GCU kicks off first day of WAC Indoor Track & Field Championships

Thursday, February 25

Nampa, Idaho

All Day

Grand Canyon

WAC Indoor Championships Day 1

GCU kicks off first day of WAC Indoor Track & Field Championships

2/25/2016 3:00:00 PM | Track and Field

Live Results

By: Charles Hampton

The Grand Canyon men's and women's track teams will kick off the 2016 WAC Indoor Track and Field Championships in Nampa, Idaho today each looking to take home a conference championship. The Championships will run Feb. 25-27 from Jacksons Indoor Track Facility at the Ford Idaho Sports Center in Nampa, Idaho. The women are looking to win their second consecutive indoor conference title.

"I am very excited and confident in our ability to have a very successful WAC Indoor Championship meet," head coach Tom Flood said. "Our women and men will be right in the hunt for a team title again this year."

In the pre-championship coaches polls, Grand Canyon was selected as the favorite to win both the men's and women's championship. The GCU men received five first place votes and 25 points overall. Utah Valley captured second place with 21 points and one first place vote. On the women's side, the Lopes received four first place votes and 46 total points, while Missouri-Kansas City and Utah Valley each earned 40 points.

It's been a record breaking season for the Lopes as five women's indoor school records went down in the last month. Emily Wilkinson and Grand Canyon athletes have been name WAC Indoor Track Athlete of the Week four times in their five weeks of competition this season. They also hold the top spot in nine of the 17 women's events of the WAC indoor rankings.

On the men's side, two school records have gone down this indoor season, with Pierre-Louis Ricou shattering the heptathlon mark at the Mountain T's Invitational and Scott Marshall matching the pole vault record in Lumberjack Team Challenge. The men enter the championships with the top ranked mark in six of the 17 events. They also are currently ranked No. 11 in the USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Regional rankings for the West Region.

"We again will rely on leadership and outstanding performances from our seasoned veterans and also fully expect our newcomers to compete at a very high level and to make a lot of noise with their performances," said Flood. "We know we won't be sneaking up on anyone this year and will have to battle in every event. Both teams know that no one is going to just hand them anything and that they are going to have to earn every point they get."

For the women, the Lopes are hoping to capitalize in the sprints with Tope Williams and Alexandra Gilbert in the sprints, as they are current conference leaders in the 60 meters and the 400 meters respectively. Kevina Godfrey has the fourth best mark in the 200, but also enters the championships as the No. 1 ranked long jumper in the conference.

Andrea Olstead has the top conference mark in the triple jump, while Briana Myers is the top ranked individual in the 60 meter hurdles. The Lopes have the top four spots in the WAC in the pole vault entering competition, led by Jennifer Rolph's 13-1.75 mark at the NAU Tune Up last weekend. Finally, both Tarasue Barnett and Sasha-Gaye Marston lead the conference in the shot put and weigh throw respectively.

Wilkinson looks to continue her success in the distance events as she enters the championships with the top conference mark in the 3,000 meters and the second overall time in the mile. Rebekah Young, who set the GCU 3,000 school record the week before Wilkinson broke it, has the third fastest time in the WAC.

In the sprints on the men's side, the Lopes only have Josh Ralston as a conference leader entering the championships, but do have the No. 2, 3 5 marks in the 60 and No. 2, 3 and 4 marks in the 200 with Aaron Thurber, Marcus Flannigan and Niels Theijs. Their 4x400 relay team also has the top time in the conference with their mark of 3:13.94 from the NAU Invitational two weeks ago. Ricou has the top conference mark in the heptathlon and is third in the long jump, where Flannigan has the longest jump in the WAC at 24-3. Jude Olean is the second-ranked triple jumper with a mark of 47-6.25 from the New Mexico Cherry and Silver Invitational.

The Lopes look to gain big points from the pole vault where they hold the top four spots entering competition, led by Marshall's mark of 16-9.25. From the mid-distance and distance side of things, both Brandon Gonzalez and Brandon Kocmound rank third in the conference in the 800 meters and mile respectively.

The first events of the competition on Thursday will be in the men's heptathlon and women's pentathlon where the Lopes have three athletes entered on the men's side and four on the women's side.

"It is a special bunch of student-athletes and we wouldn't want to go into this battle with any other group," concluded Flood.

Live results of the competition can be found at http://wac.org/livestats/itf/2016/index.htm. To follow the championships directly from the WAC, check out their Indoor Track & Field Championships Central.