PacWest Release
Phoenix, AZ – After leading Academy of Art University Track & Field to a pair of NCAA National Championships, senior Vashti Thomas has officially been named Women's Athlete of the Year by the Pacific West Conference. Thomas is the first athlete in ART U history to receive such a distinct honor from the conference.
"It's a real honor and I'm so happy that I've achieved so much wearing the Academy of Art across my chest," Thomas said. "It means everything to me that we have pioneered the success of the program. It was a group effort and I wouldn't have made it this far without all my teammates, my coaches, my fans, the whole athletic department, and the school. It was not just me; everyone played a huge part in making this happen!"
The sports information directors of the conference voted on the PacWest Women's Athlete of the Year award.
A contributor of more than 70 points to each of the Urban Knights' 2013 National Championships, Thomas was second to none at the NCAA Division II level this season and a vital part of ART U's success.
In the culmination of the Knights' 2013 indoor season, Thomas was named National Track Athlete of the Year as chosen by the nation's coaches. An instrumental part in the Urban Knights' first-ever National Championship, Thomas did something essentially unheard of, scoring in five individual events for her squad over a two-day span at Nationals. She scored 35 of the Urban Knights' 59 team points, including individual titles in the long jump (20-0.75/6.19m) and at 200 meters in 23.428 – just .002 ahead of runner-up Danielle Williams of Johnson C. Smith. For indoor, Thomas was a five-time All-American (60m, 60mH, 200m, LJ, TJ, 4x400m) and posted four individual school records (60m, 60mH, 200m, 4x400m)
During outdoor, where the Knights brought home another National Championship, Thomas was a six-time NCAA All-American (200m, 100mH, 4x100m, 4x400m, LJ, TJ), and came in with a #1 ranking in the 200m, 100mH, LJ, and 4x100m. She secured the individual title in the 100mH, setting a new NCAA DII Championship meet record of 12.74. A three-time USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week, Thomas had a magical senior year where, in addition to the aforementioned success, she also tied NCAA record in 4x100m shuttle hurdles (52.50) and that same weekend broke the Drake Relays record in 4x100m (44.19). Over the course of outdoor, she delivered school records in five events (200m, 100mH, 4x100m, 4x400m, 4x400mH).
"Vashti is undoubtedly the best athlete in Division II for 2013 and she deserves any recognition that comes her way," head coach Charles Ryan said.
Thomas completed her outdoor campaign with six more All-American trophies to give her a total of 11 in her senior season. Those were on top of her indoor and outdoor High Point Athlete of the Meet awards for both championships (outdoor, indoor), Division II Indoor Track Athlete of the Year, co-PacWest Women's Track Athlete of the Year, and All-West Region Indoor Track Athlete of the Year just to name a few of her additional titles.
She would later compete alongside numerous elite professional track athletes in the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships before relocating overseas where she competed in the Diamond League and won a gold medal in the 100mH at the World University Games in Russia.
