Battling through rising temperatures, the Grand Canyon University Club Track & Field team delivered a stellar performance at Paradise Valley Community College's Cody McBride Invitational this weekend in Phoenix. The Lopes tallied 21 personal records and an astounding 40 National Intercollegiate Running Club Association Top 10 marks over the two-day meet.

"Our team endured through some warmer-than-normal weather to have another outstanding track meet," said Lopes' Head Coach Todd Lehman. "This team is full of great humans that step up to support and compete alongside each other."

The men's 400m intermediate hurdles proved to be GCU's most dominant event. Lopes' freshman Evan Van Pelt secured the event win and a NIRCA-leading mark of 54.67 in his first-ever attempt at the race. Fellow freshman Ezra Wildeman finished closely behind in second place, crossing the line at 55.29, a massive two-second PR that now ranks him No. 2 in the nation.

Meanwhile, GCU sophomore Siena Burns delivered another gutsy and hard-fought performance in the mid-distances, taking the overall event win in the 800m and continuing her impressive season trajectory.

In the relays, both the men's and women's 4x100m teams found major success in their first outings of the season. The women's squad clocked a NIRCA leading time of 48.81.

"Men's and Women's 4x100m relays both had fantastic days for the first time running them," Lehman noted. "Our women's team just looked amazing with perfect handoffs. Our men's B-squad ran an almost flawless race to still place them with a NIRCA No. 4 ranking time. Hats off to sprint coaches Adam Knuff and Myles Goodman for preparing these athletes."

As far as the field events, the Lopes added to their list of national-leading marks and top rankings, thanks to a trio of freshmen. Victoria Brown claimed the NIRCA-leading mark in the Women's Triple Jump with a personal best of 11.31m; Elijah Triou achieved a massive full-meter PR in the Men's Shot Put with a throw of 15.68m to place highly in a competitive field; and Nathan Hudders' Long Jump debut netted an extremely impressive 6.64m (21' 9.5") to immediately take the No. 2 spot on the NIRCA national list.
 
The Lopes' outdoor season continues this Saturday, March 28 as they head across town to Mesa Community College and the Carvel Jackson Memorial Track & Field Showcase.