Oloyede's WAC record, NCAA-best mark top meet

Friday, January 21

Flagstaff, Ariz.

12 P.M.

Grand Canyon

Lumberjack Team Challenge

1/22/2022 11:00:00 PM | Track and Field

GCU sets 5 school records, now features several top national marks

By: Austin Anderson

The Grand Canyon track and field program split its squad to compete in the Lumberjack Team Challenge on Friday and the MLK Jr. Collegiate Invitational on Saturday.

Many of the weekend's headlines were written in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Saturday, when the bulk of the Lopes' team competed.

GCU newcomer Israel Oloyede sent shockwaves nationally with one throw, setting a new school record, breaking a 38-year old WAC record and posting an NCAA-leading mark of 24.45 meters in the weight throw. Just as impressive, fifth-year senior Ethan Harris set a new school record, posted a WAC-leading mark and checked in with the No. 2 mark in the NCAA with a height of 2.24 meters in the high jump.

"It was a great day at our 'oval office' for GCU track and field," Lopes head coach Tom Flood said. "We had a couple of nationally ranked performances, an additional seven WAC-leading performances and a bunch of personal bests."

The Lopes' participation in the MLK Jr. Collegiate Invitational marked a site preview for where this year's WAC Indoor Championships will be held.

Records are meant to be broken, at least this was the theme of the day. Not only did Oloyede and Harris set records, so did three other GCU athletes.

Junior Kelly Moodry set a record in the 800 meters with a WAC-leading time of 2 minutes, 7.80 seconds (2:07.09 converted). She was closely followed by her teammate, fifth-year senior Alexa Hokanson, who ran an indoor personal best of 2:08.35 (2:07.64 converted). Moodry and Hokanson posted marks that rank 10th and 15th, respectively, on the national leaderboard. The duo leads its closest WAC competition by over seven seconds.

The last school record of the day was set by senior Jacob Lewis in the 3,000 meters with a time of 8:28.99 (8:16.46 converted).

Flood also was impressed with several other GCU performances.

"I also thought that (junior) Max Carmona competed very well and gave our 800-meter school record a scare by running a WAC-leading time of 1:52.94 (1:52.31 converted)," Flood said. "(Sophomore) Braedon Palmer and (junior) Blake Bennett had very nice doubles at altitude in the 3,000 meters and mile run.

"(Junior) Aidan Diggs was impressive again this weekend with a WAC-leading time of 7.93 in the 60-meter hurdles. He also long jumped 7.01 meters and finished his day with a very fine 49.08 in the 400 meters. We all look forward to seeing him do a heptathlon in a couple weeks."

Other outstanding performances were turned in by: fifth-year senior David Kolar in the 200 with a WAC-leading time of 21.47, freshman Taryn Burkett in the triple jump with the second-best jump in GCU history of 12.42 meters, senior Mariano Hernandez in the 400 (48.62) and 200 (21.62), freshman Onome Ogbeni in the shot put (14.79 meters) and freshman Nebtom N'Da in the long jump (5.81 meters).

The Lopes will head back to Albuquerque next weekend for the New Mexico Team Open on Saturday.