2022 Pacific West Conference Championships Results (Day 1)

SAN DIEGO – Academy of Art track & field student-athletes from both the women's and men's teams showed off medals on the first day of the Pacific West Conference Championships hosted by Point Loma on Friday. The first Urban Knight with a 2022 conference title was Marie-Jeanne Ourega after she successfully defended her long jump crown from the previous year while both Audrey Rosencrans and Saba Khvichava finished second and third in their respective 3000m steeplechase events and Yacouba Gnacko took third in the long jump.

One of the first student-athletes to compete on day one, Ourega rocketed to the top of the 12-jumper field when she delivered a 20-4.5 (6.21m) in her second attempt. There she would stay for the remainder of the competition, adding the day's best at 20-7.25 (6.28m) in her fourth try. It was her second consecutive PacWest long jump title and was nearly a full foot ahead of the next closest jumper. Additionally, Ourega placed second in the 100m hurdles prelims, going 14.00 to sit just 0.09 seconds back of the leader approaching the final.

On the men's side of the long jump, Gnacko earned six points for his team with consistent jumps all greater than 22-4 (6.80m) including his fifth attempt, 23-3.25 (7.09m), which gave him third place overall. Also in the event, Mathieu Tshani claimed sixth with his own best of the afternoon, 22-10.5 (6.97m), coming on his fifth jump.

The later stages of the day saw Rosencrans make a major breakthrough on her own program record in the 3000m steeplechase. She took eight seconds off the best time Academy of Art has seen to date, crossing the finish line at 11:06.70 in second place out of nine runners.

Two Urban Knights placed inside the top five of the men's 3000m steeplechase as Khvichava claimed third with a time of 9:19.64 while Hudson Lockette's personal record of 9:40.37 had him fifth overall. Khvichava also reached the 1500m final with Abdelouakil Mustapha after the duo turned in 4:01.20 and 4:02.33 marks respectively in the same heat to make the top eight overall. Mustapha also qualified through the 800m prelims at 1:55.30 to lead his heat (second overall) and go to Saturday's final.

In both of her distance events, Delanie Dykes could be found at the front of the pack as she led all 16 runners in the 800m prelims with a 2:14.84 time, just ahead of teammates Alexandria Okon (2:15.52)  and Lina Hanich (2:16.39) who will both compete in Saturday's event final. Dykes also put herself third in the 1500m prelims, going 4:42.33 to make it another trio of Urban Knights in the final with Natalia Novak (4:43.20) and Hanich (4:45.68).

Seeking his first 110m hurdles title after a runner-up finish last season, Hamm was the leader out of the event's prelims with a time of 14.75 and will contest the 400m hurdles tomorrow as well. He would shortly thereafter join Duncan Agyemang among the top four in the 400m dash prelims. Agyemang was a fraction of a second off his season-best with Friday's 47.67 mark that led the 15 total competitors while Hamm was fourth at 48.80.

Continuing to progressively drop her time in the 400m, Alisha Wilson was fifth out of the prelims at 55.32 (elevating her to inside the nation's top 20 as an Outdoor Nationals provisional qualifier) while Ombretta Picciolie Minkue Meye (56.36) also reached tomorrow's final.

Selena Arjona-Alcazar came ever closer to program history with a wind-legal 23.60 good for second out of the 200m prelims. The mark put her up to third in the country where she now lies between NCAA Division II leader Kyla Richardson (Fresno Pacific) and Mechaela Hyacinth (Azusa Pacific) who are both going to be in the event final. Darria Matthias will also be there after she hit the Outdoor Nationals provisional standard with a 24.30 along with Minkue Meye (24.53). Two of the top five sprinters in the 100m prelims, Arjona-Alcazar matched the program record originally set by Dinesha Bean with a 11.63 that was aided by a +2.2 m/s wind (Bean's record was also wind-aided at 2.5 m/s) while Matthias used a wind-legal 11.90 to sit fourth.

A total of three Urban Knights made up the first four to finish in the 200m prelims led by Daquan Berry and his personal record 21.52. Following him, Agyemang was third at 21.55 (+2.6 m/s) and Roshard Williams was fourth at 21.71. Berry and Williams added finals-worthy times in the 100m dash with the former third (10.68) and the latter sixth with his own personal record of 11.06.

In the 400m hurdles prelims, Alice Coisne sent herself to the final in fourth place currently with a 1:04.28 effort.

For the Urban Knights who qualified through their respective prelims, Saturday brings all event finals back at PLNU Track & Field.