2012 Drake Relays Results

2012 Brutus Hamilton Open/Invitational Results

Starting off one of the busiest weekends of the season for Academy of Art University track & field, the Urban Knights achieved success simultaneously at the Drake Relays in Iowa and the more local Brutus Hamilton Invitational hosted by Cal. Junior Vashti Thomas qualified for finals in the 100m hurdles, winning the event by a considerable margin, and she was then part of the ART U quartet who also reached the finals in the 4x400m relay. Highlights from Brutus Hamilton included Top 3 placements for seniors Emil Tolliver (100m) and Daveson Marindich (5000m) as well as another new program for junior Ricco McCloud in the 400m hurdles.

Des Moines, IA – Thomas delivered a memorable performance in the 100mH at an elite-level meet once again on Friday in the Drake Relays held at Drake Stadium. The San Jose, CA native claimed 1st overall in the preliminary race with a time of 13.31 which beat out competitors from Arkansas, Michigan State, and Texas just to name a few. The result was the third-lowest in ART U history and, needless to say, it put her in the weekend's finals which will take place on Saturday.

Thomas would combine with senior Jazmin White, junior Dominique Berry, and sophomore Chantel King to post yet another strong time in the women's 4x400m on Friday. The team offered a 3:50.56 mark which was 4th overall out of 28 squads, effectively qualifying the Urban Knights for Saturday's finals.

“Today was all about setting up tomorrow,” head coach Charles Ryan said. “You cannot think about winning until you first make the finals. Everyone did their job today.”


Berkeley, CA – With much of the Academy of Art women's track & field team out of state, the men's side provided many of the top performances in Cal's Brutus Hamiltion Invitational over at Edwards Stadium. Ricco McCloud, who has continually built on his success in the 400mH, posted another top time in the event while Emil Tolliver and Daveson Marindich each ran strong races in the 100m dash and 5000m respectively.

Up against just three other competitors in his event, McCloud still shined with a 56.32 mark good for second overall. His time, a new Urban Knight #1 on the all-time list, bettered the 56.90 he had two weeks ago in the Mondo Mid-Major Challenge.

Coming off a weekend where he posted a lifetime best and a new ART U record in separate events, Tolliver sprinted his way to 3rd overall in the 100m. His time of 10.93 would put him in the upper tier ahead of five runners from Cal.

Another strong sprint performance came from junior Stephen Peevy who secured a 4th place finish out of 11 in the 200m dash. He crossed the line at 22.10 for his lifetime best in an Urban Knight uniform.

Marindich went right to work in a crowded 5000m run which included 46 other participants. Supported by teammates Amos Maru and Jack Nevins in the race, Marindich led the way and eventually finished with a time of 14:27.41 en route to his 3rd place result. The mark is his second lowest of the year and ranks third on the all-time list. Maru would claim 7th overall (14:32.38) and Nevins finished 25th (15:26.95).

Other ART U action at the Brutus Hamilton Invite included sophomore Kylie Long claiming 5th of 14 in the 800m. Her time of 2:19.07 was a season-best in the event and represents the second lowest mark ever posted by an Academy of Art runner.

"Kylie ran well," assistant coach Ben DeLand said. "She executed well and ran a complete race which is what you look to do towards the end of the season. She really put together all the pieces of the race perfectly."

The Urban Knights will continue with their second day in both the Drake Relays and the Brutus Hamilton Invitational tomorrow, Apr. 28. Stanford's Payton Jordan Invitational comes up Sunday, Apr. 29.