2022 Oxy Invitational Results
LOS ANGELES – At Occidental College's Bill Henry Tack on Saturday, Academy of Art track & field was propelled by
Audrey Rosencrans' second time breaking her own 3000m steeplechase record as well as some of the best times run this season in other distance and sprint events alike all during the Oxy Invitational.
Rosencrans stepped to the start line for her third 3000m steeplechase race of the season and took serious time off the program record she had delivered to be All-PacWest Second Team at the Pacific West Conference Championships on
Apr. 29. Finishing just four seconds from the leader, Rosencrans crossed at 10:49.85 for a drop of more than 16 seconds. The new ART U record would also put her among the top 30 in NCAA Division II as an Outdoor Nationals provisional qualifier.
"It was great to see so many student-athletes achieving personal bests and NCAA provisional performances, especially a week after a tough PacWest Championships meet," said Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Kevin LaSure. "Audrey had a great day and ran with a lot of confidence in the steeplechase for her first NCAA provisional performance. We are looking forward to working on some things going into next week's final preparation before the NCAA Championships."
In a very quick turnaround, Rosencrans was once again on the track less than an hour later to contest the 1500m. There she turned in another personal record, going 4:46.61 while her teammate,
Natalia Novak, was the top finisher for the Urban Knights in fourth at a season-best 4:27.87 that elevated her into the nation's top 25.
Lighting up the track in the final sprint events of the day, the Academy of Art quartet of
Alice Coisne,
Alisha Wilson,
Selena Arjona-Alcazar, and
Ombretta Picciolie Minkue Meye ran the program's best time of the year despite being the lone team competing in the 4x400m relay. The Knights combined to go 3:43.60 which brought them ahead of fellow PacWest rival Azusa Pacific to eighth in the country toward Outdoor Nationals.
Individual success was also had by Wilson in the 400m where she ran her best time of 2022 in the event, 55.03, to lead all collegiate competitors including Arjona-Alcazar (56.10), who was competing in the first 400m of her college career. Wilson stayed fourth in ART U history, but moved herself up into the top 16 in NCAA DII with the effort.
Saba Khvichava found himself eighth midway through the 1500m, but turned on a huge kick in the second half to finish at 3:49.81, making him a provisional qualifier for Outdoor Nationals. In the subsequent section,
Hudson Lockette broke the four-minute barrier for the first time in his career, earning a new personal record with a 3:57.63 mark.
The fastest outdoor 800m of
Abdelouakil Mustapha's Academy of Art career came Saturday as he finished top six in a 44-man competition at 1:51.48. An Outdoor Nationals provisional qualifier, Mustapha also jumped up to fourth in program history.
After clearing his first bar of the day,
Elijah Roberts tied his season-best by surpassing a height of 6-6 (1.98m) in the high jump, staying second on the program's all-time list.
Incredibly matching her season-best in the 800m to a one-hundredth of a second,
Alexandria Okon went 2:12.86 to once again come through less than a second from provisional qualification. Her time remains fifth in ART U history.
The men's and women's triple jump each featured Urban Knights among the top two as
Mathieu Tshani placed first overall after going 51-3.75 (15.64m) on his final attempt while
Yacouba Gnacko was briefly the leader before taking second to his teammate with a 50-6.75 (15.41m) in his second try. Runner-up on the day,
Marie-Jeanne Ourega completed all four of her triple jump attempts, concluding on a 41-4.5 (12.61m).
Both inside the event's upper tier on Saturday, Minkue Meye completed the 100m dash with a season-best 11.92 while
Darria Matthias followed at 12.01.
In his third 200m dash of the year,
Duncan Agyemang ended sixth out of 29 sprinters at a time of 21.60 across the finish line, just over 0.34 from the provisional standard.
Academy of Art will have one final opportunity to qualify for Outdoor Nationals at the APU Last Chance Meet spanning May 13-14 to close the regular season.
