2021 Sound Running "Track Meet" Results
2021 Azusa Pacific Last Chance Twilight Results

Some of the best marks of the season, in individual careers, and in Academy of Art track & field history were seen Saturday as the Urban Knights competed at the Azusa Pacific Last Chance Twilight. Additionally, PacWest Track Athlete of the Year James Young had an opportunity to contest the 1500m at Sound Running's "Track Meet" in an alternate location.

IRVINE, Calif. – Academy of Art track & field's lone representative at Sound Running's "Track Meet," James Young came away the winner of his heat in the 1500m under the lights.

Challenging the Olympic event qualifying standard of 3:35.00, Young made his move into the race's top three midway through then assumed the lead entering the final turn and pushed for a final time of 3:38.31 for the win by 0.10. The mark was third-fastest in NCAA Division II history behind David Ribich's record (3:37.35) and Young's own personal record of 3:37.72 which he set earlier this season at the Bryan Clay Invitational.

"It was a good race," Young said. "Coming into this season, my goal was just to break 3:40 and I did that for the first time at Bryan Clay so now I'm happy I can back it up. As everyone, I was hoping for a personal best, but I'm just happy to keep it consistent and I'm glad that the training is starting to pay off."

AZUSA, Calif. – Competing for the final time before the NCAA Division II Outdoor National Championships, ART U track & field student-athletes turned in a host of season and personal bests at the Azusa Pacific Last Chance Twilight inside Cougar Stadium on Saturday.

Early afternoon action saw two Urban Knights make major moves up the national rankings in the women's triple jump. Leading the way, PacWest Field Athlete & Field Freshman of the Year Marie-Jeanne Ourega flew to a season-best 40-10.25 (12.45m) on her third attempt and, despite a +2.2 wind on that try, she came right back with a wind-legal 40-4.75 (12.31m) in her subsequent attempt. Matching Ourega's 40-10.25 (12.45m) distance also on her third jump was Camille Jouanno to make it a trio of ART U jumpers (with Rian Young-Werner) among the country's top 15 as Outdoor Nationals provisional qualifiers.

Fresh off her season-best in the 1500m the night prior, Hasna Kaarour delivered the biggest personal record of the day in the 5000m. The Landscape Architecture major saved her best split of the race for the final 400m, closing at 1:15.11 en route to a 16:38.43 time that bested her previous best by an impressive 34 seconds. She ascended to 22nd in the country with an Outdoor Nationals provisional.

In action for her fourth 400m race of the season, Ombretta Picciolie Minkue Meye's 55.45 mark was an outdoor personal record and elevated her to 13th in the nation as an Outdoor Nationals provisional qualifier. She assumed sole possession of fifth in Academy of Art history with the effort. Additionally, she would join Hava Turner, Darria Matthias, and Selena Arjona-Alcazar for a 45.75 in the 4x100m relay which matched ART U's season-best among the top five Outdoor Nationals provisionals on the year.

The Outdoor Nationals provisional standards were hit by 4x400m relays on both the women's and men's sides Saturday. The women's quartet of Alice Coisne, Turner, Minkue Meye, and Natalia Novak offered a 3:45.86 good for 13th in NCAA Division II while the men's collection of Makarios Page, Omodiaogbe Oboh, Shareez Hamm, and Elliot Slade went 3:11.76, a time that could be found among the country's top six.

Running under the Outdoor Nationals standard for the third time this season, Hamm improved upon his previous season-best in the 400m hurdles. With the best mark among collegiate competitors, the Photography major's 52.48 has him third in program history and 13th in the nation.

In her fourth time contesting the event this season, Audrey Rosencrans turned in the best time she or any Urban Knight has ever run in the 3000m steeplechase. Already the program record-holder, the Textile Design major bettered her previous time by nearly 10 full seconds, going 11:14.97 on Saturday. The men's version also saw a personal record as Hudson Lockette went 9:43.60 to break into Academy of Art's top three to date.

The women's 100m saw Matthias with the fastest time for ART U at 11.84, but it was Arjona-Alcazar who walked away with a personal record of 11.97. A season-best came from Audrey Courand in the 400m hurdles where she went 1:03.12.

Page and Oboh finished one after the other in the 400m, taking seventh and eighth respectively each with season-bests. Page went 48.08 and Oboh followed at 48.17 to both end in the race's top eight out of 26 competitors.

In the women's 800m, Novak finished extremely close to her personal and program record of 2:09.57. On Saturday, she clocked in at 2:09.79 and remains among the country's top 10 in the event.