2019 PacWest Championships Results

AZUSA, Calif. – Spending quite a bit of time on the podium, Academy of Art turned in eight gold medal finishes to close out the Pacific West Conference Track & Field Championships inside Cougar Stadium on Saturday. Led by four-time Men's Track Athlete of the Meet Mobolade Ajomale's top individual finishes in the 100m, 200m, and 400m plus two relays, the Urban Knights finished second as a team while the women's highlights were a top result in the 4x100m relay and triple jump champion Camille Jouanno.
 

"We had some truly impressive performances this weekend from many different student-athletes," said director of track & field/cross country Kevin LaSure. "There were far too many to name names as it was all hands on deck this weekend. With many people stepping up and finishing a lot higher than they were seeded coming into the meet."

Academy of Art began the day in dominant fashion, winning both the women's and men's 4x100m relays. The team of Selena Arjona-Alcazar, Ombretta Picciolie Minkue Meye, Hava Turner, and Darria Matthias won by almost a full second, posting a season-best 45.96 that would put them among the top 10 in NCAA Division II with a Nationals provisional qualifier. The men's team had Grant Swinton, Ajomale, Kaze Poitier, and Daquan Berry combine for a time of 41.17 that was more than a second faster than the next closest competitors.

After dropping an outdoor-best in the prelims of the 400m the day prior, Ajomale delivered a first-place finish in the event finals for the second consecutive year, going 47.08 for the title. He was followed by Roshard Williams who ran the fastest time of his career and Nationals provisional 47.57 for second place as well as Swinton, who also had a lifetime-best and Nationals provisional 47.75.

For the past four years, the men's 100m title has belonged to Ajomale and he would retain with a 10.50 in the final on Saturday. A lifetime-best came for Berry (10.70) in second and Swinton would take sixth at 11.03. The women's 100m was highlighted by Minkue Meye whose personal record 11.65 was just 0.02 off program record, had her second in the event, and tied her for fifth in DII with Nationals provisional qualification. Matthias came in third at 11.82, becoming fourth ART U sprinter to go sub-12.00 and joining Minkue Meye among the top 20 provisional qualifiers.

Ajomale would also successfully defend his 200m crown for the third straight season, going 20.98 for the win followed by five of his teammates. Swinton took second (21.39), Berry crossed in third at 21.70, fourth-place Christian Carter went 21.90, Roshard Williams came in fifth at 21.91, and Ashony Williams rounded out the ART U pack in eighth (22.47). On the women's side, Matthias clocked in at 24.55 for fourth and Allysia Parry was seventh (25.00).

After starting the triple jump with a 39-2.25 (11.94m) mark, Jouanno took over as the event leader and never relinquished it. Her third attempt would be not only her best of the day, but it was significant for many other reasons. Jouanno's 41-0.5 (12.51m) was a lifetime-best, third in program history, a Nationals provisional, and kept her seventh in the country. Though she would finish ninth, Celena Davison improved on her own season-best with a jump of 34-9 (10.59m) on her second attempt. Jouanno also medaled in the 100m hurdles, taking second with a time of 14.23 that was just shy of her season-best and provisional qualification.

Gold was also tasted by Victor Moreau in the men's 5000m where he won on a 15:00.19 mark, edging Biola's Gabe Plendcio by five seconds. Freddie Hessian held off a trio from BU for his third-place finish at 15:13.12. For the women, Giulia McIsaac claimed fourth overall at 18:01.32 and Chandler Johnson also registered a point with her eighth-place result at 18:27.41.

Like it began, the day concluded with ART U dominance in relay form as the 4x400m quartet of Roshard Williams, Swinton, Carter, and Ajomale delivered a 3:10.78 to break the PacWest meet record while also provisionally qualifying for Nationals and rocketing up to fourth in the nation. They would combine for the second-fastest time in Academy of Art history, less than a second behind the record. The women's 4x400m had Hawkins, Turner, Mia Avila, and Minkue Meye collectively take silver with their Nationals provisional 3:48.14.

Avila and Hawkins had their own individual successes in the 400m as well. Avila came across at 55.38 for second overall while Hawkins was not far behind in third at 55.44. Both times were both lifetime-bests, Nationals provisionals, top 20 marks in the country, and top five in ART U history.

In the men's high jump, Daniel Cortes Gonzalez battled freshmen from Azusa Pacific (Raymon Harper) and Concordia (Michael Ervin), eventually tying for second with a clearance of 6-6 (1.98m).

The women's 1500m saw Hasna Kaarour earn a runner-up finish with a time of 4:31.06 that was just 0.03 back of record-holder Jenny Bergren. It returned her to the top 25 in the country with another Nationals provisional. Behind Kaarour in sixth, Alyssa Winter posted a lifetime-best 4:46.21. On the men's side, Moreau also took second place after crossing the finish line at 3:54.25 to lead a trio of Urban Knights as Hessian (3:54.25) and Messai (3:58.23) added third and fourth-place results respectively.

Joshua Browne made it onto the podium with a third-place finish in the men's 800m, delivering a time of 1:54.24 while Messai was behind him in fourth at 1:56.62. Also in action in the women's 800m, Kaarour came through in fifth at 2:17.03.

Both team championships were won by host Azusa Pacific, but the Urban Knights' 179 points on the men's side were their most to date. The men took second for the third time in the past four years while the women's 113 points had them fifth overall.

"Although we came up a little short of our team goal of winning the meet, it definitely wasn't due to a lack of effort," said LaSure. "I'm proud of the way my team competed as a whole and I know the best is yet to come."

With still three more meets remaining in its regular season, Academy of Art departs the PacWest Championships with Stanford's Payton Jordan Invitational (May 2), the Azusa Pacific Twilight & Multi (May 9-10), and the Oxy Invitational (May 11) all on the horizon.