Title defense begins in Idaho

Thursday, February 22

Nampa, Idaho

TBA

Grand Canyon

Western Athletic Conference

2/21/2018 11:37:00 AM | Track and Field

Live Results Schedule of Events

Men, women seek third consecutive titles

By: Fletcher Like

PHOENIX – Title defense starts Thursday for the Grand Canyon track and field program as the Lopes travel to Nampa, Idaho, for the WAC Indoor Championships at Idaho Center. The men and the women were picked by conference coaches to win team titles this year in the Pre-Championships Coaches Poll; both the women and the men vie for their third consecutive team championship.

"I am very excited and confident in our teams' ability to have very successful WAC Indoor Championships meet again," GCU head coach Tom Flood said. "Both our women and men are looking forward to defending their championships and again we will be right in the hunt for team titles this year."

On the men's side, seven Lopes hold conference-leading marks to guide the Lopes to a No. 8 ranking in the West Region.

Highlighting the men's team is Scott Marshall, who sits at 13^th in the nation in the pole vault and would be the first GCU student-athlete ever to compete in a NCAA Division I Championships. Marshall's 5.48-meter vault is a school record that he will look to beat to rise in he NCAA rankings. The two-time WAC Indoor vault champion is followed by teammate Nathan Wesolek, whose 5.03-meter vault from the first meet of the year has the junior ranked second in the WAC.

Andrew Okonkwo tied a school record in the high jump two weeks ago and still sits atop the WAC rankings with that 2.05-meter jump. The junior is chased by freshman teammate Josh Onwordi, who holds down the second-place mark at 2.00 meters.

Isaac Allanarem broke the school record in the 400-meter race at the Don Kirby Invite two weeks ago with a time of 47.45 seconds and enters this week's meet with the top mark in the WAC.

Ryan Girk holds the conference-leading time in the 200 after a 21.51 sprint at the Don Kirby Invite. The 2017 WAC indoor 200 title holder will look to defend his crown this weekend.

William Winfield IV holds the top time in the 60-meter hurdles. Winfield's 8.03 time at the Mountain T's Invite has stood for two weeks and he will look to defend his 2017 WAC 60 hurdles title.

Grant Carpenter leads the WAC in the heptathlon after his 4,801 points at the Mountain T's Invite remains atop the WAC. Carpenter will look to be the third Lope to win the WAC indoor heptathlon since joining the conference. The Lopes have taken the heptathlon title in three of the team's four years in the WAC.

"We know we won't be sneaking up on anyone this year and will have to battle in every event," Flood said. "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."

On the women's side, six Lopes sit at the top of the conference with another four Lopes sitting in the second-place slot headed into the indoor championships.

Tarasue Barnett, Tope Williams, Jennifer Johnson (Rolph), Kayla Finnegan (Wilson) and Briana Myers have won WAC Indoor Championships individual titles in previous years.

Barnett leads the WAC in the weight throw and ranksin the top three of the shot put. Barnett's 17.97-meter throw, which is 1.7 meters longer than teammate Courtney Logan's best throw.

Williams' 60 time of 7.54 is one one-hundredth of a second faster than the New Mexico State sprinter that is in second place. The sprinter in third place is also one one-hundredth of a second behind her teammate. On paper, the 60 is shaping up to be a photo finish.

Paige Hildebrandt burst into the 3,000 scene with a 9:52.42 school-record time at the Husky Classic two weeks ago. The sophomore is less than a second ahead of the second-seeded runner.

Myers is another Lope with a one-hundredth of a second lead over a New Mexico State opponent. Myers' 8.61 time in the 60 hurdles sits in first place. Myers has teammates Sarah Root (8.65) and Shanice Lewis (8.67) on her heels in third and fourth place in the WAC standings.

Johnson looks to reclaim the WAC pole vault title this season after teammate Trista Smith took the title as a freshman in 2017. The senior jumped 3.97 meters in the first meet of the season and looks to hold off her opponents in Idaho.

Finnegan won the long jump last year and looks poised to do the same this year as her conference-leading leap holds steady. If Finnegan wins the long jump in 2017, she will win the event for the GCU women for the fifth consecutive time, the longest streak in WAC Indoor Championships history.

"As always we will rely on leadership and outstanding performances from our seasoned veterans but will also fully expect our newcomers to compete at a very high level and to make a lot of noise with their performances," Flood said. "This is a special bunch of student-athletes and we wouldn't want to go into this battle with any other group."

In previous seasons, the Lopes have beaten the other teams in the WAC by more than 60 points, this year it could be closer. Neither the men nor the women are unanimous selections to win team championships and both teams are only three-point favorites over Utah Valley.

2018 Pre-Championship Men's Indoor Track & Field Coaches Poll
Rank                Team (1^st – Place Votes)          Points
1 Grand Canyon (4) 24
2                      Utah Valley (2) 21
3                      Kansas City 18
4                      UT Rio Grande Valley                 12
5                      Seattle U 9
6                      Chicago State 6

2018 Pre-Championship Women's Indoor Track & Field Coaches Poll
Rank                Team (1^st – Place Votes)          Points
1 Grand Canyon (5) 47
2                      Utah Valley (3) 44
2 NM State 36
4 Kansas City 32
5     UT Rio Grande Valley 25
6 CSU Bakersfield 14
T-7 Chicago State 13
T-7 Seattle U 13

"Our conference is full of very talented track & field student-athletes and all the teams are very well coached," Flood said.

The meet begins Thursday morning with the heptathlon and pentathlon, which starts with the men's 60 meters followed by the women's 60-meter hurdles. The pentathlon will conclude Thursday evening with the women's 800.

Friday will mark the start of the remainder of the events, beginning with the women's shot put.

For a full schedule of events, click here.

Live results will be available via http://wac.org/livestats/itf/2018/index.htm