Grand Canyon track and field head coach Tom Flood agreed to a multi-year contract, keeping the Lopes’ founding architect at the helm of a program that he has led to 24 Division I conference championships and a Division II national title.   

Flood, set to enter his 16th GCU season in 2025–26, has built the Lopes into a perennial championship contender since launching the program in 2010. He is GCU’s second-longest tenured active head coach. 

“Coach Flood has established a standard of sustained excellence that has become synonymous with GCU track and field,” GCU Vice President of Athletics Jamie Boggs said. “He cares deeply about his student-athletes, the program and GCU, and you can see this in his results. We’re very thankful and excited to have Tom’s leadership guiding the program’s continued rise.” 

Under Flood, GCU has won 24 WAC team championships with him earning 26 WAC Coach of the Year honors. 

“I feel truly blessed, and I’m extremely thankful for the opportunity for the last 15 years to have started, built and developed a highly successful track and field program at GCU,” Flood said. “While I am very proud of all that this program has accomplished since 2010 — including a national title, two top-three national team finishes, 26 conference titles, 100-plus All-Americans — I feel that this program is just now hitting its stride.” 

Flood has overseen a program that has produced more than 220 individual conference champions and advanced 18 athletes to compete at NCAA Division I Championships. 

In 2025, GCU won individual championships in 14 events and claimed the WAC Men’s Indoor Track and Field Championships title. Lopes senior sprinter Justin Raines advanced to the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 200-meter dash, while senior teammate Cam Wilmington qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 400-meter hurdles. 

During the consistent championship success, some of the more impressive stretches of team dominance include streaks of seven consecutive WAC men’s indoor championships (2016-23), four consecutive WAC women’s indoor championships (2016-19), four consecutive men’s outdoor championships (2021-24) and three consecutive women’s outdoor championships (2018-21). 

Flood already has a spot in the GCU Hall of Fame as head coach of the 2012 NCAA Division II men’s indoor national champions, leading the program to that title in just its second season of existence. Flood and the team were inducted in February. 

“While I may not still be coaching for another 15 years, I’m really excited to direct, lead and be a part of the continued success and to watch the continued growth of both the track and field program and GCU,” Flood said. 

Flood’s coaching reputation has been recognized on the national and world stage with a selection to coach USA Track and Field sprinters and hurdlers at the 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Serbia. 

Flood began his coaching career at Colorado State and previously trained elite sprinters and hurdlers in Arizona. A former Arizona State jumper, he remains deeply rooted in the Phoenix community and aligns with GCU’s mission.

 

GREENWOOD, Ind. – Ten members of the St. Olaf College men’s and women’s cross country and track and field teams were named to the 2025 Academic All-District ® Men’s and Women’s Cross Country/Track & Field Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators (CSC), as announced on Tuesday.

Recent graduates Sophie Abernethy ’25 and Alison Bode ’25 and rising seniors Ashlyn Jore, Grace Moeller, and Isabel Wyatt represented St. Olaf on the women’s list, while rising junior Max Albertson, rising senior Gael Manzur Strandlund, rising senior Lance Nemecek, recent graduate Andrew Skemp ’25, and rising senior Kevin Turlington did so on the men’s list. The Academic All-District ® Teams recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined athletic and academic accomplishments.

In order to be recognized, student-athletes must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically and must carry a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.50. Nominees must also have either finished in the top 50 at the 2024 NCAA regional competition in cross country or hold a top-50 regional ranking in a single event in track and field (indoor or outdoor).

Skemp and Bode both earned their third consecutive Academic All-District ® accolade, while Abernethy, Moeller, Turlington, and Wyatt collected their second. Albertson, Jore, Manzur Strandlund, and Nemecek were all first-time honorees.

Bode, Skemp, Turlington, and Wyatt advanced to the CSC Academic All-America ® ballot, with first-, second-, and third-team Academic All-America ® honorees set to be announced on July 15 (women) and July 16 (men).

 

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Five members of the Union College men’s cross country and track & field teams were recognized for their achievements in competition as well as their success in the classroom with spots on the 2024-25 Academic All-District Track & Field and Cross Country Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators and announced last week.
 
Senior Ben Neff was recognized for the third straight season, while juniors Tony Cocchiaro and Mason Lang both earned the honor for the second straight year. Senior Sam Ahern and sophomore Aaron Binion picked up Academic All-District honors for the first time in their careers as well.

To be nominated for College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA) Academic All-District honors, student-athletes must rank in the top 50 in their region in a single individual event in cross country, indoor track or outdoor track; maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or higher; and reach sophomore athletic and academic standing at the school. All Academic All-District honorees are considered for advancement to the CSC Academic All-America ballot.

 

Neff capped off his collegiate career with another successful year on the cross-country trails and the track for the Garnet Chargers. During the fall, Neff earned All-Liberty League second-team honors and went on to post his best 8K time of the season at the NCAA Mideast Regionals, finishing 27th to earn All-Region honors and qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championships. The senior ended the indoor track season 19th in the Mideast Region in the mile and also finished eighth regionally and 78th nationally in the outdoor 1500 meters. The economics major finished his career by anchoring the 4×800 relay that earned an AARTFC Championship and broke the school record, giving him a share of three program records.

 

Ahern also finished his decorated Union career on a high note this year, breaking three Union track records and earning the school’s William B. Jaffe ’26 Athletic Award. The senior reset his own program standards in the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes during the indoor season, finishing sixth and second in the region, respectively. His 200 time of 21.89 seconds earned him All-Liberty League second-team honors, ranked 22nd best in Division III and qualified him for the NCAA Indoor Championships, making him Union’s first sprinter at the national event in 20 years. The economics major also reset the program mark in the outdoor 200 meters with a time that ranked 10th in the region and just outside the top-100 nationally.

 

Lang had another solid season leading the Union throwing unit, ranking in the top-40 of the Mideast Region in four different events. His best event was the shot put, in which he ranked eighth regionally during both the indoor and outdoor seasons, including All-Liberty League second-team honors during the indoor season. The biomedical engineering and Chinese double major spread out his success to other throwing disciplines as well, ranking 15th regionally in the outdoor javelin throw as well as 36th in the indoor weight throw and 40th in the outdoor hammer throw.

 

Binion finished his sophomore season regionally ranked in four different events for Union. He posted the team’s top triple jump of the indoor season to rank 32nd in the Mideast Region and also placed top-50 in the 60-meter dash as well. His top regional finish of the year came outdoors in the 100-meter dash, ranking 30th among Mideast runners, while the electrical engineering major also ranked 37th in the 200-meter dash as well.

 

Cocchiaro was recognized for the second straight season after earning a top-50 regionally ranking in both the indoor and outdoor shot put. He finished the indoor season 31st in the Mideast Region in the event, and the mechanical engineering major also ranked inside the top-30 during the outdoor season.

 

With the five honorees, Union student-athletes have now earned 270 Academic All-District honors since 2001.

 

Congratulations to the Susanville Little League minor boys for winning the district championship! It sounds like an exciting game against the Feather River Allstars. A big thank you to all the umpires, official bookkeepers, concessions workers, and field prep team for their hard work and dedication. Your efforts made this event possible and enjoyable for everyone involved.

AUSTIN, Texas – Five Minnesota State men’s track and field student-athletes were named to the Academic All-District Team by College Sports Communicators on Tuesday (June 24). They included Liam Byrne, Paul Lins, Ray Ure, Ben Wieser and Collin Windorski.
 
The Academic All-District teams, recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances in competitions and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes track and field honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
 
Byrne is a senior thrower from Ridgefield, Connecticut. During indoor season, he was All-NSIC and USTFCCCA All-Region in weight throw. At the NSIC Outdoor Championships, Byrne won the hammer throw event with a toss of 58.07m.
 
Lins (Lodi, Wisconsin) was an NSIC Champion in indoor 800 meters with a time of 1:52.65. During outdoor season, he placed second in 800 meters (1:51.48) for the Mavericks.
 
Ure (Des Plaines, Illinois) a senior, was All-NSIC in the indoor 5000 meters. He went on to win the 3000 meter steeplechase at the NSIC Outdoor Championships in May.
 
Wieser (Rushford, Wisconsin) took second place for All-NSIC honors in shot put during indoor season. He competed to fifth position in outdoor shot put for the Mavericks.
 
Pole vault specialist Colin Windorski (Oak Creek, Wisconsin) competed in four indoor meets for the Mavericks, then nine more during his outdoor campaign, including first place in pole vault at the Maverick Open #1 with a personal best mark of 5.03 meters.
 
Byrne, Lins, Ure and Wieser advanced to the national ballot and Academic All-Americans will be announced on July 16.