SAN FRANCISCO – Authoring impressive efforts throughout their indoor and outdoor journeys, the Academy of Art track & field team delivered 38 All-American honors, Pacific West Conference titles in 12 different events, two top 15 team finishes at Outdoor Nationals, and a NCAA Division II National Championship for Shareez Hamm in the outdoor 400m hurdles in 2023-24. Led by Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Kevin LaSure and his coaching staff, the Urban Knights marked their respective indoor and outdoor campaigns by producing a total of 12 new school records (four indoor, eight outdoor) along the way.

Starting the season strong at the GVSU Holiday Open on Dec. 8, ART U was led by some of the country's top marks to that point including Marie-Jeanne Ourega in the long jump, Robin Black in the 60m and 200m dash, the men's 4x400m relay, and immediate Indoor Nationals provisional qualifications from the women's 100m dash quartet of Lauryn James, Juvonna Cornette, Toni-Ann Lindsay, and Darria Matthias.

A weekend in Washington was next as Academy of Art highlighted the Spokane Indoor Challenge and Spokane Sports Showcase first with a Indoor Nationals provisional from the women's distance medley relay combination of Lina Hanich, Erine Collard, Michaela Andrews, and Katharina Goetschl on Jan. 12 then Shareez Hamm and Cornette both offered what would be national top 10 performances in their respective 400m and 60m competitions to wrap the action up on Jan. 13.

The month of January concluded with two meets at the future site of Indoor Nationals with the Rumble in the Jungle Invite (Jan. 19) and the Wendy's / Pittsburg State Invite (Jan. 27) taking place in Kansas. A host of personal records came for the Urban Knights on the first day including a 200m mark (21.24) that kept Black among the nation's top 10 on the first day then the program's third-fastest mile to date from Goetschl (4:53.35) on the second while Ourega twice ran her 60m hurdles career-best time to that point.

Two days in the New Mexico Collegiate Classic followed as Ourega wowed with what was the ninth-farthest long jump in NCAA DII history at the time (20-10/6.35m) and Andrews broke the program's 600m record (1:36.38) on Feb. 2 before a season-best for the 4x400m relay team of Hamm, Omodiaogbe Oboh, Black, and Josh Marlin on Feb. 3.

Less than a week later, ART U could be found competing in both the GVSU Big Meet and Tyson Invite on Feb. 9 and Feb. 10 with new Academy of Art records emerging from Black in the 60m hurdles (7.91) and Daniel Cortes Gonzalez in the high jump (6-9/2.06m) along with NCAA DII's quickest men's 4x400m relay of the regular season and Ourega keeping herself among the country's top five in the triple jump.

In the final tune-up before Indoor Nationals, some major achievements took place for Urban Knights at the Fastrack Last Chance on Feb. 23. Hanich broke her own 800m record for the third consecutive year with a 2:08.03 that put her fourth by the regular season's end and Yacouba Gnacko rose to third in the nation in the triple jump.

Those efforts helped Academy of Art send a total of 10 Knights to Indoor Nationals where Ourega began by placing fifth in the long jump on Mar. 8. She added another All-American performance in the triple jump on Mar. 9, a day that also featured Gnacko fifth in the triple jump, James seventh in the 200m dash, and the men's 4x400m relay also seventh on the podium. Gnacko, James, and Hamm would also close their indoor campaigns as West Region Athletes of the Year.

Transitioning to the outdoor season, Sacramento State's Hornet Invite opened with Goetschl breaking the program 3000m steeplechase record on Mar. 15 for what would be the first of four times in 2024. A top finish for Gnacko in the triple jump earned him one of three PacWest weekly honors for ART U with Hamm and James securing the others on the strength of individual as well as relay contributions toward the meet's Mar. 16 finale. James repeated her selection the following week as she and Ajani Ince were named PacWest Track Athletes of the Week after combining for Outdoor Nationals provisional marks in five different events across the Mangrum Invite and PLNU Track & Field Invite.

Goetschl bettered her previous best in the 3000m steeplechase at the Stanford Invite on Mar. 29 while the rest of the Urban Knights were busy setting new records in the men's and women's 4x200m relay and 1600m sprint medley relay at Texas Relays that same day as well as Mar. 30. On the women's side, it was Cornette, Lindsay, James, and Hanich who broke the NCAA DII record in the SMR (3:53.00) first then Lindsay, James, Matthias, and Cornette impressively tied the NCAA DII 4x200m record (1:34.87) thereafter while Cornette also blazed to a new 100m record at the time (11.43) and the duo of Ourega and Gnacko challenged NCAA DI talent, soaring to PacWest Field Athlete of the Week awards.

ART U then stayed local for the first time all year, contesting events at Cal's Brutus Hamilton Invite on Apr. 6 where Ourega and Gnacko yet again stole the show, repeating their PacWest weekly honors with season bests in the long jump to that point. At the Cal State LA Twilight Open and Bryan Clay Invite next, Goetschl's fastest 3000m steeplechase time of the regular season (10:21.42) gave her a third record plus a top 10 mark in the nation, Hanich (800m) and the men's 4x100m relay added season bests, and Gnacko claimed a remarkable fourth PacWest Field Athlete of the Week selection for his continued hold on the top triple jump position in NCAA DII in 2024.

Stepping onto the track for the program's 12th appearance at Mt. SAC Relays, the Knights were initially paced by James' new Academy of Art record in the 100m dash (11.41) before solid Apr. 21 efforts from Hamm in the 400m hurdles and the men's 4x400m relay produced upward movement on the national rankings along with PacWest weekly honors for both James and Hamm.

Held at new conference member Westmont's track in Montecito, the 2024 PacWest Championships were marked by another collection of double-digit ART U titles including one apiece for Ourega (long jump) and Goetschl (3000mS) on Apr. 26. A loaded second day would see that pair add championships in the triple jump and 5000m respectively while Gnacko notched his third triple jump gold, Hamm and Marlin anchored their places among the top five in the country in the 400m hurdles along with contributing to 4x100m and 4x400m relay titles, Ince joined them and had his own in the 100m, and the trio of Cornette, James, and Hanich all shared the podium's top spot both individually (100m, 200m, 800m) and for the women's 4x400m. When all was finished, James and Ourega were awarded PacWest Most Outstanding Track & Field Athletes of the Meet as well.

Knights once more saved many of their bests for the final regular season weekend with a return to Azusa bringing the Franson Last Chance. Among the memorable results on May 10 was Hanich yet again breaking the program's 800m record (2:06.62), settling her inside the nation's top five, and Ourega reclaiming her No. 1 spot in the long jump with a new personal record 21-7.5 (6.59m) that remains second to only multi-time Hall of Famer Vashti Thomas. Also on May 11, ART U had women's quartets run the second and fourth-fastest times in the 4x100m (44.50) and 4x400m (3:38.36) relays to set both up for eventual All-American efforts two weeks later.

The podium was visited by Urban Knights at least once each day of Outdoor Nationals as Gnacko and Ourega both placed among the top eight in the long jump on May 23 then Goetschl once more broke the Academy of Art 3000m steeplechase record (10:13.58) en route to fourth overall on May 24. The meet concluded in golden fashion on May 25 as Hamm was crowned the NCAA DII National Champion in the 400m hurdles, running the best time of his career at 49.97 (second in ART U history) across the finish line. The eventual West Region and PacWest Track Athlete of the Year later joined Marlin, a fellow 400mH All-American, and Ince, an All-American in both the 100m and 200m, in taking fourth in the men's 4x400m relay with the program's second-fastest mark (3:08.53).

An impressive collection of accomplishments was also turned in on the women's side with Cornette (11.34) and James (11.40) each breaking the ART U record in the 100m dash before each hoisted All-American trophies, Cornette raising another in the 200m, and those two combining with Hanich and Lindsay for a new 4x400m relay record. Cornette, the Outdoor West Region Track Athlete of the Year, and James, the PacWest Track Athlete of the Year, were also alongside Lindsay and Ourega (now a 23-time All-American) as All-Americans in the 4x100m relay as both men's and women's teams finished Outdoor Nationals inside the top 15.

Academy of Art carries the momentum from a memorable 16th year into 2024-25.