2021 APU Invitational Results

AZUSA, Calif. – Academy of Art track & field turned in some of the best performances in both program history and in the country all at the APU Invitational hosted by Azusa Pacific at Cougar Stadium on Saturday. Elliot Slade broke the Urban Knights' 800m record to join indoor mile national champion James Young (5000m) and Abdelouakil Mustapha (800m) as NCAA Division II Outdoor Nationals provisional qualifiers while, from the No. 24 ranked ART U women's team, Natalia Novak nearly hit the Outdoor Nationals automatic qualifying standard with her record 1500m run, the 4x100m entered the nation's top 10, and Marie-Jeanne Ourega rose with the best in the long jump in the country as an automatic qualifier.

"It was a good meet all-around for our team," said Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Kevin LaSure. "We definitely got better in some areas and took a step in the right direction. Now we just have to get back to training and work to fine-tune some things."

Once again reigning over all other NCAA DII distances in the long jump, Ourega finished the day with a 21-7.25 (6.58m) Outdoor Nationals automatic qualifier that she achieved on her first attempt. The mark, which did carry a +2.1 wind, was fourth-best all conditions in NCAA DII history and puts her first by more than eight inches while bringing her ever closer to multi-time Hall of Famer Vashti Thomas' program record of 22-10.5 (6.97m). Additionally, Ourega's first triple jump of the season was a Nationals provisional at 39-4.5 (12.00m) and slotted her in at fifth in ART U history.

Hanging among the top eight midway through the 1500m race, Novak kicked into a higher gear down the stretch, finishing ahead of many of the NCAA Division I University of San Francisco runners she had been battling. Across the final line, Novak went 4:22.71 to end up less than a second from the AQ with the second-lowest mark in NCAA DII thus far. The provisional time became the new program record by nearly eight full seconds.

Much like he did during the indoor season, Slade's outdoor 800m debut saw him take over the top spot in ART U history as his 1:49.78 was a little over a second better than the previous top time. He was not the only provisional qualifier in the event on Saturday though because Mustapha came through with a 1:51.74 for fifth in program history as he joined Slade among the country's top 20.

The final Urban Knight to compete on the day, Young worked against 67 other competitors in the 5000m to emerge with his own Outdoor Nationals provisional time of 14:09.50. Checking in at eighth in the country, his first time contesting the event in an ART U uniform had him up to third in program history.

From the end to the beginning, the first Academy of Art competitors on the track Saturday were the quartet of Hava Turner, Darria Matthias, Ombretta Picciolie Minkue Meye, and Ourega in the 4x100m relay. Their combined time of 46.59 pushed them not only to an Outdoor Nationals provisional, but into sixth in NCAA DII.

Individually, Matthias would run the fastest 100m of the day among NCAA competitors, going 11.91 to wind up just 0.01 off the provisional standard. Hasna Kaarour found herself in a similar situation, finishing her 5000m race at 17:12.81 which, while putting her second in ART U history, was two seconds from provisionally qualifying her for Outdoor Nationals.

In just his second time contesting the 110m hurdles and 400m hurdles as an Urban Knight, Shareez Hamm put his name among the program's top five in each event. He slotted in at fourth in the 110mH at 14.95 and third in the 400mH at 53.65, a mere 0.31 from the Outdoor Nationals provisional standard.

On the women's 400mH side, Audrey Courand joined the ART U top five with a 1:03.62 effort while teammate Alice Cosine was less than a second behind her at 1:04.28.

The women's 200m had Minkue Meye run a 24.41 in her first time competing in the event this season. The mark was 0.01 off the Outdoor Nationals provisional standard and the tandem of Matthias (24.47) and Turner (24.66) followed closely behind.

Daquan Berry's 10.72 led all NCAA DII competitors in the APU Invitational 100m, but it was his 200m time (21.48) that was his best of the season while coming in at 0.2 from being an Outdoor Nationals provisional.

Making his debut in the 3000m steeplechase, Hudson Lockette started with the fifth-fastest mark in Academy of Art history at 10:04.59.

The Urban Knights will return to Azusa in two weeks for the Cougars' Bryan Clay Invitational (Apr. 16-17) in a weekend that will also feature the Long Beach Invitational.