GCU sends 3 to NCAA Championships

Wednesday, June 8

Eugene, Ore.

Grand Canyon

NCAA Championships

6/7/2022 9:23:00 PM | Track and Field

GCU's Binion, Schwartz, Gasparini compete at NCAA Championships

The Grand Canyon track and field team has three representatives competing at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships beginning on Wednesday at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

GCU sophomore long jumper Gabriel Binion, senior pole vaulter Alyson Schwartz and sophomore javelin thrower Marten Gasparini (pictured, left to right) earned NCAA Championships spots by placing in the top 12 of their events at the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

The three Lopes will compete in events at the times below:

Individual	Event	Date / Time	Live Video	Results
Marten Gasparini	Men's Javelin	Wednesday at 5:45 p.m.	Live Video	Results
Gabriel Binion	Men's Long Jump	Wednesday at 6 p.m.	Live Video	Results
Alyson Schwartz	Women's Pole Vault	Thursday at 6 p.m.	Live Video	Results

"We are very excited to watch Alyson, Gabe and Marten compete in their respective events at the NCAA Track and Field Championships," GCU track and field head coach Tom Flood said. "All of them have had very consistent performances all season long that seemed to have them breaking our school records almost every week. They each bring their own unique perspective to the success of their events."

Marten G

Gasparini took fourth place in the javelin throw at West regionals with a toss of 71.05 meters (233 feet, 1 inch), which was his second-longest distance of the season. Gasparini's season-best throw of 76.28 meters (250 feet, 3 inches) remains the eighth best in the nation this season.

Gasparini is a sports psychology major from Italy who played six years of minor-league baseball before joining GCU last season.

"Marten is technically still a rookie in the javelin and just seems to get better each week," Flood said. "His upside is still huge and we are excited to see his continued success."

Gabe Binion

Binion leaped 7.74 meters (25 feet, 4.75 inches) in the long jump for his personal-best distance to finish ninth at West regionals.

Binion, a native of Sydney, Australia, is a Mesa Mountain View High School graduate who is majoring in cybersecurity.

"Gabe has had a fantastic year in both the long jump and triple jump and has the ability to make a lot of noise at nationals competing against the big boys," Flood said.

Alyson Schwartz

Schwartz cleared 4.11 meters (13 feet, 5.75 inches) for her best outdoor pole vault since winning the 2019 WAC Championships outdoor title at 4.14. Schwartz took 10th at West regionals to qualify.

Schwartz, who graduated in biomedical engineering this year, is a Phoenix native who came to GCU from Glendale Deer Valley High School.

"Alyson is a fifth-year senior and has always been an amazing championship meet competitor," Flood said. "She has won six WAC pole vault titles in her GCU track and field career and we will fully expect her to jump big in Eugene."

GCU sent high jumper Ethan Harris and pole vaulter Madelyn Lundberg to the outdoor nationals last year. And before the 2020 meet was canceled because of COVID, the Lopes last sent a trio of outdoor national qualifiers in 2018 with long jumper Marcus Flannigan, pole vaulter Scott Marshall and javelin thrower Jesse Newman.