GCU battles to 2nd-, 4th-place finishes at WAC

Thursday, May 15

Arlington, Texas

8 a.m. (MST)

Grand Canyon

WAC Championships

5/17/2025 9:21:00 PM | Track and Field

RESULTS Photo Gallery

As injuries mount, Lopes fight for top performances at WAC Outdoor Championships

By: Josh Hauser

ARLINGTON, Texas — Grand Canyon competed in the WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships with a strong three-day performance, earning podium finishes, regional qualifying marks and rewriting parts of the school record book across the men's and women's teams.

With injuries mounting both before and during the Thursday-Saturday meet, the Lopes backed off an aggressive schedule at UT Arlington to conserve for the NCAA West First Round in less than two weeks. The GCU's men team finished second and the women took fourth, with Utah Valley claiming both team titles.

Day 1: Early momentum from field, multis

The Lopes got off to a strong start Thursday behind contributions from the women's pole vault and javelin squads.

GCU sophomore Regan Parnell (3.67 meters, fourth place), freshman Kennedy Benjamins (3.67, fifth) and graduate Madison Gawthorp (3.52, eighth) combined for 10 points in the pole vault. Lopes senior Lucy George (43.47, third) and Camdyn Bruner (41.25, sixth) added nine more points in the javelin.

Lopes junior Hana Hall scraped out a gritty point in the 10,000 meters with a time of 38 minutes, 19.99 seconds to close the day.

On the men's side, GCU graduate Andrew Wells and junior teammate Ryan Norton placed fifth and sixth, respectively, in the hammer throw with marks of 54.89 and 51.20.

The Lopes' decathlon trio of senior Casey Tow, sophomore Blayk Kelton and senior Justice Fair each sat in scoring positions.

On the track, GCU junior Miguel Rosario III (200) and freshman Nina Thevenin (200) advanced to finals, while graduate Daviciea McCartney and senior Cam Wilmington posted the top two qualifying times in the 400 hurdles.

Day 2: Gold for George, multis heroics from Tow, Bruner

Friday belonged to George, who defended her WAC title in the shot put with a throw of 14.94 — No. 2 all-time at GCU. That led a 14-point performance from the Lopes women in the event.

GCU graduate Camdyn Bruner capped her heptathlon with a runner-up finish and the No. 2 all-time GCU total (5,151 points), adding eight more points.

The men's decathlon closed with a flourish as Tow broke his school record (7,561) en route to second place, and Fair battled through injury to finish sixth.

Lopes freshman Jack Sindt placed sixth in the steeplechase, while sophomore Francisco Marques broke the WAC Championships record in the 110 hurdles preliminaries (13.57).

GCU advanced a host of sprinters and hurdlers to finals, including senior Michaela Lewis (800), senior Amanda Thrue (100 hurdles) and a trio in the men's 400—senior Joshua Gittens, junior Ben Stratman and junior Sydney Peal.

Day 3: Lopes win 5 events

Saturday's finale was headlined by five GCU event champions.

In the triple jump, senior Jazmine Scott won the title with a mark of 12.70 meters and punched her ticket to the NCAA West First Round.

GCU's dominance in the men's 110 hurdles netted 25 points, as sophomore Prosper Ekporere (13.66) led a one-two finish with Marques (13.68), while McCartney (13.82) and Wilmington (14.07) also scored. Ekporere's time broke GCU's record in the event.

The men's javelin was another massive haul, collecting 22 points behind a championship from junior Matthew Kaitschuck (60.88), a runner-up finish from Tow (60.54) and scoring performances from freshman Strider Aston (57.16) and junior Jacob Nash (56.49).

GCU took the top-two spots in a tight finish between Wilmington (50.40) and McCartney (50.46) in the 400-meter hurdles.

The Lopes added 13 points in the women's 400 behind a second-place finish from junior Taliyah Booker (53.85) and fourth from senior Aaliyah Rifort-Delem (54.48), and senior Michaela Lewis added another silver medal in the 800 (2 minutes, 11.33 seconds).

After a long weather delay postponed the final event of the meet, the GCU women's 4x400-meter relay team perservered to claim one final championship. Rifort-Delem, senior Alyssa Blockburger, Lewis and Booker ran 3:40.41 to win the outdoor crown after capturing the indoor title earlier this year. The Lopes men's squad of McCartney, Wilmington, Stratman and Gittens finished second in 3:11.92.

Rosario closed his standout weekend with a runner-up finish in the 200, clocking 20.67 for the No. 2 time in school history.

Other top-three event finishes included men's 800 (junior Germain Lemaitre, 1:51.34, third), men's discus (sophomore Harrison Cornell, 50.22, third), men's high jump (sophomore Praise Jibunor, 2.05, third) and men's pole vault (senior Misael Colon, 4.99, second).

Grand Canyon showcased its depth and balance throughout the meet, tallying points in 17 men's events and 18 women's events across sprints, jumps, throws and multis. With school records, national qualifying marks and WAC titles in hand, the Lopes now turn their focus to the NCAA West First Round in College Station, Texas, beginning on May 28.