Completed Event: Track and Field versus Mountain West Conference Indoor Championships on February 26, 2026 ,
Track & Field
vs Mountain West Conference Indoor Championships
Grand Canyon University Athletics
WAC Day 1: Lopes crown 5 champs, take team leads
5/13/2021 8:53:00 PM | Track and Field
GCU brings strong force to opening day of conference's outdoor track and field meet
EDINBURG, Texas — Five Grand Canyon track and field student-athletes claimed conference championships to give both GCU teams the opening-day leads at the WAC Outdoor Championships on Thursday.
The Lopes started the three-day meet off strongly with junior Samaria McDonald (hammer throw), junior Jorden Okyere (hammer throw), senior Erika Wallace (10,000-meter run), senior Jesse Newman (javelin) and freshman Evan Dudley (pole vault) winning their events at UT Rio Grande Valley.
The winners put the GCU men in front with 63 points through four events with Utah Valley in second at 35 and the Lopes women in the lead with 38 points through three events with New Mexico State in second at 33.
"We had a really good first day at the WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships," Lopes head coach Tom Flood said.
McDonald started the meet off with a rocket in the hammer throw, as she had a mark of 56.59 meters. She won the event, broke her personal school record and broke the stadium record at the UTRGV Soccer and Track and Field Complex. Okyere also won a conference title in the hammer throw with a 58.89-meter mark.
"It was really nice to see us pull off the double hammer wins, especially because we don't have the ability to practice the event on campus, and it has been a tough season to find competitions for them," Flood said. "My throws coach, Nick Green, has done an outstanding job keeping them focused this year."
Another WAC championship was claimed by senior Erika Wallace in the 10,000-meter race. She won with a time of 36 minutes, 47.80 seconds, finishing more than five seconds ahead of the runner-up.
"It was also really special to finish off our first day watching Erika win the 10K," Flood said. "She has made some tremendous strides in all of her performances this year, and my distance coach, Sara Slattery, has done a wonderful job with all of them this year. Erika's wonderful parents are here helping officiate our meet, and it was great for them to witness her race."
Newman won his third WAC championship in the javelin. The former second-team All-American had a mark of 64.13 meters on his first attempt.
"It's always special to watch Jesse Newman throw the javelin, and to know that he came back this year to win this event again, and do whatever he could to help us win another outdoor team title makes it even sweeter," Flood said.
The final first-place finisher was Dudley, who won his first WAC title in the pole vault with a 4.81-meter vertical jump. The men's pole vaulters were able to score 32 team points by taking the event's top four spots and five of the top six places.
"The pole vault has always been a big event for us at these championships, and this year it was no different," Flood said. "My jump coach, Todd Lehman, is one of the best in the business, and we will look for the same results tomorrow (Friday) from our women pole vaulters."
GCU sophomore Aidan Diggs leads the decathlon with 3,662 points, claiming 1,763 of those points by winning the decathlon's long jump and 100-meter competitions. He will compete in the last five events on Friday morning. Lopes senior Niki Xydona is in second place in the heptathlon, and she will also finish her events up tomorrow.
"We started off the day with some fine performances from our multi-athletes," Flood said. "Niki is in second place, but she is a great second-day performer."
After not competing since February, GCU junior Rae Queener placed third in the javelin and set a personal best of 41.83 meters.
The Lopes will take begin the second day of competition at 7:30 a.m. (Phoenix time) on Friday.
"Both of our men's and women's teams have positioned themselves very well after the first day of competition, and while it is very nice to have the lead after any day, it is the lead on the final day of championships that all of us are focused on," Flood said. "We will show up tomorrow and, again, fight for every point until the last event."
The Lopes started the three-day meet off strongly with junior Samaria McDonald (hammer throw), junior Jorden Okyere (hammer throw), senior Erika Wallace (10,000-meter run), senior Jesse Newman (javelin) and freshman Evan Dudley (pole vault) winning their events at UT Rio Grande Valley.
The winners put the GCU men in front with 63 points through four events with Utah Valley in second at 35 and the Lopes women in the lead with 38 points through three events with New Mexico State in second at 33.
"We had a really good first day at the WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships," Lopes head coach Tom Flood said.
McDonald started the meet off with a rocket in the hammer throw, as she had a mark of 56.59 meters. She won the event, broke her personal school record and broke the stadium record at the UTRGV Soccer and Track and Field Complex. Okyere also won a conference title in the hammer throw with a 58.89-meter mark."It was really nice to see us pull off the double hammer wins, especially because we don't have the ability to practice the event on campus, and it has been a tough season to find competitions for them," Flood said. "My throws coach, Nick Green, has done an outstanding job keeping them focused this year."
Another WAC championship was claimed by senior Erika Wallace in the 10,000-meter race. She won with a time of 36 minutes, 47.80 seconds, finishing more than five seconds ahead of the runner-up.
"It was also really special to finish off our first day watching Erika win the 10K," Flood said. "She has made some tremendous strides in all of her performances this year, and my distance coach, Sara Slattery, has done a wonderful job with all of them this year. Erika's wonderful parents are here helping officiate our meet, and it was great for them to witness her race."
Newman won his third WAC championship in the javelin. The former second-team All-American had a mark of 64.13 meters on his first attempt.
"It's always special to watch Jesse Newman throw the javelin, and to know that he came back this year to win this event again, and do whatever he could to help us win another outdoor team title makes it even sweeter," Flood said.
The final first-place finisher was Dudley, who won his first WAC title in the pole vault with a 4.81-meter vertical jump. The men's pole vaulters were able to score 32 team points by taking the event's top four spots and five of the top six places.
"The pole vault has always been a big event for us at these championships, and this year it was no different," Flood said. "My jump coach, Todd Lehman, is one of the best in the business, and we will look for the same results tomorrow (Friday) from our women pole vaulters."
GCU sophomore Aidan Diggs leads the decathlon with 3,662 points, claiming 1,763 of those points by winning the decathlon's long jump and 100-meter competitions. He will compete in the last five events on Friday morning. Lopes senior Niki Xydona is in second place in the heptathlon, and she will also finish her events up tomorrow. "We started off the day with some fine performances from our multi-athletes," Flood said. "Niki is in second place, but she is a great second-day performer."
After not competing since February, GCU junior Rae Queener placed third in the javelin and set a personal best of 41.83 meters.
The Lopes will take begin the second day of competition at 7:30 a.m. (Phoenix time) on Friday.
"Both of our men's and women's teams have positioned themselves very well after the first day of competition, and while it is very nice to have the lead after any day, it is the lead on the final day of championships that all of us are focused on," Flood said. "We will show up tomorrow and, again, fight for every point until the last event."
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