USTFCCCA NCAA DII Athlete Hall of Fame - Class of 2019

NEW ORLEANS -- One day before the 2019 NCAA Division II Outdoor National Championships, Academy of Art University track & field experienced a powerful blast from the past.

As announced by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association on Wednesday, ART U legend Vashti Thomas was officially inducted as a part of the Class of 2019 USTFCCCA NCAA DII Athlete Hall of Fame.

"I'm extremely honored," said Thomas. "The years I competed for Academy of Art were the greatest. To be able to run track and do what I loved with my art was already amazing, but being able to pursue greatness in both was a rare opportunity. If it wasn't for my coach Charles Ryan and my teammates, I would not have been able to do what I did. Coach Ryan really motivated me to push myself as hard as I could and my teammates prevented me from giving up when times got hard."

One of four student-athletes inducted in this year's Hall of Fame class, Thomas joins Malgorzata Biela (Lewis), Daniel Kirwa (Harding), and Hyacinth Robinson (Kentucky State).

Thomas originally joined the Urban Knights in 2011 after competing for NCAA Division I Texas A&M for two seasons. The San Jose, Calif. native would make an immediate impact, setting numerous records and even competing in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials against future Olympic Gold Medalists such as Brittney Reese.

Thomas' 2012-13 campaign was truly historic. An 11-time NCAA DII All-American combining indoor and outdoor, Thomas' resume proved to be simply incredible as she helped the women's team win back-to-back NCAA DII National Championships (indoor, outdoor), a feat never before done by a program in its first year of eligibility. In addition to claiming four individual national titles (indoor long jump, 200m, outdoor long jump, 100mH), she scored 35 of the team's 59 points in indoor and 36.25 points of the team's 60 points in outdoor.

Over the course of her ART U career, Thomas was 2012-13 PacWest Women's Athlete of the Year, 2013 PacWest Women's Track & Field co-Track Athlete of the Year, 2013 USTFCCCA High Point Athlete of the Meet (outdoor), 2013 USTFCCCA NCAA Outdoor West Region Field Athlete of the Year, 2013 USTFCCCA NCAA DII Outdoor All-Region Team (100mH, 200m, 4x100m, 4x400m, LJ, TJ), 2013 USTFCCCA NCAA DII Indoor Track Athlete of the Year, 2013 USTFCCCA High Point Athlete of the Meet (indoor), 2013 USTFCCCA NCAA DII Indoor West Region Track Athlete of the Year, 2013 USTFCCCA NCAA DII Indoor All-Region Team (60m, 60mH, 200m, LJ, TJ, 4x400m), and a three-time USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week (Indoor - Week 3, Outdoor - Week 2 & Week 7).

After competing in her final NCAA DII Outdoor National Championships, Thomas competed in the 2013 World University Games and collected a gold medal for her efforts in the 100m hurdles. She not only took the medal, but did so with a new WUG record of 12.61. At the conclusion of her collegiate career, Thomas owned or contributed to 12 ART U records (five indoor, seven outdoor) and 11 of those still remain today. Beyond the program, Thomas is the NCAA DII record holder in the 100H at 12.70, second all-time in the indoor/outdoor long jump as well as the outdoor 200m, third in the indoor 200m, and fourth in the 60H, among other marks.

Thomas is the first Academy of Art student-athlete to earn a place in the USTFCCCA NCAA DII Athlete Hall of Fame.