Grand Canyon University is set to send 18 athletes to the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships West First Round. The event will be held from May 28-31 at Texas A&M’s E.B. Cushing Stadium in College Station.
The university, known as the Lopes, will compete in 12 events, featuring both men’s relays and a notable sprint-hurdle lineup for both men and women.
Athletes qualified for this round by achieving one of the top-48 marks in their region or top-24 times for relay teams. Those finishing in the top 12 at this stage will advance to the NCAA Championships scheduled from June 11-14 in Eugene, Oregon.
In the women’s 400 meters, junior Taliyah Booker with a time of 53.72 seconds and senior Aaliyah Rifort-Delem with a time of 53.60 seconds have secured their places. Senior Joshua Gittens qualified for the men’s category with a time of 46.21 seconds.
The hurdles events see significant representation from GCU with four athletes securing five entries. In the men’s 110-meter hurdles, sophomore Francisco Marques clocked in at 13.57 seconds, sophomore Prosper Ekporere at 13.61 seconds, and senior Cam Wilmington at 13.79 seconds—Wilmington also qualified for the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 51.58 seconds alongside graduate Daviciea McCartney who posted a time of 51.29 seconds.
Junior Germain Lemaitre will compete in the middle distances after qualifying for the 800 meters with a mark of 1:48.47.
In sprints, junior Miguel Rosario III earned his spot in the men’s 200 meters with a qualifying time of 20.67 seconds.
For field events, senior Jazmine Scott represents GCU in the women’s triple jump with a distance of 12.92 meters while junior Jacob Nash (64.34m) and senior Lucy George (50.69m) have qualified for javelin throw events.
Both men’s relay teams from GCU have earned spots as well—the men’s 4×100-meter relay team includes senior JoJo Harding along with Rosario, junior Jacob Holguin, and junior Conner Kittleson; junior Sydney Peal serves as an alternate member on this team while McCartney, Wilmington, Gittens are joined by junior Ben Stratman on the men’s 4×400-meter relay team.
