Completed Event: Track and Field versus NCAA Indoor Championships on March 13, 2026 ,
Track & Field
vs NCAA Indoor Championships
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: Loren Orr
Coro: Quad goals met with 4th title
2/27/2019 8:00:00 AM | Track and Field, Paul Coro
Winfield becomes 4-time conference hurdles champion
The "Quad" nickname has never been more appropriate for William Winfield IV.
As the family's fourth William Joseph Winfield, the Grand Canyon senior went by "Quad" to differentiate himself from William (great-grandfather), Bill (grandfather) and Trey (father).
Now as a four-time WAC individual champion who is part of a four-peat WAC indoor championship team, "Quad" has as much meaning as the Lopes
uniform does to him.
Winfield was one of eight individual champions for GCU last weekend at the WAC Indoor Track and Field Championships in Idaho, where the Lopes program became the second in WAC history to win four consecutive men's and women's titles.
Winfield won the 60-meter hurdles for the third consecutive year at the WAC indoor meet, giving him four combined titles after also winning the 110 hurdles at last year's WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He entered the conference meet ranked 57th in the nation after a personal-best time of 7.93 seconds this month and ran an 8.02 at WAC to win by .13 seconds.
"You don't really consider the things you've done until you're close to the end," Winfield said. "After we won and we were heading home and I'm letting it set in, it's like, 'Wow, I've been part of something great. I'm just glad I could be a part of that.' I'm super blessed to be here and to be part of that. It's definitely something to cherish."
Winfield's college career still has one outdoor season remaining but he now can reflect on how far he has come since leaving Chandler (Ariz.) High School, a storied track program that has placed five athletes on the current Lopes men's track and field team.
He helped the Lopes win the first of four consecutive WAC indoor titles by taking fifth place in the 60 hurdles, but his 8.40 time did not foretell that he would dominate the event for the remainder of his career.
"What the heck are you talking about, dude?" Winfield said his response would have been to hearing about his future success as a freshman.
"From freshman year to now. I've grown a lot. My freshman year was a struggle for me. That was necessary for me to learn how to balance school, track, social life. Working hard and being surrounded by the team propelled me to where I am today and being up there with some of the best people in the country."
Tom Flood is not only Winfield's head coach. He is his event coach and a longtime mentor "who treats me like a son, honestly."
"Quad is a really hard worker," Flood said. "I don't think there's anybody on the team who puts in more time. I tell him sometimes that 'rest' isn't a four-letter word. You just need to rest. Through that example, he's become one of our leaders. His teammates respect him, obviously, for his performance but for his work ethic as well."
That dedication made the transition to collegiate track's higher hurdles (3 inches higher than high school) and higher levels of training and competition.
"In college, everyone is good," Winfield said. "You have to go through that to get the feel of how great you can be. I did and I came out with a vengeance and a hunger and a passion, and now I'm here."
That desire has led to a steady progression over his four-year career and the breakthrough of a sub-eight seconds time during a preliminary race at the Don Kirby Invitational in Albuquerque three weeks ago.
Winfield maintains a goal to take last year's regional qualification in the outdoor season to being a national qualifier in his final season.
"He puts a lot of pressure on himself," Flood said. "He wanted to run 7.7 before he broke 8-flat. Once he kind of relaxed and let it happen, it did. I think he was primed to run 7.83 or under. He put a lot of pressure on himself. He still ran 8.01 in the final but he was probably disappointed. Been there, done that.
"Technique-wise, he's pretty darn close to being flawless. We've got a little work still to do."
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
As the family's fourth William Joseph Winfield, the Grand Canyon senior went by "Quad" to differentiate himself from William (great-grandfather), Bill (grandfather) and Trey (father).
Now as a four-time WAC individual champion who is part of a four-peat WAC indoor championship team, "Quad" has as much meaning as the Lopes
uniform does to him.Winfield was one of eight individual champions for GCU last weekend at the WAC Indoor Track and Field Championships in Idaho, where the Lopes program became the second in WAC history to win four consecutive men's and women's titles.
Winfield won the 60-meter hurdles for the third consecutive year at the WAC indoor meet, giving him four combined titles after also winning the 110 hurdles at last year's WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He entered the conference meet ranked 57th in the nation after a personal-best time of 7.93 seconds this month and ran an 8.02 at WAC to win by .13 seconds.
"You don't really consider the things you've done until you're close to the end," Winfield said. "After we won and we were heading home and I'm letting it set in, it's like, 'Wow, I've been part of something great. I'm just glad I could be a part of that.' I'm super blessed to be here and to be part of that. It's definitely something to cherish."
Winfield's college career still has one outdoor season remaining but he now can reflect on how far he has come since leaving Chandler (Ariz.) High School, a storied track program that has placed five athletes on the current Lopes men's track and field team.
He helped the Lopes win the first of four consecutive WAC indoor titles by taking fifth place in the 60 hurdles, but his 8.40 time did not foretell that he would dominate the event for the remainder of his career.
"What the heck are you talking about, dude?" Winfield said his response would have been to hearing about his future success as a freshman.
"From freshman year to now. I've grown a lot. My freshman year was a struggle for me. That was necessary for me to learn how to balance school, track, social life. Working hard and being surrounded by the team propelled me to where I am today and being up there with some of the best people in the country."
Tom Flood is not only Winfield's head coach. He is his event coach and a longtime mentor "who treats me like a son, honestly."
"Quad is a really hard worker," Flood said. "I don't think there's anybody on the team who puts in more time. I tell him sometimes that 'rest' isn't a four-letter word. You just need to rest. Through that example, he's become one of our leaders. His teammates respect him, obviously, for his performance but for his work ethic as well."
That dedication made the transition to collegiate track's higher hurdles (3 inches higher than high school) and higher levels of training and competition.
"In college, everyone is good," Winfield said. "You have to go through that to get the feel of how great you can be. I did and I came out with a vengeance and a hunger and a passion, and now I'm here."
That desire has led to a steady progression over his four-year career and the breakthrough of a sub-eight seconds time during a preliminary race at the Don Kirby Invitational in Albuquerque three weeks ago.
Winfield maintains a goal to take last year's regional qualification in the outdoor season to being a national qualifier in his final season.
"He puts a lot of pressure on himself," Flood said. "He wanted to run 7.7 before he broke 8-flat. Once he kind of relaxed and let it happen, it did. I think he was primed to run 7.83 or under. He put a lot of pressure on himself. He still ran 8.01 in the final but he was probably disappointed. Been there, done that.
"Technique-wise, he's pretty darn close to being flawless. We've got a little work still to do."
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
Players Mentioned
/ Track and Field
Sydney McCray Media Availability | 5.4.26
Monday, May 04
Emily Gonzalez Media Availability | 5.4.26
Monday, May 04
Jada Cooper Media Availability | 5.4.26
Monday, May 04
Natalie Fritz Media Availability | 5.4.26
Monday, May 04