Academy of Art University Athletics

Inside the Albuquerque Convention Center this past Sunday, junior Vashti Thomas proudly represented Academy of Art University track and field in the USA Track & Field Indoor National Championships. Thomas was a qualifier in two events, the long jump and 60m hurdles, and her distance of 20-7 got her into the long jump finals where she flew even further (20-9) to finish 8th overall. In the semifinals of the 60mH, Thomas produced an impressive 8.21 which just missed qualifying her for the finals.

"It was really amazing and I was just excited to have the opportunity to go," Thomas said. "I was happy because for myself, I've always wanted to go to the finals in an event like this and I really wanted to represent our program well by going for it."

"There are many ways to look at this weekends results," head coach Charles Ryan said. "Vashti represented herself and Academy of Art University very well, she was not in awe of the big names, and she came to compete. In the end, it was a great learning experience and awesome exposure for the program."