Completed Event: Track and Field at Texas Relays on March 26, 2025 ,
Track & Field
at Texas Relays
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Thursday, April 15
San Antonio, TX
Grand Canyon
at
Roadrunner Invitational
Photo by: Elizabeth Tinajero
Field athletes continue to make impression
4/17/2021 6:42:00 PM | Track and Field
Harris, Lundberg, Newman win events in San Antonio
SAN ANTONIO – The Grand Canyon track and field teams competed at the Roadrunner Invitational over the weekend at the Park West Athletics Complex. The Lopes faced tough competition from Sam Houston State, Stephen F. Austin, UT San Antonio, Rice, Texas, UT Rio Grande Valley, UTEP, Akron and Incarnate Word.
"Overall, I thought our athletes competed very well," GCU head coach Tom Flood said. "It was a cold and windy day in Texas, and the first flyaway meet of the year. Traveling can always be a little tough, and it was also finals week, so I think a lot of the athletes were fried mentally."
Lopes senior Ethan Harris set the momentum high on the last day of competition, winning the high jump and tied his school record at 2.14 meters.
Another big performance was executed by GCU senior Jesse Newman in the javelin. Newman had a throw of 70.20 meters and won the event. For the first time in almost two years, Newman was able to get back into rhythm of throwing over 70 meters.
GCU senior Madelyn Lundberg won the pole vault event with a 4.05-meter vault. Teammate Megan Fry followed close behind with a vault of 3.80 meters and placed fourth.
In the chilly conditions, GCU senior Ivan Zarahchenko pulled out an impressive performance in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.44 seconds and placed sixth.
Finishing runner-up, the Lopes men's 1,600-meter relay pulled through with a time of 3:16.87. The runners in the relay were senior Damion Marshall, Zarahchenko, junior Bryson Benjamin and sophomore Jan Kral.
"I thought that Ivan Zarahchenko had a good sprint double in the chilly conditions," Flood said.
Other standout performances included senior Paxton Henry's runner-up finish in the triple jump with a 14.52-meter jump and senior Niki Xydona's second-place finish in the heptathlon with 4,927 points.
GCU junior Jorden Okyere continues to deliver top performances as he took third place in shot put with a throw of 16.05 meters. The Phoenix native also threw 51.21 meters in discus and placed fourth.
"We will look to get home safe tomorrow, and look forward to hosting another warm weather meet at GCU next Saturday," Flood said.
The Lopes will come home to host the Canyon Invitational on Saturday.
"Overall, I thought our athletes competed very well," GCU head coach Tom Flood said. "It was a cold and windy day in Texas, and the first flyaway meet of the year. Traveling can always be a little tough, and it was also finals week, so I think a lot of the athletes were fried mentally."
Lopes senior Ethan Harris set the momentum high on the last day of competition, winning the high jump and tied his school record at 2.14 meters.
Another big performance was executed by GCU senior Jesse Newman in the javelin. Newman had a throw of 70.20 meters and won the event. For the first time in almost two years, Newman was able to get back into rhythm of throwing over 70 meters.
GCU senior Madelyn Lundberg won the pole vault event with a 4.05-meter vault. Teammate Megan Fry followed close behind with a vault of 3.80 meters and placed fourth.
In the chilly conditions, GCU senior Ivan Zarahchenko pulled out an impressive performance in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.44 seconds and placed sixth.
Finishing runner-up, the Lopes men's 1,600-meter relay pulled through with a time of 3:16.87. The runners in the relay were senior Damion Marshall, Zarahchenko, junior Bryson Benjamin and sophomore Jan Kral.
"I thought that Ivan Zarahchenko had a good sprint double in the chilly conditions," Flood said.
Other standout performances included senior Paxton Henry's runner-up finish in the triple jump with a 14.52-meter jump and senior Niki Xydona's second-place finish in the heptathlon with 4,927 points.
GCU junior Jorden Okyere continues to deliver top performances as he took third place in shot put with a throw of 16.05 meters. The Phoenix native also threw 51.21 meters in discus and placed fourth.
"We will look to get home safe tomorrow, and look forward to hosting another warm weather meet at GCU next Saturday," Flood said.
The Lopes will come home to host the Canyon Invitational on Saturday.
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