2019 Pitt State Invitational Results
PITTSBURG, Kan. – If Saturday's Pitt State Invitational is any sort of preview of the NCAA Division II Indoor National Championships, fans of Academy of Art track & field are in for a treat.
Lacing up their spikes inside the venue that will hold the season-ending meet this year, the Urban Knights delivered several of the country's top times thus far with
Mobolade Ajomale bettering his 60m,
Victor Moreau dominating the mile, and the men's 4x400m relay team rising to number one in the nation.
No stranger to leading NCAA DII in an event as the
defending champion in the 60m and 200m, Ajomale foreshadowed greatness by beating his season-best with a 6.73 in the prelims. He not only bettered that mark in the final, but grabbed a Nationals automatic qualifier with a 6.67, elevating him further as the Division II leader and even getting him into top 20 in the country across all divisions. It serves as his quickest time ever run in the month of January and furthers the conversation of whether he will top the lifetime-best 6.57 he dropped to become champion as a freshman (
2016 Nationals) inside the same Robert Plaster Center.
Ajomale would return later to once again display his unmatched speed, this time helping the ART U men's 4x400m. The quartet of
Christian Carter,
Grant Swinton,
Roshard Williams, and Ajomale posted a blistering 3:12.39 to shoot them up atop this season's DII list. Just 0.19 from the a Nationals automatic qualifier, it was the second-fastest time ever by an Academy of Art team and broke Pitt State's meet record by 0.30 seconds.
Already surpassing his best time from the end of last season, Moreau impressed in the mile. He crossed the finish line at 4:07.36 to cut nearly seven full seconds off his previous season-best and secure provisional qualification. He rises into the top three in NCAA DII and found his teammate,
Charlie Messai, not far behind at 4:12.37 for the fourth-fastest time in program history.
Leading the charge in her debut with ART U,
Ombretta Picciolie Minkue Meye wowed onlookers in the 60m. She blazed to a 7.62 for the first spot out of 90 sprinters and a Nationals provisional mark in the prelims before going 7.67 for 11th of 31 finalists. Her lower time slots her into fifth on the Urban Knights' all-time list in just her first race ever with the program.
Latavia Hawkins made major strides forward in the 400m with a 56.88 lifetime-best that had her 10th of 50 in the event. It was the fastest mark from the Academy of Art women's squad in 2018-19.
Exactly one second over her lifetime-best set the week prior,
Hasna Kaarour went 5:01.15 for sixth place of 57 in the mile. She would later join Hawkins,
Hava Turner, and
Darria Matthias for the fastest 4x400m time (4:02.91) an ART U women's team has run this season.
In the men's long jump,
Arrun Palacio offered an 18-5.25 (5.62m) while
Camille Jouanno won her heat with an 18-0.5 (5.50m) and finished eighth of 37. She would take third of 32 in the triple jump, flying to a 39-5.75 (12.03m). She remains top seven in the country in both events.
The Urban Knights will begin the month of February with the two-day Hillsdale Wide Track Classic in Hillsdale, Mich. (Feb. 1-2).
