Completed Event: Track and Field at Texas Relays on March 26, 2025 ,
Track & Field
at Texas Relays
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Thursday, May 23
Sacramento, Calif.
Grand Canyon
vs
NCAA West Preliminary Round
Photo by: Luke Hansen
9 Lopes qualify for NCAA Prelims
5/16/2019 12:10:00 PM | Track and Field
5 women, 4 men clinch berths to postseason in Sacramento
In the second year of NCAA postseason eligibility for Grand Canyon athletics, nine track and field athletes qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary Round next week in Sacramento, Calif.
The nine qualified athletes are inside the top 48 descending order list of competitors in their respective events. A men's quartet of Chris Linnin Jr., Adrian King, Trey Johnson and Jesse Newman made the cut for the May 23-25 event. A women's quintet of Alyson Schwartz, Madelyn Lundberg, Knowledge Omovoh, Dora Filipovic and Alexa Hokanson qualified too.
Of the 48 competitors in attendance for each event in Sacramento, only the top 12 from each event will go to Austin, Texas, for the NCAA Championships. The West Region spans as far east as Illinois and Wisconsin and is split, until Louisiana, by the Mississippi River.
For the second year in a row, Newman, Schwartz and King will make an appearance in Sacramento for the NCAA Championships qualifier.
Newman used his final throw in the javelin in 2018 to squeeze into the field at the NCAA Championships in his home state of Oregon. Newman went on to finish ninth overall and earn All-America second-team honors in the javelin.
Schwartz returns in similar fashion as 2018, breaking the school record at the WAC Championships for the second straight year before heading to Sacramento. The sophomore cleared 4.14 meters on her first attempt at the WAC Championships, breaking the school record twice in one day after also clearing 4.09 meters on her first attempt.
King qualified for the preliminary round early in the season in the long jump but used a personal-best 7.72-meter jump to win the WAC Championships and move into 14th on the West leaderboard. King ranks second in GCU history in the long jump.
Johnson is the second freshman in as many years that the Lopes will bring to the preliminary round. The redshirt freshman jumped 7.45 meters in the long jump at the Aztec Invitational on March 22 in San Diego, Calif. Johnson holds the indoor school record with a 7.76-meter jump at Northern Arizona on Feb. 1.
Rounding out the qualified men, senior Chris Linnin Jr.'s 2.10-meter high jump school record mark from the Aztec Invitational is tied for 39th on the West leaderboard. Linnin Jr. holds the indoor and outdoor school records at 2.10 meters each.
Sophomore Alexa Hokanson, the school record holder in the 800-meter run, moved up the board to 43rd with a 2-minute, 7.01-second time at the Bryan Clay Invitational. Hokanson holds the indoor and outdoor 800 records at GCU.
The shortest-tenured Lope of the nine qualifiers is sophomore Knowledge Omovoh in the 400-meter run. The sophomore ran 53.83 at the Desert Heat Classic two weeks before the WAC Championships and ranks 41st in the West. Omovoh ranks third all-time at GCU in the 400.
Filipovic was the final Lope to see her name on the board. The Croatian sophomore's 54.13 time in the 400 was good enough for 48th when the final list of declared qualified athletes was announced Thursday morning.
The Lopes enter the NCAA Preliminary Round with a streak of 24 straight meets with a school record being broken or tied, including Schwartz and Niki Xydona (two school records) breaking GCU records at the WAC Championships last week.
King and Johnson will be the first Lopes to compete in Sacramento in the long jump, starting at 3:30 p.m. (Phoenix time) on Thursday May 23.
Omovoh will compete at 7:20 p.m. on Thursday, followed by Hokanson at 8:10 p.m.
Newman will throw at noon on Friday, May 24 in the javelin and the two vaulters will jump at 5 p.m. the same day.
Linnin Jr. will be the final Lope competing with the high jump starting at 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 25.
The nine qualified athletes are inside the top 48 descending order list of competitors in their respective events. A men's quartet of Chris Linnin Jr., Adrian King, Trey Johnson and Jesse Newman made the cut for the May 23-25 event. A women's quintet of Alyson Schwartz, Madelyn Lundberg, Knowledge Omovoh, Dora Filipovic and Alexa Hokanson qualified too.
🎟's booked for 5️⃣ women to Sacramento for the NCAA West Preliminary Round.#LopesUp pic.twitter.com/0kgOTJeLRL
— GCU Track & XC (@GCU_TrackXC) May 16, 2019
Of the 48 competitors in attendance for each event in Sacramento, only the top 12 from each event will go to Austin, Texas, for the NCAA Championships. The West Region spans as far east as Illinois and Wisconsin and is split, until Louisiana, by the Mississippi River.
4️⃣ men are 🔒in for the NCAA West Preliminary Round next week.#LopesUp pic.twitter.com/d1ckYi3bpX
— GCU Track & XC (@GCU_TrackXC) May 16, 2019
For the second year in a row, Newman, Schwartz and King will make an appearance in Sacramento for the NCAA Championships qualifier.
Newman used his final throw in the javelin in 2018 to squeeze into the field at the NCAA Championships in his home state of Oregon. Newman went on to finish ninth overall and earn All-America second-team honors in the javelin.
Schwartz returns in similar fashion as 2018, breaking the school record at the WAC Championships for the second straight year before heading to Sacramento. The sophomore cleared 4.14 meters on her first attempt at the WAC Championships, breaking the school record twice in one day after also clearing 4.09 meters on her first attempt.
King qualified for the preliminary round early in the season in the long jump but used a personal-best 7.72-meter jump to win the WAC Championships and move into 14th on the West leaderboard. King ranks second in GCU history in the long jump.
Johnson is the second freshman in as many years that the Lopes will bring to the preliminary round. The redshirt freshman jumped 7.45 meters in the long jump at the Aztec Invitational on March 22 in San Diego, Calif. Johnson holds the indoor school record with a 7.76-meter jump at Northern Arizona on Feb. 1.
Rounding out the qualified men, senior Chris Linnin Jr.'s 2.10-meter high jump school record mark from the Aztec Invitational is tied for 39th on the West leaderboard. Linnin Jr. holds the indoor and outdoor school records at 2.10 meters each.
Sophomore Alexa Hokanson, the school record holder in the 800-meter run, moved up the board to 43rd with a 2-minute, 7.01-second time at the Bryan Clay Invitational. Hokanson holds the indoor and outdoor 800 records at GCU.
The shortest-tenured Lope of the nine qualifiers is sophomore Knowledge Omovoh in the 400-meter run. The sophomore ran 53.83 at the Desert Heat Classic two weeks before the WAC Championships and ranks 41st in the West. Omovoh ranks third all-time at GCU in the 400.
Filipovic was the final Lope to see her name on the board. The Croatian sophomore's 54.13 time in the 400 was good enough for 48th when the final list of declared qualified athletes was announced Thursday morning.
The Lopes enter the NCAA Preliminary Round with a streak of 24 straight meets with a school record being broken or tied, including Schwartz and Niki Xydona (two school records) breaking GCU records at the WAC Championships last week.
King and Johnson will be the first Lopes to compete in Sacramento in the long jump, starting at 3:30 p.m. (Phoenix time) on Thursday May 23.
Omovoh will compete at 7:20 p.m. on Thursday, followed by Hokanson at 8:10 p.m.
Newman will throw at noon on Friday, May 24 in the javelin and the two vaulters will jump at 5 p.m. the same day.
Linnin Jr. will be the final Lope competing with the high jump starting at 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 25.
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