Sports
GCU battles to 2nd, 4th-place finishes
Story Links ARLINGTON, Texas — Grand Canyon competed in the 2025 WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships with a strong three-day performance, earning podium finishes, regional qualifying marks and rewriting parts of the school record book across both the men’s and women’s teams. With injuries mounting both before and during the meet, the […]
ARLINGTON, Texas — Grand Canyon competed in the 2025 WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships with a strong three-day performance, earning podium finishes, regional qualifying marks and rewriting parts of the school record book across both the men’s and women’s teams.
With injuries mounting both before and during the meet, the Lopes backed off an aggressive meet schedule to conserve for the NCAA West First Round in under two weeks. GCU’s men finished second and the women finished fourth, with Utah Valley claiming both team titles.
Day 1: Early momentum from field, multis
The Lopes got off to a strong start Thursday behind contributions from the women’s pole vault and javelin squads.
Sophomore Regan Parnell (3.67 meters, fourth), freshman Kennedy Benjamins (3.67m, fifth), and graduate Madison Gawthorp (3.52m, eighth) combined for 10 points in the pole vault. Senior Lucy George (43.47m, third) and Camdyn Bruner (41.25m, sixth) added nine more points in the javelin.
Junior Hana Hall scraped out a gritty point in the 10,000 meters to close the day with a time of 38 minutes, 19.99 seconds.
On the men’s side, graduate Andrew Wells and junior Ryan Norton placed fifth and sixth in the hammer throw with marks of 54.89m and 51.20m.
The decathlon trio of senior Casey Tow, sophomore Blayk Kelton and senior Justice Fair each sat in scoring positions.
On the track, junior Miguel Rosario III (200m) and freshman Nina Thevenin (200m) advanced to finals, while graduate Daviciea McCartney and senior Cam Wilmington posted the top-two qualifying times in the 400m hurdles.
Day 2: Gold for George, multis heroics from Tow, Bruner
Friday belonged to George, who defended her WAC title in the women’s shot put with a throw of 14.94m—No. 2 all-time at GCU. That led a 14-point performance from the Lopes in the event.
Graduate Camdyn Bruner capped her heptathlon with a runner-up finish and the No. 2 all-time GCU total (5,151), adding eight more points.
The men’s decathlon closed with a flourish as Tow broke his own school record (7,561) en route to second place, and Fair battled through injury to finish sixth.
Freshman Jack Sindt placed sixth in the steeplechase, while sophomore Francisco Marques broke the WAC Championships meet record in the 110m hurdles prelims (13.57).
In total, GCU advanced a host of sprinters and hurdlers to finals, including senior Michaela Lewis (800m), senior Amanda Thrue (100-meter hurdles), and a trio in the men’s 400m—senior Joshua Gittens, junior Ben Stratman and junior Sydney Peal.
Day 3: Lopes win 5 events
Saturday’s finale was headlined by five GCU event champions.
In the women’s triple jump, senior Jazmine Scott won the title with a mark of 12.70m and punched her ticket to the NCAA West First Round.
GCU’s dominance in the men’s 110m hurdles netted 25 points, as sophomore Prosper Ekporere (13.66) led a 1-2 finish with Marques (13.68), while McCartney (13.82) and Wilmington (14.07) also scored. Ekporere’s time broke GCU’s record in the event.
The men’s javelin was another massive haul, collecting 22 points behind a championship from junior Matthew Kaitschuck (60.88m), a runner-up finish from Tow (60.54m), and scoring performances from freshman Strider Aston (57.16m) and junior Jacob Nash (56.49m).
The Lopes added 13 points in the women’s 400m behind a second-place finish from junior Taliyah Booker (53.85) and fourth from senior Aaliyah Rifort-Delem (54.48), and senior Michaela Lewis added another silver medal in the 800m (2:11.33).
After a long weather delay postponed the final event of the meet, GCU’s women’s 4×400-meter relay team perservered to claim one final championship. Rifort-Delem, senior Alyssa Blockburger, Lewis and Booker ran 3:40.41 to win the outdoor crown after capturing the indoor title earlier this year. The men’s squad of McCartney, Wilmington, Stratman and Gittens finished second in 3:11.92.
Rosario closed his standout weekend with a runner-up finish in the 200m, clocking 20.67 for the No. 2 time in school history.
Other top-three event finishes not already mentioned: men’s 800m (junior Germain Lemaitre, 1:51.34, third), men’s discus (sophomore Harrison Cornell, 50.22m, third), men’s high jump (sophomore Praise Jibunor, 2.05m, third) and men’s pole vault (senior Misael Colon, 4.99m, second).
Grand Canyon showcased its depth and balance throughout the meet, tallying points in 17 men’s events and 18 women’s events across sprints, jumps, throws and multis. With school records, national qualifying marks, and WAC titles in hand, the Lopes now turn their focus to the NCAA West First Round in College Station, Texas, beginning on May 28.