Cross country runs with mission to build up teams

Saturday, August 31

Flagstaff, Ariz. / Buffalo Park

M - 1:30 p.m. | W - 2:30 p.m.

Grand Canyon

George Kyte Classic

Photo by: David Kadlubowski

8/30/2024 8:00:00 AM | Cross Country, Paul Coro

In her 1st GCU year, Houlihan leads men, women' into Saturday season opener

By: Paul Coro

Grand Canyon's reputation of running success has stayed on track.

New Lopes cross country head coach Shayla Houlihan starts her first season Saturday with a mission to have GCU go the distance in addition to its decorated track and field program.

Houlihan is charged with building men's and women's cross country programs that only have finished in the WAC's top half in three of 11 seasons on both sides. But it is incumbent for the Lopes to begin raising the level of the programs this season with GCU moving next year to the West Coast Conference.

"I am excited about the ability to have more resources to go after the best kids in the world," said Houlihan, who previously led a top-25 women's cross country team at California and a Big West men's cross country champion at UC Santa Barbara. "That's what I've been doing since I've got here, scouring all the fastest people I can find to see if I can get connected with them.

"It's been so much fun to be in the door with people. Phoenix is such a hub of a place to train. World-class athletes are training here year-round. Why not GCU? Why not build something really cool? That's the future. There's a great product to sell."

The starting line this season has eight active runners on the Lopes women's side with six newcomers and 11 runners on the men's side with five newcomers.

The team is heading to the George Kyte Invitational at high-altitude Flagstaff for an opening meet Saturday and will end the season at high altitude again for WAC Championships in Orem, Utah, on Nov. 1.

GCU hit the ground running with Houlihan, hired last month, having her first official practice on Aug. 21 in Phoenix, where training sessions start at 5:30 a.m. But Houlihan's primary program groundwork was laid before then with calls, text messages and e-mails.

"Communication is key for me, making sure that they're communicating a ton about how they're feeling and what's going on," said Houlihan, one of five women leading a Division I men's cross country team. "There's a direct correlation to how quickly they improve and how much they're communicating with me. So that's something I try to instill right away."

Phoenix, AZ Aug. 18 2024 :: GCU cross country practice in Tempe. David Kadlubowski/GCU

Phoenix, AZ Aug. 18 2024 :: GCU cross country practice in Tempe. David Kadlubowski/GCU

In-state returnees Niki Hemmerlin, a graduate student from Mesa, and Hana Hall, a junior from Flagstaff, are leading the GCU women's team early after being part of last season's fifth-place finish at the WAC Championships.

Lopes freshmen Selah Akers, who followed Hemmerlin at Red Mountain High School, and Taylor Hansen, who is from Fort Wayne, Indiana, are making strong early impressions at workouts.

"The women are really cool to coach," Houlihan said. "Once you gain their trust and they respect you and you respect them, they will run through a wall for you. Over time, if I can keep a lot of those freshmen injury free, they will definitely improve, buy in and run through brick walls for each other.

"It's limitless. They keep improving as long as someone instills belief in them."

The GCU men, coming off a seventh-place WAC Championships finish, have more experience with two Valley products – senior Alex Rafferty from Goodyear Millennium High School and junior Greyson Akers, Selah's brother, from Red Mountain High School.

Bethune-Cookman transfer Emmanuel Corral, who is from Tucson, and junior Mac Eliason, who is from Fort Collins, Colorado, are among the early standouts of a balanced roster.

"We have so many interchangeable people on the men's side at this point," Houlihan said. "We have good issues. We're set up to do better. I think they will improve quite a bit throughout the season."

After this weekend in Flagstaff, the Lopes will have meets in Tucson and at two California stops – Riverside and Sunnyvale.

Houlihan is asking her runners to stack "B-plus" days, knowing that their bodies will not be able to avoid injury if they are trying to hit an A-plus optimum daily.

Shayla Houlihan

"What I'm trying to preach is that your hard days are hard – like very hard – and then your easy days are much easier with pulling it back a little bit," said Houlihan, who combines weight room work with the hardest running days.

Before the running clicks, Houlihan already has seen the Lopes' chemistry click in short time. Their bonds are her first signs of encouragement, but it also does not surprise her because their chemistry fits with facets of GCU that attracted her.

"The biggest thing is the community and the culture here are very much established because that's what the university preaches," Houlihan said. "You can feel that when you're on campus. First and foremost, that's established and that's how I run my teams. We're one community, one family, one team."