2012 Mt. SAC Relays Results

Walnut, CA – At Hilmer Lodge Stadium for the 54th Annual Mt. SAC Relays on Friday, Academy of Art University track & field delivered another solid outing against elite-level talent from around the country. The Urban Knights were led by a new program record from senior Amos Maru in the 5000m run, a personal record for senior Emil Tolliver in the 100m dash, and an 8th place finish ahead of runners from UCLA and USC for junior Briana Stewart in the 100m hurdles.

Maru highlighted the day with a 14:19.64 mark in the 5000m which set the new ART U record by over two full seconds.

"Amos, as usual, shows up in big races," head coach Charles Ryan said. "I'm really glad he got a chance to showcase his talents in a meet like Mt. SAC. That was big for our program and his performance was special."

It was a lifetime best for the Nandi Hills, Kenya native who dropped down more than 11 seconds from the career mark he set earlier this season. Not only that, but he has now effectively lowered his career best by 28 seconds this year. Maru would take 10th overall out of 29 competitors.

“Amos executed the race-plan perfectly,” assistant coach Ben DeLand said. “He gradually moved his way through the pack until he was with the lead group with about a mile to go. He was committed to pace we've been practicing in training this whole season and it was just a matter of executing his fitness on race-day. I'm incredibly pleased with how he ran. It was a really good race for him.”

Claiming a Top 20 finish in a 100m dash event which saw 47 participants, Tolliver posted a time of 10.64 for his new personal record. Coming in not far behind Tolliver in the race was freshman Jaylon Hicks who crossed the finish line at 10.67.

"I just feel really blessed to have dropped that time," Tolliver said. "I feel like with all the great coaching my teammates and I have received this season, I felt that many things I wanted to accomplish on the track weren't that far off. I felt like I can do anything my coaches asked my to do strictly off the training because we do really hard workouts so the meets seem as if they aren't that hard after going hard in practice all the time. I just felt really confident in the race at Mt. SAC. It was my third year in a row going to that meet so it felt good to run a nice time at one of my all-time favorite track meets."

Finally on the men's side, sophomore Reneilwe Aphane made it three consecutive weeks in which he has surpassed the 50 foot mark in the triple jump. On Friday, Aphane saved his best for last, achieving a 50-0.75 distance on his final attempt to take 7th overall out of 15 jumpers.

Stewart had another memorable run in the 100m hurdles, earning 8th out of a field of 43 with her 13.69 mark. The result put her ahead of athletes from several NCAA Division I schools including Kansas State, UCLA, and USC.

The quartet of senior Jazmin White, junior Dominique Berry, junior Vashti Thomas, and sophomore Chantel King would team up for yet another solid run in the women's 4x400m relay. The Knights turned in a 3:45.06 mark which was good enough for 9th out of 22 teams as well as the second lowest time for Academy of Art. Berry would also compete in the 400m hurdles Friday.

The Urban Knights will have one more day in the Mt. SAC Relays with Vashti Thomas scheduled to compete in the 100m hurdles and the long jump. In addition, a team of ART U athletes will partake in events at the Beach Invitational hosted by Long Beach State.