PHX Reporter

Grand Canyon University (GCU) demonstrated strong performances in track and field by splitting its squad between two events: the Ron Mann Classic in Flagstaff and the New Mexico Team Open in Albuquerque. The sprints, hurdles, and mid-distance athletes participated in Albuquerque, while throwers and jumpers competed in Flagstaff.

GCU head coach Tom Flood commented on the team's strategy: "After a tough and very successful two-day meet last weekend in Albuquerque, we ran through this weekend to prepare for Spokane next weekend and focused on some off events and didn't double any sprinters."

Senior Taryn Burkett broke her school record in the triple jump for the second consecutive weekend. She improved her previous 13-meter mark by one centimeter to reach 13.01 meters, maintaining her lead in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).

Freshman Rayan Belkheir achieved a notable performance by running a sub-1:20 time of 1 minute, 19.73 seconds in the 600 meters before recording an altitude-adjusted mile time of 4:11.41.

Coach Flood praised other athletes as well: "I also thought that all the 600-meter women had nice races, especially (senior) Alyssa Blockburger (1:32.49) and (senior) Maria Sartin (1:32.92). I look forward to seeing what they all do next week in the 800m in Spokane."

Flood also noted junior Jacob Holguin's performance of running 6.74 seconds in the 60 meters and senior Aaliyah Rifort-Delem's season debut with a time of 55.33 seconds in the 400 meters, ranking No.2 in WAC.

In Arizona, sophomore Nicole Prall improved her WAC-leading pole vault mark by clearing at 4.05 meters, while senior Lucy George led with a shot put mark of 13.78 meters.

Looking ahead to their next competition at Riverfront Invitational & Multis in Spokane from Thursday to Saturday, Coach Flood stated: "We are looking forward to getting back on Spokane's track next week to compete at a very high level."