U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association National Athlete of the Week Award - Week #7
New Orleans, LA – Several incredible and record-breaking performances were turned in by the Academy of Art University women's track and field team at the 104th Drake Relays this past weekend and the country has taken notice.
A total of seven Urban Knights,
Vashti Thomas,
Julian Purvis,
Briana Stewart,
Jesseka Raymond,
Dinesha Bean,
Dominique Berry, and
Keanna Moody, were honored as Division II National Athletes of the Week, selected by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
The Academy of Art relay teams made the most of their trip to the
Drake Relays, winning a pair of titles and getting an auto-qualifying time in another. In the finals of the 4x100, Raymond, Stewart, Thomas, Bean combined to not only win the Division II section of the event, but the quartet ended up with the fastest time among all collegiate teams at 44.19 - beating out Division I champion Illinois (44.28) from another section. The mark is the fourth-fastest in DII history and is #9 among all collegiate teams in 2013.
The foursome of Thomas, Stewart, Bean, and Purvis tied the 4x100m shuttle hurdle relay collegiate record with a mark of 52.50 - equal to the mark set at the Penn Relays in 2010 by Texas A&M and then-Aggie
Vashti Thomas. The Urban Knights' team of Stewart, Thomas, Berry, and Moody also posted an auto-qualifier in the 4x400 with a time of 3:40.94, good for 3rd in the race and 5th in the division for 2013.
"I really cannot put into words how proud I am of the performances our women delivered this weekend," head coach
Charles Ryan said. "Drake Relays have been on the biggest NCAA showcase meets for over 100 years. There is so much history to this event, so much greatness has been displayed on the Blue Oval and now Academy of Art University will be a name that lives forever in that venue. It's spectacular!"
This is the first USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week honor awarded to a relay team this year.
