2015 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Nationals (Day 2)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --Â When all was said and done inside the Birmingham Crossplex, Academy of Art University Track & Field came away with seven NCAA Division II All-American trophies in the finale of Indoor Nationals. Jordan Edwards earned an individual championship in the 400m dash, then went top three in both the 200m and with his teammates in the 4x400m to highlight the day.
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"The National Championships are the pinnacle of what we do and the greatest test we face, but also the best teacher," said interim head coach Torrey Olson. "I'm proud of both teams and how they carried themselves throughout the weekend."
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Edwards showed true determination to start the day, blazing to a 46.71 in his heat of the 400m. He ousted Omar Johnson of St. Augustine's by a considerable margin and proved without a doubt to be the fastest man in the event. It is his second individual title with his first coming in last year's outdoor 400m.
Like Friday, Edwards had just enough time to hoist his trophy atop the #1 spot on the podium before he had to head back out for the 200m finals. The Denver, Colorado native once again won his heat and ended up finishing third overall for another All-American honor. His time of 21.18 was a new program record and was four-tenths of a second off second place.
"The meet was a mixture of learning experiences for the future and breakthroughs from previous learning experiences," said Olson. "In particular,
Jordan Edwards came in with some unfinished business and put on incredible performances."
Edwards joined
Roman Skovronski,
James Steptoe, and
Shaquille Howard in the men's 4x400m which closed the two-day meet. The Urban Knights won their heat with a 3:12.76 which serves as another new program-best and put them second overall out of 12 teams in the event. The collective performance was less than a second off champion St. Augustine's and surely worthy of All-American honors.
"Jordan ran through quite a bit of pain in the relay and Shaq ran with the tremendous pride," said Olson. "I'm proud of the men's team for staying focused in a tough heat. You could see they were running for each other. This is a great team and I'm excited to think about what they're capable of in outdoor."
At 24.00 collective points and eighth overall, this is the ART U men's highest finish ever in a National Championship.
"I think the kids came out and overachieved. They weren't ranked in top 10 coming in, but did phenomenal job to finish eighth," said assistant coach Brandon Campbell. "They were recovering faster than I've ever seen and everyone was on the same page today. There was a lot of emotion and they battled through."
On the women's side,
Keanna Moody brings back an All-American honor as well after finishing seventh in the 400m dash. It is her first indoor individual All-American award after she was honored in the indoor 4x400m last season.
Academy of Art now turns its full attention to the 2015 outdoor campaign which resumes with the Johnny Mathis Invitational hosted by SF State on Mar. 20-21 and Sacramento State's Hornet Invitational on Mar. 21.
