The Grand Canyon University Club Track & Field team took advantage of a unique opportunity this past weekend, competing in a specialized, compact meet hosted at GCU Sunday morning. The "GCU Outdoor Opener," organized by former GCU Head Cross Country Coach Sara Slattery, provided a crucial early-season platform for athletes in outdoor-exclusive events.

The meet was initially arranged to give Slattery's son a chance at an age-group world record in the steeplechase (which he reached), and the Lopes' Club team was invited to add events to the slate. This proved beneficial for the team's long throwers and long hurdlers, who have seen limited action due to an indoor-heavy schedule.

"It was good to see the throwers getting a chance to do their thing this weekend, and I'm excited to see where that goes over the next month," said Lopes' Head Coach Todd Lehman.

The javelin and discus events helped solidify GCU's presence in the NIRCA National Rankings. GCU's Blake Johnson led the way in the Men's Javelin with a throw of 53.80m. While impressive, Johnson already holds the #1 NIRCA ranking with a previous mark of 54.05m. He also recorded a 26.10m throw in the Men's Discus. Lopes' teammate Anthony Paredes closely followed, throwing 49.89m in the javelin (holding the No. 2 NIRCA ranking with a 52.90m best) and securing a 30.67m mark in the discus, which ranks No. 3 nationally.

On the women's side, Desirae Hutton made an immediate impact, launching the discus 25.14m, which established a new No. 1 ranking in NIRCA.

The meet also featured strong debuts in the grueling 3000m Steeplechase - despite the unusually challenging early-March Phoenix heat – as Joshua Nicholson clocked a 10:35.80, earning the #2 ranked time in NIRCA. Cade Brenner followed with a time of 10:58.58, securing another top NIRCA ranking.

"Josh and Cade were very impressive in their debut in the steeplechase in the warm weather," said Lehman. "It will be great to see them run in kinder conditions with more competition."

The Lopes officially open their full outdoor season this Friday and Saturday, March 20 and 21 as they head across town to the Cody McBride Invitational at Paradise Valley Community College.