud of Erik and Emil today,” Coach Ryan said. “You could really tell they are starting to grasp the concepts we are teaching them. You can see growth as their mechanics are starting to come together and they really had huge personal bests today.”

ART U distance runners Amos Maru, Daveson Marindich, and Jack Nevins also competed Saturday in the 1 mile run. Maru, a senior, finished the race 10th with a time of 4:23.14 while his senior teammate Marindich came in at 15th (4:30.45). Nevins knocked off more than a full second off his time at last week's Run For The Dream, coming in with a 4:36.51 mark.

Also from the distance crew, senior Simon Mutai produced a 2:01.77 in the 800m run which ranks third all-time for Academy of Art only three hundredths of a second behind his previous mark last weekend.

Junior Gavin Robertson was also in action in the 400m dash, only his second competition as an ART U athlete.

The next meet for Academy of Art University track & field returns the Urban Knights to Nampa, ID for the Boise State Bronco Classic on Feb. 4.