2013 Pasadena Games
2013 Johnny Mathis Invitational Results

Photo Gallery (images by Michael Nevins)

The Academy of Art University made two separate appearances on Saturday afternoon, competing in the Pasadena Games hosted by Pasadena City College at Robinson Stadium and the Johnny Mathis Invitational hosted by SF State at Cox Stadium. And the Urban Knights set new program records in addition to some automatic qualifiers for the NCAA Outdoor National Championships.

Pasadena, CA -- Among the top performances at the 2013 Pasadena Games was senior Vashti Thomas crushing all previous program records in the 100m hurdles, an auto qualifying quartet in the women's 4x100m relay, and another program best by redshirt freshman Shaquille Howard in the 400m dash.

In her first official competition in the 100m hurdles since the 2013 season, Thomas showed she was ready to make this final campaign count. The senior qualified for the NCAA Championships with a time of 12.94 that significantly bettered the program's previous #1 mark which she herself set last year. She was 1st of 32 at Pasadena this time around while seniors Briana Stewart and Julian Purvis claimed 2nd (13.42) and 4th (13.59) behind her.

Thomas was also part of a women's 4x100m team which combined the talents of Stewart, junior Dinesha Bean, and senior Jesseka Raymond. That group posted a 45.56, making them the third squad to qualify for Nationals this year. Needless to say, the time was also a new ART U best by more than a full second.

Another new Urban Knights best came from freshman Keanna Moody who delivered a 56.00 in the 400m dash to take nearly a full second off her previous time in the same event one week ago. She finished 6th of 39 in the event.

Moody also teamed up with Stewart, Chantel King, and Bean for the 4x400m relay which Academy of Art won against nine other groupings with their time of 3:45.24.

A special moment also came for two-sport athlete Jasmin Guinn who completed her first successful collegiate long jump (16-4.25) after serving as a major contributor to the ART U Women's Basketball team who won the PacWest Conference Tournament Championship and made the program's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament earlier this month.

On the men's side, sophomore Jaylon Hicks pushed his way up to 2nd of 58 in the 100m dash, delivering a time of 10.54 that was the second lowest of his ART U career. He would later serve as one half of a dynamic duo in the 200m where redshirt freshman Shaquille Howard placed 2nd (21.66) and Hicks took 3rd (21.82).

Both were also part of a group that included redshirt freshman Johnny Carter and senior Erik Piedad who set the new Urban Knights record in the men's 4x100m relay. That quartet offered a new low of 41.29.

In his own individual event, Howard was an absolute beast in the 400m dash. He grabbed 1st place of 37 sprinters with a new ART U record of 46.56. It was the first time he had competed in the outdoor 400m in his collegiate career.

Carter, who was crowned jumps champion of NCAA Division II during the indoor season, made his first attempts on the runway Saturday. He unquestionably dominated the opposition with two of three jumps that were far beyond any of the 23 competitors. His best was a 24-7 (7.49m) that put him 1st Saturday and 2nd in the ART U all-time ranks. He is also 2nd overall in NCAA DII at this current time.


San Francisco, CA –  Highlighting SF State's 2013 Johnny Mathis Invitational were two new Academy of Art program records in distance events with freshman Jens Alban setting a new standard in the 1500m and freshman Arianna Michaels putting up a new Academy of Art #1 in the 5000m.

Beginning on the men's side, Alban pushed to a 3:52.56 mark which serves as the new top time by an Urban Knight in the 1500m. He moves into #1 ahead of ART U legends such as Amos Maru and Daveson Marindich with the impressive time.

Stephen Peevy had a strong day as well, finishing 3rd of 27 in the 400m dash (48.89) and claiming 5th of 40 in the 200m dash with a 22.43 mark. He remains among Academy of Art's Top 5 all-time list in the 400m.

In his first outdoor competition in the 5000m, sophomore Jack Nevins got himself into 10th of 36. Senior Troy Hines II was the first ART U athlete to compete in the 110m hurdles and wound up taking 3rd overall with a time of 15.46.

Michaels had the biggest accomplishment of the day for the Academy of Art women's team as she finished her first collegiate 5000m with a new program record 18:00.23. The time placed her 3rd of 13 runners and crushes the previous ART U #1 by more than a full minute and a half.

The Urban Knights will be back in action this coming week with the Texas Relays (Mar. 27-30) and Cal-Nevada Championships (Mar. 29-30) both on tap.