Hayward, CA ---  In-spite of temperamental weather conditions the Academy of Art University's track & field team competed in the Chabot Open in Hayward, CA Friday afternoon. The whole Academy of Art program exceeded expectations during the meet, given the harsh weather conditions, with the men garnering top 10 finishes in all of their respective events and the women finishing first in all but one event.

"The weather was terrible, and I am extremely proud of the effort put out today," said Head Coach Charles Ryan. 

Chantel King placed first the 200m dash. Heather Castro took third in the 400m dash for the Urban Knights. While Kylie Long earned ART U's second top finish, with a first place honor in the 800m run.

Cassandra Schumacher and Stacey Toth finished first and second in the women's 1500m run. Hannah Otey out-threw the competition in the discus, she placed first with a throw of 31.78m.

Amus Maru and Kennedy Kurgat garnered the two top finishes for the men. Maru beat out nine other athletes to claim a first place honor in the 800m run. Right behind Maru was: Hamza Bouchafra, Geoffrey Cheruiyot, Shawn Daut, and Simon Mutai who placed second through fifth respectively.

Kurgat, less than a second off his personal best, took first in the 400m dash. Teammate Alexander Craig finished in a close second.

Daveson Marindich and Cheruiyot came in second and third in the 1,500m run. While ART U's Erik Piedad and Emil Tolliver placed third and seventh in the men's 100m dash at the start of the day for the Urban Knights.

"I am really appreciative to the Chabot staff for putting the meet on despite the weather. Today was a great learning experience for us. All of the athletes showed a lot of mental toughness, it's not easy to run in these conditions," said Ryan.