Oloyede finds joy in chase for national title

Grand Canyon's Israel Oloyede could be the first Division I national champion in Lopes history and that is not even the reason for his constant smile this week.

Oloyede has been happy every week since transferring to GCU in December, leading to a remarkable reunion with his faith, his thro

wing ability and a coach who he once wanted to guide him.

The journey is taking him to this weekend's NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Birmingham, Alabama, where Oloyede enters as the nation's leader in weight throw after posting a January heave of 24.45 meters that only three other collegiate throwers ever have topped.

Oloyede, a Phoenix native, trekked through an surreal sequence of events to get to a destination of happiness that could turn into elation Friday if he wins a national championship.

"It's really just God's movement because I had no plans of being a track athlete," said Oloyede, a minister's son wearing a "TO GOD BE THE GLORY" T-shirt. "The Lord always has different plans than what you set out for yourself and I'm very grateful that He was able to do that for me."

Oloyede has goals of winning a national championship this week and qualifying for the World Championships this summer, but his wandering journey to this joy began at North Canyon High School as a 6-foot-2, 160-pound basketball player who picked up football and track and field as a senior.

He was surrounded by best friend Austin Jackson, now a Miami Dolphins offensive lineman, and Solomon Enis, a former Utah wide receiver, and tried to make his way to Arizona State football by bulking up 100 pounds in one year and playing at Scottsdale Community College. When he could not leave SCC after one year to try ASU football, Oloyede veered to Paradise Valley Community College to throw javelin because the coach, Jim Lathrop, spotted a thrower in him during high school.

Oloyede tried the weight throw and hammer that spring three years ago, going 12 meters in the weight throw at most – half of what he threw this year for GCU.

"I didn't want to throw a hammer," Oloyede said. "I wanted to be a javelin thrower, not a big, meaty guy."

But he is a big, meaty guy. Jeremy Tuttle, a then-local throws coach, guided Oloyede to the next level with a full summer of daily work. By January, he made a 9-meter jump and added 2 more meters for a 20.89-meter throw that set the national junior college record.

That drew massive recruiting interest and Oloyede picked Arizona, where he became a national runner-up in the weight throw last year. He liked the team but felt isolated at times and needed encouragement, the type his family provided. He was disappointed in his national results, finishing out of the top 10 in the hammer at NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships and U.S. Olympic Trials.

"I needed to be closer to my family, reconnect with the Lord and be around people who are like-minded and will lift me up past sports," Oloyede said. "Sports are one thing, but being able to find out who I am is another. I've been happy ever since and doing very well. If you're in a comfortable spot mentally, you can do great
things."

Israel Oloyede

Oloyede chose GCU for the strength of a track and field program, whose men's indoor team is ranked No. 21 nationally, and the campus' Christian component with a locale close to home. Fortuitously, Nathan Ott became the Lopes' throws coach independent of Oloyede's decision in the same month.

Ott recruited Oloyede out of high school to Kansas State, where Oloyede wanted to go because of Ott but could not agree to the Midwest winters.

"It was just a God thing," Ott said of the reunion in Phoenix, where he also is a coach to Olympian thrower Brooke Andersen.

With Oloyede's unique coordination, lower- and upper-body explosiveness and grip, Ott fluters his lips when asked about his potential.

"It's unbelievable how far Izzy can throw at times," Ott said. "We just haven't seen everything come together for a meet yet, which sounds crazy when he's thrown 24.45 and he's the fourth-best NCAA thrower of all-time. That still wasn't good for him. He aspires to be the world record-holder and I don't think that's too far off."

Israel Oloyede

Oloyede is pursuing a master's degree in Business Analytics and will stay at GCU through the 2023 spring outdoor season. That puts him around James, his father who was a Nigeria-born former taxi business owner and plumber, and his mother, Maria, and aunt, Elizabeth, who co-own a Scottsdale nail salon. Oloyede tells people he was raised by three women, including his sister, Hannah.

"Without them, there's no me," Oloyede said. "That's how I operate."

Ott said the NCAAs are "his meet" in reference to Oloyode. Alabama's Bobby Colantino is the only other weight thrower in the nation to hit the 24-meter mark this season.

"Whatever the result, I'm going to give glory to the Lord," Oloyede said. "If I do what I'm supposed to do, I'm going to come away with something big. I'm definitely in a position to be a national champion.

"I want to put GCU on the map. People are sleeping on us, but we're going to wake them up."

Oloyede has company at nationals with Lopes high jumper Ethan Harris, also a national championship contender. Harris is tied for the third-highest high jump of the season at 7 feet, 4 1/4 inches, just 3/4 of an inch off the national best. He competes Saturday in Birmingham.

"Both Izzy and Ethan have parallel spiritual journeys on how they ended up at GCU and we are blessed to have both of them representing our track and field program and University," Lopes head coach Tom Flood said. "I know they both will give everything they have at the championships and will do it all for the glory of God."

The throw that broke a 38-year @WACsports record.@IsraelOloyede x #LopesUp pic.twitter.com/xY3XU8hTqp
— GCU Track & XC (@GCU_TrackXC) January 23, 2022

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Players Mentioned

Ethan Harris

Israel Oloyede

Grand Canyon University Athletics