2021 Pacific West Conference Championships Results (Day 1)

FRESNO, Calif. – After Marie-Jeanne Ourega broke the Pacific West Conference Championship record while becoming the long jump champion, Academy of Art track & field proceeded to qualify Urban Knights in all 13 preliminary races on the track Friday at Fresno Pacific.

The previous long jump record of 20-2.25 (6.15m) was surpassed by Ourega in each of her three attempts as she began the day hitting 20-7.75 (6.29m). In front of the next closest competitor by more than two feet after first attempts, Ourega then went 20-3 (6.17m) on her second jump, but saved her best for last with a 21-3.5 (6.49m) to further the new meet record. Behind the nation's leader in the event, Camille Jouanno put forth a top-25 mark of her own at 19-1.25 (5.82m), a career-best, for the Outdoor Nationals provisional despite a +3.9 wind. Rian Young-Werner rounded out three Urban Knights in the top five with a personal record of 18-8.5 (5.70m).

Ourega was not yet done though. She proceeded to place first in the prelims of the 100m hurdles, dominating the competition with a 13.87 Outdoor Nationals provisional that put her fifth in NCAA Division II. 

Action on the track began with the women's 1500m where the trio of Hasna Kaarour, Natalia Novak, and Lina Hanich were all among the top eight and qualified with four others for Saturday's final. Three men also made it through the 1500m with spots two, three, and four of the first heat belonged to Abdelouakil Mustapha, Elliot Slade, and James Young.

Over half of those who qualified through Friday's 400m prelim were Urban Knights as Makarios Page, Omodiaogbe Oboh, Grant Swinton, Kaze Poitier, and Lennard Marshall found themselves among the top nine. Less than 0.70 separated Ombretta Picciolie Minkue Meye and Alice Coisne as a pair of top 6 qualifiers on the women's side of the 400m.

Many of the same names could be read as qualifying through both the men's and women's 100m and 200m prelims. The top eight in the 100m included Darria Matthias, Selena Arjona-Alcazar, Hava Turner, and Minkue Meye (all separated by 0.21) while the 200m featured that same order all separated by a little less than 0.80 in the top seven.

The men's 200m prelim was led by Daquan Berry with Ajani Ince, Oboh, and Page following all within the top six. Then, in the 100m, it was Berry and Ince who slotted in among the top three.

Inside the top five of the women's and men's 800m prelims was Novak and Hanich as well as Mustapha and Slade.

Continuing his success in the hurdles this season, Shareez Hamm led the field in the 400mH prelims by more than two seconds while the tandem of Coisne and Audrey Courand each put themselves into Saturday's 400mH final with top-5 marks.

Scoring six points for her team in the 3000m steeplechase, Audrey Rosencrans finished third out of nine competitors with a time of 11:29.95 which was a little over five seconds from her personal best and school record. On the men's side, Hudson Lockette elevated to fourth in program history while becoming the fourth Urban Knight to run sub-9:50.00 in the event. He finished 9:49.81 across the line for fourth out of 10.

Fellow distance crew member Giulia McIsaac closed out the day with four points for ART U by way of a fifth-place result in the 10,000m.

Academy of Art will return to FPU Track for "Championship Saturday" where all event finals and remaining competitions will take place beginning at 9 a.m.