2023 Pacific West Conference Championships Results

AZUSA, Calif. – Academy of Art track & field shined throughout Saturday's finale to the Pacific West Conference Championships inside Cougar Stadium as Urban Knights were crowned champions in 10 different events including sweeps of the 4x100m relays, 100m dashes, and triple jumps. Among the outstanding performances that included multiple meet records, Robin Black was named the PacWest Most Outstanding Men's Track Athlete of the Meet after he won the 100m, 400m hurdles, and contributed to the 4x100m title while scoring over 28 points for ART U.

The afternoon started with a pair of conference championships in the 4x100m relays as Britney Clark, Darria Matthias, Alicia Thomas, and Selena Arjona-Alcazar opened with a 45.13 to better Fresno Pacific across the finish line then Ajani Ince, Black, Emmanuel Ajiroba, and Duncan Agyemang went 39.97 to best runner-up FPU by more than half a second, break the program record once again, and elevate to sixth in NCAA Division II as Outdoor Nationals provisional qualifiers.

At the day's conclusion, it was Makarios Page, Omodiaogbe Oboh, Crockett Schooler, and Shareez Hamm who set a new meet record in the 4x400m relay, going 3:10.53 for first place out in front of Azusa Pacific by over three seconds.

Between those strong relays, Yacouba Gnacko was busy breaking his own meet record in the triple jump. His second attempt, 52-3.25 (15.93m), was not just the Industrial Design major's best of the day, but the best of his career, adding over four inches to the distance that won him the title in 2022. He moved up to second in the country with the effort while remaining second in program history to teammate Mathieu Tshani who finished second at 51-5.75 (15.69m) on his third try.

Coming back after breaking the meet record in the 100m prelims, Black could not be caught in the event finals, finishing first at 10.30. His teammates from the 4x100m relay would go fifth (Ince), sixth (Ajiroba), and eighth (Agyemang).

The first women's 100m champion since 2014 was named Saturday as Arjona-Alcazar turned in her best mark of the season at 11.54, putting her back inside the nation's top 15. She shared the podium with two of her teammates as Clark's season-best of 11.62 was good for second (23rd in NCAA DII) and Matthias stepped into third.

In addition to his contributions in the relay, Agyemang wore gold in both the 400m and 200m before the afternoon was done. He crossed the line at 46.97 for the top 400m position with two of his three teammates in the final adding season-best marks as Page's 47.34 had him third on the day and top 20 in the nation while Oboh finished fifth at 47.72 (35th in NCAA DII) and Hamm took sixth.

Now fourth in program history and top 20 in the country, Agyemang's 21.06 in an ART U-heavy 200m had him in front of a three-way photo finish between Ajiroba (21.174 and 35th in NCAA DII), Fresno Pacific's Garrett Fox (21.178) and Ince (21.180) before Page in sixth and Black in eighth.

Single-handedly scoring 16 points on Saturday alone, Marie-Jeanne Ourega defended her triple jump title, cruising to first after posting a distance of 40-5 (12.32m) on her second attempt. The mark bettered that of the event runner-up by nearly one and a half feet. On the track, Ourega offered a new personal record of 13.59 in the 100m hurdles final to join the two others ahead of her in the nation's top five.

Black impressed in the 400m hurdles as well, claiming the championship by way of a 50.72 that also broke the meet record, rising him to third in in the nation as well as second in Academy of Art history. In terms of the school's all-time top five list, he remains only back of Hamm who took second on the day at 51.23, making his own move up into the country's top 10, while Schooler, who is fifth in program history, made it a podium of Urban Knights with his third-place finish at 52.58. That same trio scored points in the 110m hurdles with Schooler taking second this time (14.37), Black in fourth, and Hamm in seventh.

The top six times out of the women's 200m final were all lower than the Outdoor Nationals provisional standard and two were Urban Knights as Clark's fourth-place 23.94 took her to 26th in the country and Matthias' 24.30 had her sixth on the day.

Though Daniel Cortes Gonzalez could not successfully defend his title in the high jump, he settled for a runner-up finish while Elijah Roberts took third.

A busy day for Grace Southern had her cover a total of 8300m, after she nearly took the 5000m title while also placing third in the 1500m and fifth in the 800m. The Textile Design major almost chased down Concordia's Jori Paradis in the 5000m, finishing at 17:23.85 while Paradis held on for the win at 17:23.74. Lisa Redlinger and Katharina Goetschl also scored points for ART U in the event.

In the 1500m, Southern's 4:29.85 was a top 35 Outdoor Nationals provisional mark and put her third in program history while Lina Hanich and Michaela Andrews added scores with top seven finishes as well. Hanich added a fifth-place result in the 800m ahead of Southern while the men's 800m final saw Vaughn Lacour take fourth.

Along with contributing to the women's 4x400m relay which finished fifth overall, Erine Collard placed eighth in the 400m final and Anna Belles Gallen shared the same result in the last of the 400m hurdles.

Among the team scores, the Knights finished third on the men's side with 177 points (13 shy of Fresno Pacific's 190) while the ART U women took fourth with 117 points. Team titles were secured by Azusa Pacific as the Cougars' got 246.50 points from its women's squad and 248.50 points from its men.

Now with two meets remaining before Outdoor Nationals, Academy of Art will begin to prepare for the Oxy Invitational in Los Angeles on May 6.