Full Results

Turlock, CA -- Led by their strong performances in the 200 meter sprints on both the men's and women's sides, the Academy of Art University track and field program started off the outdoor season with a bang, taking home a total of eight event wins and 21 top-three finishes at the Stanislaus Open, hosted by Cal State Stanislaus.

The women dominated the 200 meter sprints, with Dinesha Bean taking the top spot after posting a time of 24.27, which puts her under the provisional mark of 24.62. Keanna Moody shaved three tenths of a second off of her time to place third place, while Dierra Haven took fifth place, cutting more than a second off of her personal best.

Kaelyn Harbison and Elizabeth Khuu were the top to collegiate finishers in the 800 meter run, as Harbison placed second behind and Khuu fourth, both right behind two unattached runners. Harbison also took third place in the 1500 meters.

The Urban Knights 4x100 meter relay team of Bean, Haven, Racquel Jones, and Moody took first place with a time of 46.12, which at the moment is the highest mark in Division II and also under the provisional qualifying mark. In other relay marks, Omotoyosi Oniru, Bean, Amanda Odesjo, and Mistic Scott placed second in the 4x400m.

The women's big day finished off strong with the field events, as Racquel Jones took first in the long jump with a mark just off the provisional qualifying pace, and Jessica Kinssies placed second in the shot put.

On the men's side, it was the 200 meter sprint that brought the highlight of the day, as the Urban Knights swept the top three spots, taking five of the top seven spots overall. Jordan Edwards provisionally qualified with his first-place mark of 21.42, and was closely followed by Shaquille Howard in second and Ronald Spears, Jr. in third place. Alexander McNally took sixth and Marlon Britton finished seventh in that race as well.

Nicolas Rifflard, one of the top cross-country runners for the Knights in the fall, showed why by placing fourth in the men's 800 meters and second in the 1500 meters. Britton and Quinlan Wright took second and third, respectively, in the 110 meter hurdles. Wright took the top spot and narrowly missed the provisional time in the 400 meter hurdles, while Lemmar Wilson took second in that race.

The Knights raced only against themselves in the relays but were also racing the clock, and the 4x100m team of Spears, Edwards, Britton, and Alexander McNally blew by the provisional qualifier with a 40.96. The team of Howard, Spears, Wright, and McNally proceeded to beat Simmons, Benson, Britton, and Edgar Panford in the 4x400m relay as well. Panford also took second in the long jump and then capped off the day by surpassing the qualifying mark in the triple jump, topping his previous mark and staying atop the D-II leaderboard with a 50-11.5 mark.

Both men's and women's teams will be participating in the Hornet Invitational up at Sacramento State after Spring Break, taking place on Saturday, March 22.