Lopes set for UC Riverside Invitational

Saturday, September 21

Riverside, Calif. / UCR Ag Ops Course

W - 7:15 a.m. | M - 7:50 a.m.

Grand Canyon

UCR Invitational

Tickets

Photo by: Jack Gilday

9/19/2024 1:13:00 PM | Cross Country

Live Results

GCU preparing for women's 6k, men's 8k on Saturday

By: Josh Hauser

After three weeks away from competition since opening the season in late August, the Grand Canyon cross country teams return to the course in Riverside, California, for the UC Riverside Invitational on Saturday.

GCU is returning to UC Riverside's home course, the Agricultural Operations Course that is adjacent to the school's campus, for the fourth consecutive season.

Saturday's events include a women's 6,000-meter run beginning at 7:15 a.m. and a men's 8,000-meter race beginning at 7:50 a.m. Live results are available here . The Lopes will be represented by eight women's runners and 11 men's runners in the meet.

GCU women's lineup: Selah Akers, Hana Hall, Taylor Hansen, Niki Hemmerlin, Eva Johnson, Madelyn Palmer, Shoshanah Stukas, Adria Wuerth.
GCU men's lineup: Greyson Akers, Emmanuel Corral, Tristen Coyle, Spencer Desmond, Mac Eliason, Matt Hamilton, Alex Rafferty, Alex Saldamando, Jack Sindt, Ethan Smith, Ryan Stamper.

The UC Riverside course is mostly flat with a few rolling hills and hard-packed dirt with pre-competition watering to reduce dust. It is run through the school's agricultural operations center, which features 100-year-old citrus trees.

GCU is looking to capitalize on a solid first meet, getting the season underway at the George Kyte Classic in Flagstaff, Arizona, three weeks ago. In a race of 4.5 miles, the Lopes were led by junior Greyson Akers on the men's side (23 minutes, 35.4 seconds). In the 2.5-mile women's run, redshirt junior Hana Hall crossed the finish line first for the Lopes with a time of 15:58.5.

GCU's team times were both significant upticks from the Lopes' performances in the same event in 2023.

One of the cross country program's top moments at the Division I level came at the UC Riverside Agricultural Operations Course. The course hosted the 2021 WAC Cross Country Championships, and GCU's men's team finished with a program-best third-place finish among 13 WAC schools.