2015 Sun Angel Classic ResultsÂ
TEMPE, Ariz. – Under the lights against world-class runners,
Jordan Edwards posted a pair of impressive times in the 400m and 200m to highlight Academy of Art University in the 36th Annual Sun Angel Classic at Arizona State's Sun Angel Stadium. Edwards emerged #1 in NCAA Division II in both events while competing against the likes of Olympians Anaso Jobodwana, Ryan Bailey, and Kirani James.
In the 400m Premiere, Edwards found himself one lane over from Kirani James, who earned a gold medal in the event at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Pushing himself in this first 400m of the year, Edwards delivered a 46.56 which matched the NCAA DII automatic qualifying mark for Nationals.
The ART U captain did not have much time to recover before he was back out for the 200m Preimere to take on Jobodwana and a host of other elite sprinters. Edwards held his own with the group, going 20.96 to better the 21.01 he offered at the SDSU Aztec Invitational. This mark would also put him #1 in the country in DII, giving him now top-four times in four different events (100m, 200m, 400m, 4x100m) thus far.
"I felt like I did pretty well today," said Edwards. "I did want a better time in the 400, but I still felt like I competed how I needed to; just have to make minor tweaks here and there. I definitely surprised myself with being able to run 20.96 out of lane one and only an hour after running against the Olympic champion in the 400 before. It always feels good to lead the country and my times are only going to continue to drop."
Saturday's eventful afternoon began with
Hadiyah Muhammad nearly eclipsing her season-best in the triple jump with a 37-3.25. Early on in the sprint events,
Chante Sneed went for their own new season-best in the 400m.
Next up,
James Steptoe dropped the third-lowest time in program history on the men's side with a 48.17.
Alexander McNally posted his collegiate best in the 100m dash, going 11.00 flat.
Simultaneously while
Amanda Odesjo was reaching the finals of the long jump, both Sneed and
Schae Graham came away with season-bests in the 200m. Steptoe also earned a season-best in the men's 200m. Odesjo was resilient in the long jump prelims, hitting a 17-4.75 (5.30m) in her second attempt and finishing seventh overall when all jumps were complete.
This coming weekend, Academy of Art will compete in three different meets including two in Southern California, Bryan Clay Invitational (Apr. 17) and Mt. SAC Relays (Apr. 17-18), and one locally, CSUEB/Chabot Legacy Meet (Apr. 17-18).
