Vashti Thomas

Title

Volunteer

Vashti Thomas enters her first year as a volunteer assistant coach for the Academy of Art men's & women's track & field/cross country teams after competing for two seasons with the Urban Knights.

The most decorated athlete in Academy of Art history, Thomas joined ART U in 2011 after competing for Texas A&M for two seasons. Thomas would make a splash right away, setting numerous records and even competing in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials against future Olympic Gold Medalists such as Brittney Reese.

In 2012-13, she blew everyone away. An 11-time NCAA DII All-American combining indoor and outdoor, Thomas' resume was simply incredible as she helped the women's team win back-to-back NCAA DII National Championships, a feat never before done by a program in its first year of eligibility. Thomas was 2012-13 PacWest Women's Athlete of the Year, 2013 PacWest Women's Track & Field co-Track Athlete of the Year, 2013 USTFCCCA High Point Athlete of the Meet (outdoor), 2013 USTFCCCA NCAA Outdoor West Region Field Athlete of the Year, 2013 USTFCCCA NCAA DII Outdoor All-Region Team (100mH, 200m, 4x100m, 4x400m, LJ, TJ), 2013 USTFCCCA NCAA DII Indoor Track Athlete of the Year, 2013 USTFCCCA High Point Athlete of the Meet (indoor), 2013 USTFCCCA NCAA DII Indoor West Region Track Athlete of the Year, 2013 USTFCCCA NCAA DII Indoor All-Region Team (60m, 60mH, 200m, LJ, TJ, 4x400m), and a three-time USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week (Indoor - Week 3, Outdoor - Week 2 & Week 7).

On top of all that, Thomas competed in the 2013 World University Games and collected a gold medal for her efforts in the 100m hurdles. She not only took the medal, but did so with a new WUG record of 12.61.

Thomas is a local product from San Jose, CA and will be continuing her education at the Academy of Art in the Illustration department.