Ending his collegiate career on the most triumphant of notes, Academy of Art track & field's Shareez Hamm wrapped up 2024 NCAA Division II Outdoor Nationals as the National Champion in the 400m hurdles.
After winning his
May 23 prelim heat, Hamm made his move early in the final on
May 25, pushing to the front of the field and maintaining that position around the final curve with three hurdles to go. The Photography major held off Cal Poly Pomona's Ryan Fields down the stretch and ultimately crossed the finish line first overall with a new personal record 49.97. Officially the 30th NCAA DII National Champion in Academy of Art history, Hamm delivered the second-fastest time in ART U history (the fastest by an Urban Knight in a collegiate race) and became an eight-time All-American.
"It meant the world to me to become a National Champion, but I owe it all to God because without Him none of this would be possible," Hamm said. "This shows the younger generation from where I am from that anything is possible if you believe in yourself and put God first. My main goal is to get one percent better each day. It took a lot of hard work during the fall and spring semesters, staying consistent with training and showing up every day no matter how I am feeling or whatever is going in my life."
Hamm would return less than two hours later to initiate the Knights' 4x400m relay, which had qualified through on
May 24, running strong to hand off to Omodiaogbe Oboh, Ajani Ince, and Josh Marlin, ultimately combining to run the third-fastest time in program history at 3:08.53. The effort put Academy of Art into a photo finish with Mississippi College for third place which the Choctaws ended up winning by 0.006 seconds. ART U's fourth-place finish overall still scored five points for the team and solidified the quartet as All-Americans.
"Shareez is one of the most coachable athletes and one of the best leaders I've ever had the pleasure to work with," said Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Kevin LaSure. "There aren't many more deserving of what he accomplished today and I am extremely proud of him. It was a great way for him to finish his college career and it couldn't happen to a better person. This was the goal at the beginning of the season and, even when it didn't look so promising, he stayed the course and continued to trust the work we were putting in day in and day out."
