Men, Women Finish Second at WAC Outdoor Championships

Wednesday, May 13

Orem, UT

All Day

Grand Canyon

WAC Outdoor Championships

Photo by: Darryl Webb

5/16/2015 7:18:00 PM | Track and Field, Women's Track and Field

The Grand Canyon University men's and women's track and field teams had an impressive final day of competition en route to both taking home runner-up finishes at the 2015 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Orem, Utah.

Click here to view a photo album from the championships.

The UMKC women and Utah Valley men won the team titles.

"Despite having to deal with some pretty nasty weather conditions, I am very proud of how well all our student-athletes competed!" said head coach Tom Flood. "We left it all out on the track, but eventually just ran out of bullets. Our lack of depth in the throwing events and distance races (especially at altitude) really becomes evident during these outdoor championships. We will work hard to get better."

Three student-athletes were recognized by the conference coaches for their outstanding efforts at the championships, as Tope Williams was named the WAC Freshman of the Year on the women's side, while LeSean Marks (Track Athlete of Year) and Marcus Flannigan (High Point Award Winner) were honored on the men's side.

"On the women's side, we were led by Tope Williams, Bri Kee, Kevina Godfrey, Briana Myers, Jenny Rolph and our women pole vaulters," said Flood.

Williams dominated the sprints, as the freshman raced to titles in both the 100-meter dash (11.63 seconds) and 200-meter dash (24.52 seconds). Kevina Godfrey finished second to Williams in the 100 with her time of 11.93 seconds.

Briana Myers' time of 14.23 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles gave her a second-place finish.

As the GCU men did Friday, the Grand Canyon women dominated the pole vault competition, scoring 25.5 points in the event. Jennifer Rolph took home the pole vault title after clearing the bar at 3.81 meters. Lindsey Wright (3.51 meters) and Athena Masolini (3.36 meters) finished third and tied for fourth, respectively, while Jennafer Ingram and Ashley Privett tied for sixth.

Andrea Olstead leaped to a second-place finish in the triple jump, recording a mark of 12.06 meters.

"On the men's side we were led by Marcus Flannigan, LeSean Marks, Aaron Thurber, Josh Ralston and our male pole vaulters," added Flood.

LeSean Marks had an impressive championship Saturday, as the senior captured both the 110-meter (14.45 seconds) and 400-meter (51.86 seconds) hurdle titles.

A day after winning the long jump final, Flannigan ran away with the 200-meter dash title, clocking a time of 21.13 seconds, while taking third in the 100-meter dash (10.56 seconds). Flannigan was also a member of the 4x100-meter team that won gold. Aaron Thurber notched a pair of runner-up finishes in the 100-meter dash (10.55 seconds) and 200-meter dash (21.39 seconds).

In the men's quarter mile, it was Josh Ralston coming in third after posting a time of 47.57 seconds in the race.

Akintunde Adeyemi's jump of 14.47 meters in the triple jump secured a third-place finish for the senior.

Niels Theijs, Ralston, Flannigan and Thurber combined to win gold in the 4x100-meter relay, as the quartet produced a time of 40.47 seconds.

"Both of our teams lose some pretty talented seniors but overall we have really young squads with a lot of talented youngsters and will be a force to be reckoned with next season," concluded Flood. "Can't wait!"

WAC Individual Champions
Jennifer Rolph (Pole Vault)
Brianne Kee (Long Jump)
Tope Williams (100-meter dash & 200-meter dash)
Marcus Flannigan (Long Jump, 200-meter dash & 4x100-meter relay)
Josh Ralston (4x100-meter dash)
LeSean Marks (110-meter hurdles & 400-meter hurdles)
Niels Theijs (4x100-meter relay)
Aaron Thurber (4x100-meter dash)

Complete meet results can be viewed here.