2012 Mt. SAC Relays Results
2012 Beach Invitational Results

Saturday saw Academy of Art University track & field post several new program records with lifetime bests at the Beach Invitational while junior Vashti Thomas achieved the program's new top mark in the 100m hurdles on the Urban Knights' second day of action at the 54th Annual Mt. SAC Relays.

Walnut, CA – Thomas competed in two events for ART U in the Mt. SAC Relays at Hilmer Lodge Stadium and excelled in both. Highlighting the day was her 2nd place finish out of seven runners (with representation from Stanford, USC, and Nigeria) in the 100mH where she completed the race in a personal best time of 13.02. In the process, Thomas set the new program record in the event, surpassing her previous top mark of 13.04 which came earlier this year at the Texas Relays.

“Vashti as usual was a huge topic of conversation around the track this weekend,” head coach Charles Ryan said. “Her performance was even more impressive given that the crashed a hurdle pretty hard and still ran 13.02. She will punch through that manic 13.00 barrier very soon. She beat a top flight field of collegiate hurdlers and took out some professionals in the process. It was a great race.”

In the long jump, Thomas offered a solid distance of 19-5.25 which matches the fifth furthest mark in Academy of Art history. The record books remain fraught with the junior's name after a stellar jumping season thus far.


Cerritos, CA – The Urban Knights were simultaneously well represented at the Beach Invitational on Saturday where new program records included senior Emil Tolliver's run in the 200m dash and junior Stephen Peevy's impressive achievement in the 400m dash.

"The record means a lot to me because I love this school," Tolliver said. "It's funny because when I first started running track, I hated the 200m, but I grown to love it. So when I have the chance to run it, I try to go out there and do my best and just remain relaxed and confident in my coaching and training. When I keep that in mind, I feel that everything will work out just fine."

Out at Jack Rose Track in the event hosted by Long Beach State, Tolliver captured the new top time in the 200m with a 21.33 result. Many of the previous marks in the event had come last season, but the senior bettered them all by a considerable margin and also topped members of Colorado and UC Irvine to claim the best time in his heat. He would execute a strong final burst of speed to win his heat by a considerable margin.

"I felt like the 200m went very well for me," Tolliver said. "Before the race, one of my coaches pulled me to the side, walked me through the race, and explained the different areas and how to run it so I was very relaxed. Plus, after seeing all my teammates running this weekend and hearing about how Vashti did at the pro-level meet in the 100 hurdles at Mt. SAC, I was really hyped and I just fed off all those performances and their energy. I felt like this weekend my teammates and I pushed each other to go out there and run to the best of our abilities in front of a hyped crowd so I just felt really confident and relaxed before the race. I wasn't thinking what time I could run, I was just thinking if I run my race like I know how to, everything will go well. I'm very blessed and thankful to have ran that time."

“Emil's breakthrough this weekend was a testament to hard work and execution,” Coach Ryan said. “For him to get all the way down to 10.6 [on Friday at Mt. SAC] and 21.3 is fantastic. I'm really proud of the work he has put in here both on and off the track and I'm just sad that we won't have him next year. He executed his race plans very well this weekend and was a major highlight this weekend.”

Freshman Jaylon Hicks would also achieve success in the 100m, posting a time of 10.61 which tied him for the second lowest mark in program history.

In his lone individual event of the day, Peevy rose to the top of the ART U marks in the 400m dash with a 48.60 time. The junior had come close to breaking the 49.00 barrier several times this year and finally did so Saturday, beating out runners from LBSU and Idaho in his heat. Both Tolliver and Peevy were also among the Knights competing in the 4x100m relay along with junior Erik Piedad and freshman Jaylon Hicks. That group would finish with the fourth lowest time for Academy of Art (41.71).

Junior Ricco McCloud continued to display his talents in the 400mH with a 57.64 mark. The result puts him second all time in the event.

Seniors Kennedy Kurgat and Simon Mutai competed in the 800m run while senior Daveson Marindich made it onto the program's Top 5 in the 1500m with a 3:56.55 performance. Freshman Jack Nevins also went to work in the 5000m.

For the women, sophomore Chantel King was among the highlights in a memorable 400m dash. She finished with a new personal record of 57.93 which now ranks among the program's Top 5 in the event.

“Chantel is whom I was most proud of this weekend for sure,” Coach Ryan said. “She has come so far along with learning how to compete, train, and focus. I know she was encouraged by her father's presence this weekend after he made the trip out from New Jersey and she seemed to be in a whole other zone all weekend. She ran her best split of the season in the 4x400m relay on Friday and then had a huge PR the next day. It was a big breakthrough for her and our team going into Drake next weekend.”

Senior Jazmin White competed in two events (200m, 400m), coming away with the third lowest time in the 400m. She would complete the race in 57.28 and then added a 24.99 mark in the 200m dash.

Junior Briana Stewart took part in the 100mH and found herself in the upper tier of the competition after posting a 13.82 time. In the 400mH, junior Dominique Berry became the lone name holding all five top marks for Academy of Art in the event. She completed the race in 1:03.63 to take over the fifth lowest mark. Junior Ashley Austin also competed in the 400mH event.

The ART U mid-distance tandem of sophomores Kylie Long and Heather Castro were also among the Knights participating in the 800m run.

Academy of Art looks ahead to another busy week of competition where the teams will partake in the Drake Relays (Apr. 26-28), the Brutus Hamilton Invitational (Apr. 27-28), and the Payton Jordan Invitational (Apr. 29).