2016 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field National Championships Results - Men | Women

PITTSBURG, Kan. – Eight All-American trophies. Two individual national champions. A spot on the podium.

Saturday's finale of the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field National Championships was loaded with excitement as the Academy of Art University men's team achieved a tremendous amount of national success in a brief four-hour span inside the Robert W. Plaster Center on the campus of Pitt State.

Mobolade Ajomale started the day's sprint events with a new 60m school record en route to the first of what would be back-to-back national champions. Jordan Edwards followed by defending his national title in the 400m shortly thereafter and both added All-American honors in the 200m as well.

That duo then joined Roman Skovronski and Alexander McNally in the 4x400m relay where the Urban Knights had a chance to walk away with the program's first team national championship on the men's side and though they fell 10 points short, that foursome still finished All-Americans.

"These young men really stepped up to the challenge today and had one another's back," said head coach Kevin LaSure. "Not everything went as planned throughout the meet, but they were able to fight through it and continue to compete as hard as they possibly could, putting us in a position to win the overall meet going into the last event. To have a fighting chance is all you can ever ask for. I'm extremely proud of the way everyone stepped up today and gave everything they had each time they stepped out there. The future is definitely bright and these guys have a lot to be proud of! They represented the program extremely well this weekend and should hold their heads high!"

In a final that paired the two fastest men at 60m in NCAA Division II side by side, Ajomale went head-to-head against Tiffin's Lamar Hargrove. Both improved their prelim times, but it was Ajomale who exploded to a new school record 6.57 that was only 0.02 off the DII Championship meet record. The time marked a lifelong quest to run sub-6.60 and it earned him his first career national championship as a result. Hargrove ended up a full 0.09 seconds behind in second place.

From one individual champion to another, Edwards had put the work in to reach the 400m finals for the second straight year intent on finishing his collegiate track career as the fastest man at that distance once more. The Denver, Colo. native contested the opening heat and made a dramatic push across the finish line to defeat Clafin's Brandon Valetntine-Parris. Edwards' season-best time of 47.02 was 0.02 better than his opponent in the heat and ended up earning him the title by 0.01 over Lincoln (Mo.)'s Faedon Royes who dropped a 47.03 in the final heat.

Both Ajomale and Edwards were back in action less than an hour later in the finals of the 200m. In the lane next to Hargrove once again, Ajomale unleashed a new lifetime best, ART U record, and NCAA Championship record of 20.82. However, he would end up taking second to Hargrove by just 0.01 in what was an incredible finish as both sprinters pushed across the line. Edwards claimed eighth, but not by much, posting a time of 21.613 that was 0.001 behind McKendree's Demontez McCray in seventh.

Through 16 of 17 events scored, Academy of Art sat in fourth overall with 38.0 points and with their fate in their hands after Lincoln (Mo.)'s 4x400m relay surpassed that of Tiffin in the third of four heats. Tiffin's team score had been 41.0 coming into the event and Adams State was the leader at 47.0 which meant that if ART U could win the 4x4, the national championship would be coming to San Francisco. The combination of Skovronski, Edwards, McNally, and Ajomale ran a gutsy race, but their time of 3:12.48 earned them eighth overall. The team finished just 2.03 seconds from the title though still earned All-American honors for the second straight year. 

As a whole the men's team had already surpassed its previous record point total prior to the results of the 200m and the Urban Knights would go on to score 39.0 points in the end. Their third-place finish, which was shared with Lincoln (Mo.), was the highest in ART U program history and dramatically improved upon the team's previous best of eighth place which came last year.

"Our men accomplished history today," said director of track & field/cross country Torrey Olson. "Our coaching staff did a phenomenal job preparing these athletes and they each went out and gave their best efforts which is always the goal. We had our obstacles and I know they wanted more, but I'm very proud of them and the way they each conducted themselves this weekend. It is huge for the men's program to go back to San Francisco with a trophy."

Roughly 24 hours removed from his All-American honor in the long jump, Johnny Carter was back in action for the triple jump. Fighting through an injury that prevented him from executing jumps in his first two attempts, Carter gave it everything he had on his last to go 47-4.25 (14.43m) and finish 14th overall.

Despite leading for virtually their entire heat, the women's 4x400m relay team of Mistic Scott, Keanna Moody, Schae Graham, and Jasmine Grace ended up taking 13th with a time of 3:48.06.

ART U will turn around and be back in action to continue its outdoor season on Saturday, Mar. 19 at Sacramento State's Hornet Invitational.