2022 APU Last Chance Meet Results (Day 1)
AZUSA, Calif. – Academy of Art track & field enjoyed a record-breaking start to the Azusa Pacific Last Chance Meet on Friday evening as both
Natalia Novak and
Abdelouakil Mustapha ran the program's fastest 800m races to date before
Audrey Rosencrans closed the evening at Cougar Stadium with a significant drop to the ART U 10,000m record.
In just her second time competing in the event this season, Novak made a major move up the national ranks with her new program record 2:07.81 in the 800m. In addition to bettering her own ART U best by more than a full second and finishing first on the day, she took nearly five seconds off her season-best to enter into the country's top 10, solidifying her spot at Outdoor Nationals.
Actually leading the field for a portion of the same heat as Novak,
Ombretta Picciolie Minkue Meye impressed with a time of 2:08.89 in the first 800m of her Academy of Art career. It immediately put her among the top 15 in NCAA DII and second in program history.
Alexandria Okon also rose in the ART U all-time top five with a personal record 2:10.84 which took her to fourth in the program's history as well as inside the country's top 38.
Delanie Dykes contributed a season-best of 2:13.32 as well.
The women's 800m was the only event to see an Academy of Art record as Mustapha took a huge step forward with a new personal record by more than two seconds at 1:49.13. One of the strongest kicks of the 57 total competitors propelled Mustapha to surpass
Elliot Slade's 1:49.78 set last year for the best in ART U history while also elevating into the nation's top 15. Additionally,
Hudson Lockette ran his best 800m as an Urban Knight, going 1:55.51 for nearly a second faster than his previous top mark from 2019.
In the front group throughout all 10,000m, Rosencrans found herself trailing Colorado Mesa's Lindsay Parsons for third place up until the final 400m. There the Textile Design major delivered a tremendous kick, closing with a 1:18.32 split that led her to cross the finish line at 36:16.17. Now an Outdoor Nationals provisional qualifier inside the top 52 in NCAA DII, Rosencrans bettered her previous program record from earlier this season by more than 44 seconds, making her the leader by nearly a full minute.
The Urban Knights will return to Cougar Stadium for the second and final day of both the APU Last Chance Meet and the regular season tomorrow beginning with the men's high jump at noon.
