PHOENIX — Nicole Cristobal had little problem making the jump from high school to college.
The former Kealakehe standout leaped out for a solid start to her career at Grand Canyon University in Arizona, making a name for herself in the triple jump and long jump — both staples of her stellar BIIF career with the Waveriders.
The most recent highlight for Cristobal, a sophomore with the Lopes, was a pair of fourth place finishes in both the triple and long jump at the Western Athletic Conference Indoor Championships last weekend.
Facing stiff competition, Cristobal put up a new personal record in the triple jump with a mark of 38 feet, 4 inches.
“I knew I needed a really big jump to stay in it,” Cristobal said. “I really had to change my mindset and just go for it. It was really exciting.”
In the long jump, she reached 18 feet, 4 inches.
Adding to the excitement was the opportunity to be a part of a history. The Grand Canyon track and field team joined the WAC elite, becoming just the fourth school to win four consecutive Indoor team titles.
When the dust settled, GCU won the men’s team title by 48 points and the women’s title by 34.5 points.
“It was amazing,” Cristobal said. “I was blessed to be a part of it.”
As far as the four-peat, only BYU, UTEP and Louisiana Tech completed the same feat. Only BYU had men and women’s teams win four in a row during the same years, as the GCU men’s and women’s teams have.
“Winning WAC team titles never gets old and are always total team efforts,” Lopes head coach Tom Flood said. “We fought hard for every point and battled from beginning to end.”
While Cristobal makes it look graceful as she soars through the air on her jumps, she admits that she had a bit of turbulence early on.
“I wasn’t hitting my marks,” Cristobal said of her early struggles. “I don’t want to say I had doubt, but I was starting to worry.”
She shook off the early anxiety with a second place finish in the triple jump in her first collegiate meet. Shortly after, she won the triple jump at the Mountain T’s Invite in just third career meet.
“That helped,” she said.
And of course, being thousands of miles from home is no easy task, either. Cristobal — who’s majoring in biology — said having a group of a half-dozen or so fellow Waverider alumni to hang out with on campus has helped make GCU feel a little like home. The mostly warm weather of Phoenix doesn’t hurt either.
“I was a little homesick the first few months,” Cristobal said. “Having some friends around really helped make it feel a little like home.”
As for any advice for up-and-comers on the Big Island, Cristobal kept it straightforward.
“Just work hard,” she said. “Don’t be afraid going out of your comfort zone — go after your goals.”
Next up for Cristobal and GCU is the outdoor season, which begins in mid-March.