Another GCU record falls at NAU Invitational

Friday, February 12

Flagstaff, Ariz.

All Day

Grand Canyon

NAU Invitational

2/15/2016 9:33:00 AM | Track and Field

Meet Results

By: Charles Hampton

The Grand Canyon men's and women's track teams are two weeks from the WAC Indoor Championships and they continue building towards the goal of being conference champions. The Lopes had another strong weekend at the NAU Invitational, including yet another school record performance.

Tarasue Barnett, a sophomore from Kingston, Jamaica, broke her own school record in the indoor shot put, as she launched a 14.88 meter put on her final attempt of the competition to not only set the record, but also bring home the event victory. Barnett's record-breaking attempt bested her previous school record set only two weeks ago at the Mountain T's Invitational by 0.01 meters.

"I am very pleased with the results of this weekend's NAU Invitational," head coach Tom Flood said. "With just two weeks to go until our conference championship, we just wanted to stay sharp and healthy. We didn't double or triple up too many athletes and our distance kids stayed home to train. I feel that this weekend's performances have set us up very well to make a lot of noise at the conference meet."

The Lopes turned in a number of other strong performances that have them in great position as they turn their focus to the conference meet.

In the men's 400 meters, the Lopes took home the top two spots with Josh Ralston and Isaac Allanarem running 47.74 and 48.60 respectively. Allanrem's mark now ranks him fifth overall in the conference in the event, while Ralston's time is the No. 1 mark in the WAC, even after altitude conversion. Also on the track for the men, Aaron Thurber won 60 meters with a time of 6.76, while Niels Theijs finished third overall with a time of 6.86. Theijs added an event win of his own as he took home the 200 meters with a time of 21.93, which ranks him fourth overall in the WAC after conversion. The men's 4x400 relay continued their strong season, by improving their top conference mark with a dominant five second victory with a season-best time of 3:13.10.

For the women, Briana Myers won the 60 meter hurdles with a mark of 8.64, currently the top overall time in the WAC. Myers would also add a third place performance in the 60 meter dash behind teammates Jessy Eatmon and Tope Williams. Eatman, a junior from Cheyenne, Wyo., edged out Williams 7.68 to 7.70 for the win. Her converted time now ranks her second in the conference just behind Williams' mark from the Mountain T's Invitational two weeks ago. Finally, in the triple jump, Andrea Olstead took the conference lead on her second-to-last attempt with a jump of 11.93 meters to win the event.

The majority of their conference performers will be off next weekend Flood said, but that a small contingent of the team would still be participating in the NAU tune up meet on Friday, Feb. 19. The Lopes will look to bring home a pair of conference titles at the WAC Indoor Conference Championships in Nampa, Idaho, taking place Feb. 25-27.