Grand Canyon University’s track and field team set multiple school records and achieved top conference marks at the New Mexico Collegiate Classic in Albuquerque over the weekend. The event, recognized as one of the nation’s leading indoor meets, featured competition from several power five conference schools.
Coach Flood described the experience positively. “I thought that overall we had a good weekend in Albuquerque at unarguably the best collegiate track & field meet so far this season,” Flood said. “The way the meet was structured we had our best performances on Friday night.”
The women’s pole vault saw juniors Eva Lowder and Tatum Moku both clear 4.29 meters (14 feet 0.9 inches), setting a new Grand Canyon University (GCU) indoor record. This mark is now third-best in Mountain West Conference history and is the second time this year that Lowder and Moku have broken the school record.
In the women’s 200 meters, four GCU athletes finished under 24 seconds. Sophomore Cassie Small led with a time of 23.73 seconds, followed by graduate Aaliyah Rifort-Delem (23.88), sophomore Nina Thevenin (23.93), and senior Taliyah Booker (23.93).
On the distance side, junior Tristen Coyle ran an altitude-adjusted mile of 4:03.40, while graduate Michael Cunningham posted an altitude-adjusted 800 meters of 1:49.46, both ranking as second fastest in program history.
Graduate Alyssa Blockburger set a new school record in the 600 meter with a time of 1:31.36 after previously contributing to a relay school record earlier this season.
“It was also nice to see Noah Lawson finally put together a great 200 meter race this weekend,” Flood said.
Senior Noah Lawson recorded a time of 21.02 seconds in the men’s 200 meter, breaking his own national record for Togo.
“Most importantly we came out of this meet fairly healthy and are positioning ourselves to make a lot of noise at the conference meet in three weeks.” said Flood, “It will be a short turnaround as we will head back to Albuquerque again next weekend and look to get even better”
Grand Canyon Antelopes represent Grand Canyon University in NCAA Division I athletics as part of the Western Athletic Conference according to their official website. The program emphasizes balancing academics with athletic competition while providing opportunities for development across various sports as noted by university sources.
The team is scheduled to return to Albuquerque next weekend for participation in the Don Kirby Elite Invitational.
