2023 APU Franson Last Chance Results (Day 1)
AZUSA, Calif. – Competing inside Cougar Stadium for the sixth day this outdoor season, Academy of Art track & field delivered NCAA Division II Outdoor Nationals provisional qualifiers and several season-best marks to begin the APU Franson Last Chance on Friday.
Achieving a new season-best on her third long jump attempt,
Marie-Jeanne Ourega flew to a 20-9 (6.32m) mark that keeps her third in the nation, was second on the day only to Nike's Rhesa Foster, a two-time Pac-12 Long Jump Champion previously with Oregon, and bested Azusa Pacific's Nicole Warwick who remains second in the country after winning the Pacific West Conference title in late April. Ourega also edged out Warwick in the pair's 100m hurdles prelims heat as the Communications & Media Technologies major delivered a time of 14.01 for fourth of 23 competitors overall. Both will meet again in Saturday's final.
Friday saw the fastest 800m race in the career of
Lina Hanich who went 2:09.91 to move up to third in Academy of Art history. In addition to her placing fifth out of the 43-runner field on the day, she elevated into the top 25 in NCAA DII as an Outdoor Nationals provisional qualifier. Running with her teammate in the same heat,
Michaela Andrews turned in her best mark of the year in the event's outdoor version at 2:11.41 for her own Outdoor Nationals provisional qualification.
The men's 100m dash prelims saw
Duncan Agyemang achieve a new personal record of 10.43. Though he could not break into tomorrow's event final, which will feature 2019 World Athletics Championships Gold Medalist Cravon Gillespie and National Football League running back Khalfani Muhammad now representing Puerto Rico, Agyemang's mark put him 41st in NCAA Division II as an Outdoor Nationals provisional qualifier for the second time in the last two weeks.
Qualifying through the prelims of the women's 100m dash,
Selena Arjona-Alcazar and
Britney Clark won their respective heats toward Saturday's final. Arjona-Alcazar bested five others in her heat with a time of 11.67 that put her fourth of 46 competitors overall. Clark clocked a time of 11.75, topping six others in her heat while sitting seventh overall going into tomorrow's action.
In the 110m hurdles prelims,
Crockett Schooler owned the biggest winning margin of the three heats, going 14.29 across the line to take first by 0.21 seconds. He placed third in the field of 15 to earn another chance to compete in the event on Saturday.
The second and final day of the APU Franson Last Chance will be tomorrow back inside Cougar Stadium.
