Indoor season begins in Spokane

Saturday, December 14

Spokane, Wash. / The Podium

11 a.m. (MST)

Grand Canyon

Spokane Invitational

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12/13/2024 9:02:00 AM | Track and Field

33 athletes get early start on indoor season at The Podium

By: Josh Hauser

Grand Canyon's 2025 indoor track and field schedule gets underway in the final weeks of 2024 with 33 athletes headed to Washington, for the Spokane Invitational on Saturday.

The Lopes are making their first of three visits to The Podium, an indoor track venue in Spokane, and will get a glimpse at the site of the WAC Indoor Championships held in late February.

"We all are excited to get this season started this weekend at The Podium, one of the finest indoor facilities in the country," GCU head coach Tom Flood said. "It's a great opportunity to compete against high-level teams such as Washington, Washington State and Gonzaga, which should definitely lead to some fast early-season times/marks."

GCU, the defending WAC indoor champion on the women's side, will get a brief taste of December competition on Saturday before the more traditional indoor track and field schedule opens in mid-January.

"We are traveling with a small but very talented group of sprinters, hurdlers, jumpers and mid-distance runners," Flood said. "We are thrilled at the chance to see the results of our great fall training.

"I'm excited to see the continued GCU success of all of our defending conference champions, as well as watch the performances of some very impressive newcomers, including Rayan Belkheir, Luca Cannizzo, Prosper Ekporere, Justice Fair, Joshua Gittens, Sydney Peal, Justin Raines, Miguel Rosario III, Cam Wilmington, Taliyah Booker, Lillian Cook, Michaela Lewis, Aaliyah Rifort-Delem, Maliyah Ross, Maria Sartin, Nina Thevenin and Jade Williams."

GCU is returning to the December Spokane Invitational for the second straight season. Last year at the event, the Lopes posted impressive early-season performances and set five program records, including Erin Brown running the nation's fastest 200-meter dash time of the indoor season to date.

The season-opening meet will give GCU a chance to put its fall training regimen on display.

"We have had a wonderful fall training block," Flood said. "I feel that we have put ourselves in a great position to defend our women's indoor WAC title back in Spokane in late February and get back to duplicating our outdoor championship success on the men's side indoor as well."

The meet is set to get underway at 11 a.m. (Phoenix time) and will be streamed with a RunnerSpace +PLUS subscription required.