2019 Hornet Invitational Results

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – On its second and final day of the Hornet Invitational, Academy of Art track & field showed tremendous effort, walking away with multiple NCAA Division II Outdoor Nationals provisional marks. Mobolade Ajomale (100m), Ombretta Picciolie Minkue Meye (100m), and Camille Jouanno (TJ) each ascended to the top of their respective DII events to highlight the Saturday afternoon inside Hornet Stadium.

"The effort was great in our first full team meet of the outdoor season," said director of track & field/cross country Kevin LaSure. "We had some great performances throughout the meet which is good to see this early in the season. We made a few mistakes throughout the day, also to be expected in the first outdoor meet of the season, but everyone worked through them and continued to compete hard."
 
After taking over the NCAAD2's top spot in the 200m the evening prior, Ajomale surged to No. 1 in the country in the 100m as well with his Outdoor Nationals provisional 10.36. The time, besides being the fastest in DII by 0.07 this season and good for first of 91 on the day, was also fourth among all NCAA divisions.

The women's 100m also saw Urban Knights light up the track as Minkue Meye crossed the finish line at 11.80 for the Nationals provisional and third out of a total of 105 sprinters in the event. She moved into a tie with Cal State Los Angeles' Valexsia Droughn tied for fastest in DII and also tied herself with Jesseka Raymond for second in Academy of Art history. Though not a provisional qualifier, Darria Matthias' 12.01 earned her 12th in the event and seventh in Division II thus far.

In a trifecta of events on the day, Jouanno wasted no time in taking over the top position in the triple jump after her second attempt saw her reach a distance of 40-7.75 (12.39m). The mark was not only fourth all-time at Academy of Art, but also the top DII distance by five full inches and an Outdoor Nationals provisional. Jouanno added a long jump of 18-8.875 (5.71m) in her final attempt to slot into fifth in the country.

Not only did Jouanno excel in the horizontal jumps on Saturday, but she also clocked in at 14.22 in the 100m hurdles for third of 47 competitors in the day's event and another Outdoor Nationals provisional qualifier. 

Early in the day, the tandem of Freddie Hessian and Charlie Messai were able to post provisional qualifying marks in the 1500m. Hessain finished fifth of 88 runners at 3:49.69 to move him slightly higher still at fifth all-time in ART U history and Messai took seventh at 3:50.45.

In her first outdoor action at Academy of Art, Hasna Kaarour ran the third-fastest 1500m time in program history at 4:35.63. She would finish 10th of 73 on the day.

The men's relays saw Christian Carter, Grant Swinton, Daquan Berry, and Joshua Browne combine for a 3:15.62 in the 4x400m. It was the third-fastest mark DII has seen this season.

Swinton and Carter joined Ajomale and Arrun Palacio in turning in a 41.62 in the 4x100m relay for a top 15 time in NCAA Division II.

In addition to their success in the relays, Swinton and Carter ended up fractions of a second from one another in the 400m, going 48.475 and 48.476 for fifth and six respectively of 88 competitors. On the women's side, Mia Avila finished 25th of 60 with a time of 58.87.

With its first two outdoor meets now complete, ART U looks ahead to another busy weekend in two weeks with the Pepsi Florida Relays (Mar. 28-30), SF State Distance Carnival (Mar. 29-30), and Stanford Invitational (Mar. 29-30) all coinciding on the month's final days.