2023 West Coast Last Chance Results

HAYWARD, Calif. – Staying local for the regular season's penultimate weekend of competition, Academy of Art track & field saw Grace Southern and Makarios Page lead the way with NCAA Division II Outdoor Nationals provisional performances in the West Coast Last Chance at Chabot College on Sunday.

Southern impressed twice in a two-hour span with season-best efforts in both the 1500m early on and in the 5000m nearing the meet's conclusion. The Textile Design major first went 4:27.50 in the 1500m, ending less than a second from event-winner JJ Escalera from NCAA Division I Santa Clara. The mark moved Southern up one spot to second in program history while also elevating her to 37th in NCAA DII.

Showing little fatigue from her earlier race, Southern quickly jumped out to the front of the nine-competitor pack in the 5000m and never looked back. She ended across the line at 17:03.46, more than 42 seconds ahead of second place, and put herself third in Academy of Art history. The strong effort marked her first Outdoor Nationals provisional in the event this season, upping her to 49th in the country.

The men's 400m was dominated by Urban Knights with Page improving upon his best outdoor time in the event. Earning first on the day by nearly a full second, the Music Production & Sound Design for Visual Media major clocked a 47.26 which, while still fifth-fastest in program history, sits 24th in the nation thus far in 2023.

With competitors from Saint Mary's and Santa Clara making up the majority of the field in the women's 800m, the top five featured three Urban Knights in Lina Hanich, Michaela Andrews, and Katharina Goetschl. Hanich was the ART U leader at 2:10.94 for her fourth time bettering the Outdoor Nationals provisional standard while Andrews' 2:13.28 was a season best and Goetschl's 2:13.82 had both just off the provisional cutoff.

One final meet remains ahead of Outdoor Nationals as the Urban Knights will return to Azusa for the APU Franson Last Chance on May 12-13.