Preview: WAC Indoor Track and Field Championships

Wednesday, February 26

Moscow, ID

Grand Canyon

WAC Indoor Championships

Head Coach Tom Flood

Photo by: Darryl Webb

2/25/2014 3:26:00 PM | Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

‘Lopes set to compete in Moscow

The Grand Canyon University men's and women's track and field teams are getting set to head north to Moscow, Idaho, for the WAC Indoor Track and Field Championships. The 2014 indoor season has been the Antelopes inaugural run competing at the Division I level and within the Western Athletic Conference. The events will get underway on Wednesday before a men's and women's team is crowned champion Friday evening.

GCU has boasted several top marks during the indoor circuit and will look to bring those performances to the Kibbie Dome and the University of Idaho, which will serve as the host facility and school for this week's championships. Along with recording several of the top conference marks, the men's and women's teams have snapped a combined 10 school records in 2014.

"I am very excited and confident in both our team's ability to have very successful WAC Indoor Championship meets," said head coach Tom Flood.

Shavine Hodges leads the charge for the GCU women, as the sprinter has been honored as the WAC track Athlete of the Week four times. Hodges has posted the fastest times in the conference in both the 60-meter dash and 200-meter dash. Teammate and fellow sprinter Samantha Bogatz sits in second in both of those races behind Hodges.

A trio of Canyon vaulters are atop the conference in the women's pole vault with senior Lauren Graham leading the way, having cleared the bar at 4.01 meters. Amy Hop and Jennifer Rolph are second and third in the standings, respectively.

Brianne Kee has posted the top leap in the WAC in the women's long jump, recording a jolt of 5.82 meters at the Mountain T's Invitational in early February.

The women's 4x400-meter relay team ran a conference-best time of 3:44.65 at the Don Kirby Invitational and will look to better that time in Moscow.

On the men's side, Stephan Bullard has had a record setting campaign in 2014, breaking school records in the 800-meter and 1,000-meter runs. Bullard has crossed the finish line with the top time (1:51.38) in the conference in the 800-meter run.

Sprinter Lance Parker is second in the WAC in the 200-meter dash (21.58 seconds) and third in the 60-meter dash (6.90 seconds).

Jahliell Wiltshire (8.29 seconds) and LeSean Marks (8.31 seconds) sit at third and fourth, respectively, in the conference in the 60-meter hurdles.

Oliver Smith (400-meter dash) and Tyler Vandyke (3000-meter run) are third in the WAC in their respective events.

In the field events, Daniel Zupeuc has recorded the second-best vault in the conference in the men's pole vault, recording a mark of 5.05 meters. Cody Smith is third in the same event with a vault of 4.90 meters.

In the long jump, Grand Canyon holds the top 3-5 spots in the conference, with freshman Marcus Flannigan leading the way in third and Kevin Lashley and AAron Hill in fourth and fifth, respectively.

Rounding out the men's field events are Karlin Stewart and Lashley, who are second and third in the triple jump, respectively.

"To give programs like Idaho (with notable alumni like 1996 Olympic Decathlon Champion, Dan O'Brien), Utah Valley (who has won 5 straight Great West Conference Championships) and New Mexico State (led by a well-respected Coach in Orin Richburg) a run for their money in our first opportunity is quite remarkable," added Flood.

Nine women's teams and seven men's teams will vie for the top honor this week at the indoor championships.

"We are missing a couple very talented athletes this season due to some off the track accidents/life incidents, but all our athletes have stepped it up and are prepared to leave it all on the track," concluded Flood. "It is a special bunch of student-athletes and we wouldn't want to go into this battle with any other group."