2015 David Hermery Valentine Invitational Results (Day 2 - Men)

2015 Husky Classic Results (Day 2)
2015 UW Indoor Open Results

Once again taking part in the Boston University David Hemery Valentine Invitational and University of Washington's Husky Classic, ART U track & field enjoyed a memorable Saturday with Jordan Edwards returning to the country's #1 the 400m, Valentin Pepiot debuting with a NCAA provisional qualifier in the 3000m, a new program record in the 60m hurdles, and a host of lifetime bests on the East Coast.

"Yesterday the women threw down the gauntlet and today the men responded!" said head coach Charles Ryan. "This weekend's bi-coastal competitions are easily the best overall single weekend performances we have ever had. The men's team was on a roll today!"

SEATTLE – A small ART U crew made a huge statement on Saturday as an encore to the successful Distance Medley Relays on Friday. It was Edwards' 400m and Pepiot's 3000m that stole the show for the Urban Knights at the Husky Classic.

Edwards took a major step forward in the 400m, dropping a new program record 46.64 that was also the first NCAA automatic qualifying mark of the season for ART U. He would place second of 49 in a field primarily comprised of NCAA Division I talent and rises to #1 in the country at the DII level in the event.

"Jordan delivered a stand-alone performance," said Ryan. "He has a clear gap between himself and the rest of the DII field currently and now with his teammates ready to back him up I know we are looking at a monster 4x400 relay."

"It feels good to be back on top once again," said Edwards. "This was all part of this weekend's plan. I had great competition from Aldrich Bailey (a professional) but didn't allow him to win easily. It was a good run and I'm proud of how I handled my race. There are always just little things that you look back on and wish you did better, but that just allows you to know what to do next time. It was a fun meet overall and I'm even more excited for Nationals to come."

In the 3000m, Pepiot showed his cross country success could translate to the track as he posted an 8:11.64 which serves as a NCAA provisional qualifier. He was 27th out of 82 and also becomes Academy of Art's new record holder with this performance.

"You know what I love about Val? He has a real presence about himself when he races," said Ryan. "You can't teach that; he is a competitor! He has that x-factor that makes him a threat in every race. We have needed that kind of presence in out distance crew for a long time and I'm so happy to know we have it now. Torrey has done a great job getting him ready and I think Val is going to make a lot of people very uncomfortable come NCAA's."

Although it was not her best time this year, Keanna Moody still showed how tough she can be, pushing her way into sixth out of 47 sprinters with a 55.48 in the 400m.

In the UW Indoor Open, a separate meet also taking place on Sunday, Austin Murray set a new program record in the indoor 800m with a 1:53.74. Ericka Taylor also delivered a lifetime best of 2:19.00 in the 800m.


BOSTON – Following up the women's success on Friday, the men offered quite an array of impressive performances with seven personal records in four total events.

The day began with Marlon Britton dropping a new school record of 8.05 in the 60mH. Up against elite-level NCAA Division I talent, he dug deep to place fourth of 81 total competitors. It improves upon his previous mark of 8.13 set earlier this season and further solidifies his NCAA provisional qualifying time.

"Marlon has been really putting in the time to pay attention to the little details in his hurdle races," said Ryan. "He has learned to use his explosiveness to his advantage and, as soon as his technique and timing comes together, he will scare a lot of people. He stamped his ticket to the show today and has come very far in just one year. I'm really proud of him."

Britton would join Roman Skovronski for a pair of PRs in the 200m dash. Skovronski went 22.21 to place 47th in a field of 202 while Britton dropped a 22.42 for a placement in the upper tier as well.

Skovronski led the four-man charge in the 400m dash, dropping to a 48.54 for 26th place out of 190 sprinters. He was followed closely by James Steptoe at 48.72 (28th), Asa Guevara at 48.81 (32nd), and Shaquille Howard at 48.97 (36th). All four times were NCAA provisional qualifiers and the trio of Skovronski, Steptoe, and Guevara all posted personal bests.

"The men's 400m crew has struggled this indoor with inconsistency as they learn how to race indoors, but today, it all started to come together nicely," said Ryan. "James and Roman are starting to put things together. James gets more comfortable and aggressive each week and Roman delivered his performance from lane one which anyone will tell you is almost impossible indoors. Roman is aggressive, very tough-minded, and is poised for a breakthrough race.

Teaming up for the first time this season, it was Skovronski, Howard, Steptoe, and Guevara who turned in the best mark of the year for any four male Urban Knights. The quartet offered a 3:16.62 to place 10th out of 52 teams as well as now top 20 in all of NCAA Division II.

"I was very happy with Asa this weekend as he showed a lot of heart and even some savvy race tactics in the relay," said Ryan. "Asa has never even seen an indoor track till this year and he is learning fast."

Academy of Art approaches the finale of its indoor season with a stop in Nebraska (Feb. 20) and Seattle once again (Feb. 28) prior to the National Championships which take place the second week of March (Mar. 12-14).

"Being nationally significant in both indoor relays is a big piece of what we're are trying to pull off," said Ryan. "Getting the DMR on the list is a big deal and the men's team is right where we want to be moving into championship prep time. Overall it was a pretty amazing weekend for ART U Track & Field now it's back to work because they don't hand out trophies in February."