SAN FRANCISCO – Delivering impressive performances throughout its indoor and outdoor campaigns, the 2022-23 Academy of Art track & field season was highlighted by 34 All-American honors, Pacific West Conference titles in 11 different events, a fourth-place finish for the men at Indoor Nationals, and Marie-Jeanne Ourega capturing two NCAA Division II Long Jump National Championships. Led by Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Kevin LaSure and his coaching staff, the Urban Knights marked their respective indoor and outdoor schedules by producing a total of 11 new school records (four indoor, seven outdoor) along the way.

Starting the indoor season with the first of what would be three total trips to Washington, ART U opened December's Spokane Invitational by posting 11 Indoor Nationals provisional marks with nearly half coming from the combined efforts of Marie-Jeanne Ourega and Robin Black. Solid efforts in the distance medley relays plus a memorable season-best triple jump for Mathieu Tshani at the Spokane Indoor Challenge in early January gave way to a second day of action highlighted by Black clocking the second-fastest 60m dash in program history (6.71) behind only Academy of Art Hall of Famer Mobolade Ajomale for a time that would remain top 10 through the regular season's end.

The Urban Knights then got their first look at the future site of Indoor Nationals, entering the Virginia Beach Sports Center for the Marlin and Blue Marlin Invitationals. Ourega delivered her best long jump of the season, good for third overall by the eve of Indoor Nationals, while fellow jumper Yacouba Gnacko demonstrated early signs of the breakout sophomore season he would have in 2023.

ART U was back in Spokane to begin the month of February and, at the WSU Open & Combined Events, many Knights ascended the national rankings including Britney Clark in the 60m dash, the women's DMR, and Robin Black who broke his first program record with a 7.95 in the 60m hurdles, effectively punching his ticket to Indoor Nationals with the performance. From there, a return to Virginia for DII Indoor Track & Field Pre-Nationals saw Lisa Redlinger run her best 5000m of the season to set the Academy of Art record before Ourega solidified a top-five position nationally in the triple jump and Duncan Agyemang continued to close in on a place at Indoor Nationals in the 400m.

Finishing the month with final two regular season meets, ART U first had many of its sprinters shine in the Fasttrack Last Chance Invitational including both Selena Arjona-Alcazar and Darria Matthias in the 60m and Clark in both the 200m and 400m. Ultimately, the Last Chance Indoor National Qualifier two days later boldly featured the sixth-fastest NCAA DII men's 4x400m relay ever at the time plus top-25 national marks from Black (200m), Arjona-Alcazar (200m), Matthias (200m), Agyemang (400m), Makarios Page (400m), Ourega (60mH), Gnacko (TJ), the women's 4x400m, and Lina Hanich who broke her own 800m program record (2:10.07) one year later to the day.

Riding the momentum of 43 USTFCCCA All-Region awards into Indoor Nationals, Academy of Art started with Ourega capturing the third National Championship of her career after her indoor record of 20-9.75 (6.34m), which remains second in ART U history only to multi-time Hall of Famer Vashti Thomas, put her first overall. Ourega would close further in on Thomas in the triple jump on day two, becoming a 15-time All-American in the process while Arjona-Alcazar also visited the podium in the 200m. Agyemang, the USTFCCCA West Region Track Athlete of the Year, placed fourth in the 400m and joined his teammates, Page, Omodiaogbe Oboh, and Shareez Hamm, in once again breaking the program's 4x400m record with a 3:09.72 (seventh-fastest in NCAA DII) to not only finish runners-up in the event, but joined Gnacko and Tshani's top-four All-American triple jump performances in propelling the men to fourth place as a team, their second-highest result to date.

Coming off being named West Region Indoor Men's Head Coach and Assistant Coach of the Year, LaSure and Nkosinza Balumbu joined the Urban Knights in going right to work as the outdoor season followed just one week later with Stanford's Cardinal Classic. There, Ourega, the eventual PacWest Field Athlete of the Week, along with Gnacko and Tshani launched right back up the national rankings in addition to a solid men's 4x400m relay that boded well for the future. Three days of action bridging March and April then began with Redlinger breaking the program's 10,000m record and the mile record at the Mike Fanelli Track Classic before upward movement from several Knights including the tandem of PacWest Track & Field Athletes of the Week Ourega and Arjona-Alcazar as well as both genders' 4x100m relays at the Stanford Invitational.

Outdoor Nationals provisional marks came from Black and Redlinger at the Brutus Hamilton Invitational before a busy three days of the Bryan Clay Invitational and Mt. SAC Relays in Southern California. Katharina Goetschl approached the program record in the 3000m steeplechase on the first day then new top marks emerged from day two with Redlinger topping her own 10,000m record, Arjona-Alcazar sprinting her way to another PacWest weekly honor, and the combination of Ajani Ince, Black, Emmanuel Ajiroba, and Agyemang starting an impressive final two months working together to repeatedly better the ART U 4x100m relay record. All previous marks were outdone on the final day at Mt. SAC, however, when Page, Black, Hamm, and Agyemang combined for the sixth-fastest 4x400m relay in NCAA DII history, going 3:05.20 to break Academy of Art's 2014 record and remain first in the country through the end of the regular season.

Back in Azusa for the 2023 PacWest Championships, the Urban Knights offered several memorable efforts on both days with Goetschl collecting 3000m steeplechase title, long jump runner-up results for Gnacko and Ourega, and Black breaking the program's 110m hurdles record to begin. Conference champions were then crowned in 10 more events on the second day as Black broke the PacWest meet record in the 400m hurdles en route to three conference titles while scoring over 28 points and becoming the PacWest Most Outstanding Men's Track Athlete of the Meet. His 100m and 400mH marks along with both horizontal jumps from Gnacko, Arjona-Alcazar's 100m, Agyemang's 400m, Hamm's 400mH, and the men's 4x100m were all strong enough to punch Outdoor Nationals tickets.

Grace Southern's season-bests in the 1500m and 5000m combined with Page's 400m to highlight the West Coast Last Chance as action opened the month of May then Ourega's top marks in the 100m hurdles and long jump at the APU Franson Last Chance reflected her readiness for Outdoor Nationals. Numerous season-bests were delivered on the second day in Azusa as both Arjona-Alcazar and Black dominated large fields in their respective 200m events.

From its 35 USTFCCCA All-Region selections, Academy of Art sent 15 total competitors to Outdoor Nationals where the season's grand finale started with an exclamation mark thanks to Ourega. For the fourth time in her career and third consecutive outdoor campaign, the Communications & Media Technologies major won the long jump with a season-best 21-2.5 (6.46m) on the same day that Black broke the ART U 400m hurdles record with a 50.10 in the event prelims and the men's 4x100m relay program record was reset for the third time in 2023. Following a runner-up finish to the National Champion for Gnacko in the triple jump on day two, Championship Saturday was loaded with All-American performances as Ince, Black, Ajiroba, and Agyemang broke the 4x100m relay record for a fourth time in going 39.45 for third place, Black bettered the program's 100m record with a wind-aided mark of 10.10 before joining Hamm on the podium in the 400m hurdles, Agyemang added a trophy to his collection in the 400m, and Ourega placed fourth in the triple jump to close out her season as an 18-time All-American. Ourega and LaSure would wrap up the outdoor campaign by being voted West Region Field Athlete and Men's Coach of the Year.

With the program's 15th year now in the books, Academy of Art will look to write the program's next successful chapter in 2023-24.