2013 Pacific West Conference Championships Results

Photo Gallery (images by Will MacNeil)

San Diego, CA – On day two of the PacWest Conference Championships, the Academy of Art men's track & field team pushed itself into 3rd place overall thanks to the collective efforts of 10 Urban Knights who offered scoring marks.

"I'm very proud of all our athletes that represented at the PacWest Championships," head coach Charles Ryan said. "This was something that our conference needed to do and I'm glad to see all the hard work paid off. This meet was a big breakthrough for our men's team. They showed up and delivered, they took advantage of their opportunities, and now are in a position to extend their season and make some real noise at the NCAA Championships. This is very exciting to see and we couldn't be more optimistic for our teams going into the crucial time of our season."

Leading the way, redshirt freshman Johnny Carter was named the Men's Field Athlete of the Meet after his dominant triple jump performance provided a memorable encore to yesterday's long jump. Carter flew to a new program record 51-4.5 (15.66m) to earn another 10-point bump to his team's score. He captured 1st overall by an impressive margin as well. Carter would earn All-PacWest First Team honors in each event as well.

“The final jump results weren't the marks I wanted, but I am blessed to be the champion and Men's Field Athlete of the Meet,” Carter said. “No better feeling than seeing your hard work pay off.”

Carter later teamed up with Ronald Spears, Jr.,  freshman Shaquille Howard, and sophomore Jaylon Hicks for a new ART U record in the men's 4x100m relay. The quartet finished in 40.42 to claim 2nd overall behind Grand Canyon and produce a time that now ranks 7th overall in NCAA Division II and is a National Championships provisional qualifier.

"The men's 4x100 relay was the highlight for me," Coach Ryan said. "That group has had to deal with a lot of 'almost' moments this year, lots of changes, lots of confusion, but they stepped up when they had to and made a statement! I couldn't be prouder of them, and now we have lots of time to sharpen the weapons before we go into the NCAA battle."

With a silver medal for their efforts, the ART U foursome was awarded All-PacWest Second Team honors.

“For me, the performance of the men's 4x100m team really stood out,” assistant coach Lamont Johnson said. “After having a serious man-to-men talk last night in my hotel room, they came together and ran as one! They all ran with another purpose. They all did it for Erik Piedad. He's been here the longest and been through all the ups and downs on this program's early years. They all showed team work. I couldn't be more proud.”

“First all honor, honor to God for blessing me with amazing teammates and wonderful coaches,” Carter said. “Our team never stopped believing that we were capable of hitting the time we needed to qualify for Nationals.”

In the men's 4x400m relay, the team of Peevy, Piedad, Howard, and Ricco McCloud placed 3rd overall with a time of 3:14.49. It was a new program record and a NCAA DII provisional qualifier. Additionally, the squad earned All-PacWest Third Team honors.

Howard enjoyed individual success in the 400m dash where he was crowned champion of the event and All-PacWest First Team in Saturday's action. Beating out Grand Canyon's top sprinter, Howard put forth a time of 47.07 to take 1st overall while Stephen Peevy added a 5th place finish with his 48.70 mark.

In the finals of the 100m dash, Hicks sprinted to 4th overall with his time of 10.66 while Spears, Jr. followed up with a 7th place finish after a season-best 10.78 in the event.

Troy Hines II dropped down to a 15.09 in the 110m hurdles finals to take home a 5th place finish. He along with McCloud also scored in the 400m hurdles.

The ART U distance crew also made contributions as freshman Jens Alban picked up 5th place in the 1500m with a time of 3:56.68. Sophomore Jack Nevins ran his second-best time in the 5000m to earn 5th overall. Both marks added to the Knights' final point total.

Additionally, Luis Nunez followed up his new program record in the discus on Friday with another new ART U #1 in the shotput. He posted a 36-4, surpassing his own previous personal best which he set last year in Berkeley.

Academy of Art as a team would finish 3rd overall behind Azusa Pacific and PacWest Champion Grand Canyon. The Knights, however, beat out California Baptist, Fresno Pacific, and Point Loma.

Highlighting the women's side, freshman Arianna Michaels ran a season-best in the 1500m by going 4:46.18 and finishing 3rd overall and capturing an All-PacWest Third Team honor. She also placed 5th of 16 in her third 5000m of the season.