AZUSA, Calif. – Wakilli Bennett set a new program record as he concluded his season at the APU Last Chance Meet on Saturday.

"I'm extremely proud of Wakilli's accomplishments this year," sprint coach Matt Ilarina said. "He came in as a spring semester transfer and immediately made an impact. He set a high standard of excellence and performance for our team. We are looking forward to continued growth and development in the off season. It will be exciting to see what Wakilli can do next year."

Bennett nearly tied his program record in the 100 meter dash finishing with a time of 10.62 in a highly competitive field to place third in his heat and 12th overall in the event. He fell just short of the 10.55 qualifying mark for the NCAA Nationals in his first year competing at the NCAA Division II level.

The highlight of the day however came in his second event as Bennett shattered his previous program record by .25 seconds finishing sixth overall and second among NCAA Division II competition with a time of 21.39 seconds, the fastest in his heat. The mark put him just .13 seconds behind the final qualifying time for the NCAA Championships. 

"I want to compete at the NCAA Division II Track and Field National Championships next year," Bennett said. "All my focus and attention will be on attaining that goal this offseason."