NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field National Championships
Friday & Saturday, Mar. 8-9, 2024
Pittsburg, Kan. – Robert W. Plaster Center
Schedule | Start Lists - Men | Women
Live Results | Live Video (Mar. 8) | Live Video (Mar. 9)
USTFCCCA Indoor Track & Field Championships Homepage

KNIGHTS IN NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
In the grand finale to the indoor track & field season, Academy of Art will contest a total of 11 events at the NCAA Division II Indoor National Championships. Three competitors from the women's team (ranked No. 11 nationally) will join six qualifiers from the men's team (ranked No. 14 nationally) to contend with the country's best of the best this week in ART U's third time competing in Pitt State's home venue this year. Should student-athletes qualify through their respective prelims, they will have an opportunity to earn All-American status and potentially an individual championship in those event finals taking place on Saturday.

TOEING THE LINE
The championships will be held Mar. 8-9 in Pittsburg, Kansas at the Robert W. Plaster Center. Pitt State and Crawford Country Convention & Visitors Bureau will serve as co-hosts of the championships. The following events will feature Urban Knights:
 

Friday, March 8 (local times CT)	Saturday, March 9 (local times CT)
2 p.m. (12 p.m. PT) - Women's Long Jump Final	3:05 p.m. (1:05 p.m. PT) - Women's Triple Jump Final
2:30 p.m. (12:30 p.m. PT) - Men's 60mH Prelims	5:00 p.m. (3:00 p.m. PT) - Men's 60mH Final
2:45 p.m. (12:45 p.m. PT) - Women's 60m Prelims	5:10 p.m. (3:10 p.m. PT) - Women's 60mH Final
3:15 p.m. (1:15 p.m. PT) - Women's 60m Prelims	5:30 p.m. (3:30 p.m. PT) - Women's 60m Final
4:00 p.m. (2:00 p.m. PT) - Men's 400m Prelims	5:35 p.m. (3:35 p.m. PT) - Men's Triple Jump Final
5:00 p.m. (3:00 p.m. PT) - Women's 800m Prelims	6:00 p.m. (4:00 p.m. PT) - Men's 400m Final
5:15 p.m. (3:15 p.m. PT) - Men's 200m Prelims	6:35 p.m. (4:35 p.m. PT) - Women's 800m Final
5:35 p.m. (3:35 p.m. PT) - Women's 200m Prelims	6:45 p.m. (4:45 p.m. PT) - Men's 200m Final
	6:55 p.m. (4:55 p.m. PT) - Women's 200m Final
	7:45 p.m. (5:45 p.m. PT) - Men's 4x400m Final

Live coverage will be available at the links above. Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights via the athletics app (Apple App Store, Google Play Store) and on Twitter & Instagram as well as "Like" the Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps.
 
MJ THE MAGNIFICENT (60mH, LJ, TJ)
Coming into this season as an 18-time All-American and four-time National Champion, Marie-Jeanne Ourega prepares to defend her indoor long jump title while contesting both the 60m hurdles and triples jump as well. The Communications & Media Technologies major achieved a new personal record as a hurdler this season, twice posting the fastest time of her career with an 8.46 ultimately at the Fastrack Last Chance Invitational on Feb. 23. Fifth in program history, the mark has her 10th in NCAA DII heading into Nationals where she placed fifth last year and eighth the season prior.

After opening her indoor campaign with a long jump of 20-2.5 (6.16m) at the GVSU Holiday Open on Dec. 8, Ourega has remained atop the national rankings for the entirety of the season. The native of L'Haÿ-les-Roses, France would proceed to significantly better that mark with a 20-10 (6.35m), a new indoor record (second in ART U history behind multi-time Hall of Famer Vashti Thomas), at the New Mexico Collegiate Classic on Feb. 2 and finds herself with a lead over Azusa Pacific's Nicole Warwick (20-8/6.30m) for the country's top spot as the final competition begins this week. Along with vying for her second consecutive indoor long jump title, Ourega will look to add her first triple jump national championship following a year in which she stayed among the event's top five throughout. The Communications & Media Technologies major delivered a new indoor best of 42-0.75 (12.82m) to take fourth at Indoor Nationals last season and has since put herself fifth in the country (second only to ART U record-holder Camille Jouanno) by the regular season's end with a 41-10.75 (12.77m) at the Tyson Invitational on Feb. 10.

BLACK IS BACK (60mH, 200m)
In a long-awaited return to Indoor Nationals, Robin Black will look to add to the All-American collection that grew threefold at Outdoor Nationals in 2023. He will begin in the 60m hurdles where a new Academy of Art record 7.91 from the GVSU Big Meet on Feb. 9 has Black knotted with two others, Pitt State's Joel Nysatusah and Missouri Southern's JaDarius Pigg, for 12th in NCAA DII. The Music Production & Sound Design for Visual Media has held the ART U record since just his fifth meet with the program.

Outside of the hurdles, Black will also challenge the country's elite in the 200m dash. The native of Clarendon, Jamaica saw his best performance in the event come back on Jan. 19 when he dropped a new indoor best of 21.24 to eventually tie with Tiffin's Donte Sol for 10th nationally by the regular season's conclusion. Black can be found back only of ART U Hall of Famer Mobolade Ajomale and 12-time All-American Jordan Edwards in Academy of Art's top competitors in the event. In addition to his individual events, Black is slated to run on the Urban Knights' 4x400m relay.

GOOD JUJU (60m, 200m)
Juvonna Cornette had quite the memorable indoor debut season with Academy of Art, elevating herself some of the best sprinters in program history in both the 60m and 200m dashes. Ever since her first time 60m final (7.44) run back on Dec. 8 at the GVSU Holiday Open, she has been third on the ART U all-time list behind only multi-time Hall of Famer Vashti Thomas and 11-time All-American Selena Arjona-Alcazar.  Two meets later at the Spokane Indoor Challenge on Jan. 13, Cornette went 7.41 to put her 10th in the country with Indoor Nationals next up. The Interior Architecture & Design major holds nearly that same position in the 200m where she dropped a 24.00 at the GVSU Big Meet on Feb. 10 that was good for 12th nationally as well as third to Thomas and Arjona-Alcazar in Academy of Art history.

HAMM IT UP (400m)
Despite earning five All-American trophies since becoming an Urban Knight in 2020, Shareez Hamm has yet to collect one outside of a hurdles or relay event, but he comes into this week poised to do so in the 400m. His fastest time to date in the event's indoor version came on Jan. 13 at the Spokane Indoor Challenge when he delivered a 47.47 that kept him among the country's top 10, tied with Fort Hays State's Hayden Albright. Among Knights historically, the Photography major is fifth overall in the 400m. In addition to his individual event, Hamm is slated to run on the Urban Knights' 4x400m relay.

FINISH LINA (800m)
Carrying tremendous momentum from her third consecutive year breaking the Academy of Art indoor 800m record, Lina Hanich reaches Indoor Nationals ranked fourth in the country. Running under 2:10.50 twice in the month of February, the two-time All-American impressively dropped to 2:08.03 most recently at the Fastrack Last Chance Invitational on Feb. 23 to join a select group of just nine NCAA DII runners who have gone sub 2:09.00 this season.

JAMES TIME (200m)
It was a dynamic start to Lauryn James' Academy of Art career back on Dec. 8 when she started with a 24.27 in the 200m dash at the GVSU Holiday Open. Since that time, the Animation & Visual Effects major has steadily worked her way back to even better marks with a 24.13 coming at the GVSU Big Meet on Feb. 9 then her fastest, 24.09, at the Fastrack Last Chance Invitational on Feb. 23. The season best has put her 19th in the nation going into the finale as well as fifth in ART U history.

THIRD JUMP'S THE CHARM (TJ)
Coming off his best triple jump of the season literally his last time out, Yacouba Gnacko returns to Indoor Nationals looking to improve upon his runner-up finish to the National Champion in 2023. The Industrial Design major delivered the best jump of his career, 51-8.75 (15.74m), on the biggest stage last year and will now provide an encore to the 51-3.5 (15.63m) mark he achieved in his final attempt of the Fastrack Last Chance Invitational on Feb. 23. A five-time All-American, Gnacko enters ranked third in the country this season and his personal record has him second only to ART U record-holder Johnny Carter.

FINAL FOUR (Men's 4x400m)
A strong 3:10.90 at the GVSU Holiday Open on Dec. 8 has had the ART U 4x400m relay quartet of Shareez Hamm, Omodiaogbe Oboh, Robin Black, and Josh Marlin atop the NCAA DII rankings for the entirety of the 2023-24 season. Along with running under 3:11.50 three more times since then, the team has improved their best mark once more in February with a 3:10.33 at the New Mexico Collegiate Classic on Feb. 2, bringing them the nation's top position heading into their final race of the indoor season.

THE NEXT CHAPTER
With the conclusion of its indoor season, ART U resumes its outdoor campaign in full force with Sacramento State's Hornet Invitational on Mar. 15.