Lopes with a pair of top three finishes

Saturday, October 17

Riverside, Calif.

Grand Canyon

Highlander Invite

Women's Results Men's Results

Photo by: Josh Cale

10/17/2026 12:44:00 PM | Cross Country

Smith finishes in the top five, Velazquez secures second top 10 finish

By: Tyler Killgore

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Grand Canyon cross country turned in a pair of top-three team finishes at the Highlander Invitational on Saturday, with the men's team placing second and the women's team taking third in Riverside.

On the men's side, senior Ethan Smith delivered GCU's best individual finish of the season, placing fourth in the 8K race with a time of 24 minutes, 3.6 seconds.

Freshman Micah Newkirk gave the Lopes a second top-20 finisher, crossing the line in 24:18.1 to place 19th overall.

Senior Tristen Coyle followed in 26th at 24:25.6, while freshman Trent Gabrielson finished 41st with a time of 24:37.0. Junior Alex Saldamando completed GCU's scoring five in 24:52.5, placing 59th.

"The men's really executed everything we have been fixing over the last six weeks," said GCU's head coach Shayla Houlihan.

The Lopes totaled 124 points to secure second place as a team.

On the women's side, sophomore Isabella Velazquez continued her strong season by finishing 10th overall in the 6K race with a time of 20:39.8. It marked Velazquez's second consecutive top-10 finish after placing sixth at the Cougar Challenge.

Sophomore Avanti Wadhwa was the Lopes' second finisher, taking 22nd in 21:00.8, while junior Meredith Richter placed 29th with a time of 21:10.7.

Junior Grace Scott crossed the line in 21:25.0 to finish 44th, followed closely by freshman Irelyn Kennedy, who rounded out GCU's scoring five in 21:26.3 for 45th place.

"The women were phenomenal once again taking third in a stacked field" said Houlihan.

GCU finished with 123 points to take third, giving the Lopes their second consecutive top-three women's team finish.

The Lopes round out the regular season with strong team finishes. They will head to Mountain West Cross Country Championships in Reno Nevada in a couple weeks.