2023 Marlin Invitational Results

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Having its first opportunity to compete in Virginia Beach Sports Center, the future site of NCAA Division II Indoor Nationals, Academy of Art track & field saw its Urban Knights move up in national rankings and add more names to the program's all-time top five across various events at the Marlin Invitational hosted by Virginia Wesleyan on Friday.

Already second in the country in the long jump, Marie-Jeanne Ourega protected her position with a season-best 20-2.5 (6.16m) in her first attempt, bettering six others including Fayetteville State's M'Smrya Seward who debuted at third in the nation. Ourega's day also included her fastest time in the 60m hurdles this season as she claimed first of seven competitors at 8.76 with another Indoor Nationals provisional qualification good for 18th in NCAA DII.

The men's jumps side was highlighted by an indoor-best for Yacouba Gnacko in the long jump. He bettered his previous top mark by more than four inches with a 22-11.75 (7.00m) in his third attempt to end second of 13 on the day while taking over the fifth spot in ART U history. It was a first place finish for Mathieu Tshani who saved his best for last, going 48-11 (14.91m) to lead the field of six with what would have been an Indoor Nationals provisional mark though it did not surpass his previous season high which keeps him second in the country.

Shareez Hamm took time off his season best with another Indoor Nationals provisional qualification of 48.25 in the 400m. He crept ever closer to third in the nation, claiming first of 12 on the day while teammate Omodiaogbe Oboh was not far behind in third with a 49.30 mark in his first collegiate indoor 400m race.

The second collegiate indoor 3000m of Lisa Redlinger's career was marked by significant improvement as she took more than 30 seconds off her debut last December with an Indoor Nationals provisional 9:53.16, putting her 11th in NCAA DII. First of just three in the event, Redlinger put herself fourth in ART U history while Grace Southern's first event in an Academy of Art uniform had her debut at fifth in program history with a time of 10:00.04.

While Robin Black did not better any of his current top times in 2022-23, he still repeatedly delivered Indoor Nationals provisional marks, finishing first in both rounds of the 60m dash and 60m hurdles as well as the 200m. He opened with an 8.04 for first of seven in the 60mH prelims then dropped an 8.05 to win the final where teammate Crockett Schooler went 8.18 for an Indoor Nationals provisional (27th in DII) and the program's third-fastest time to date. The 60m prelims saw Black take first of 22 at 6.89 ahead of another final victory at 6.68. Lastly in the 200m, Black placed first out of 22 with a time of 21.61, competing in the same heat as teammate Makarios Page who offered his best indoor 200m to date at 22.06.

The women's 60m dash featured top finishes for Selena Arjona-Alcazar in both the prelims (7.84) and final (7.67) as she bested 23 sprinters in the opening round then seven in the final. Alongside in both was Alicia Thomas whose 8.08 placed her eighth in the prelims before a season-best 7.93 earned her sixth in the final.

Michaela Andrews took over four seconds off her previous 800m time and was less than one second from the Indoor Nationals provisional standard at 2:15.16. She secured a first-place result out of 13 in the event nonetheless, putting herself fifth in ART U history. It was also a top finish for Jaden Singleton on the men's side of the event as his 1:57.19 was a new season best and had him the leader of a field of 12 competitors.

Distance specialists also shined in the mile where Katharina Goetschl paced 15 total runners, but had her teammates, Lina Hanich and Audrey Rosencrans, not far behind. Goetschl's opening mile time as an Urban Knight (4:59.90) was good for fifth in program history while Hanich (5:04.24) and Rosencrans (5:18.72) followed in second and fourth respectively each with their career indoor bests in the event coming on Friday.

Just two over two seconds from hitting the Indoor Nationals provisional standard was the 4x400m quartet of Oboh, Schooler, Taj-Leon Wisdom, and Vaughn Lacour. They collectively finished 3:19.87 for first place of eight teams.

The 3000m saw Hudson Lockette post a new indoor best, going 8:44.26 across the finish line.

Academy of Art will be back inside Virginia Beach Sports Center tomorrow for its second meet in as many days, contesting events in the Blue Marlin Invitational.