Photo by Cheryl Treworgy/PrettySporty

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Senior David McNeill of Northern Arizona was not going to let anyone deny him of his first NCAA National Championship. The Australian native held off Liberty's Sam Chelanga to claim the men's 5,000-meter title in an NAU indoor record time of 13:36.41 Friday evening at the Randal Tyson Track Center.

McNeill becomes NAU's 11th national champion in track and field and cross country, and the school's first male to claim a 5K title. This is also McNeill's seventh All-American honor.

The last Lumberjack to win an individual championship was Lopez Lomong back in 2007 when he was crowned the 3,000-meter indoor and 1,500-meter outdoor national champion.

"I was just really excited and tried not to smile too much," an elated McNeill said about winning the title. "When you go into a race against someone like Chelanga who has beaten you by 40 seconds, you just have to go in there not thinking about that, and that's exactly what I did. I treated Chelanga as an equal and just stuck with him and had a little bit extra left at the end."

Interim Director of Track and Field & Cross Country Eric Heins was thrilled for McNeill to walk away from the 5K as the national champion.

"I think you look at the race and it was anyone of their races except David had more left at the end," Heins said. "He learned from the Big Sky Championships when he finished second that he wasn't going to be beat going into the final turn. Chelanga tried to get him there and he just held him off."

McNeill got out of the gates quickly, leading the pack for the first seven laps. For the next 17 laps, he and Chelanga would exchange the lead on a few occasions, with McNeill in the front spot heading into the final lap. The final 200 meters saw Chelanga attempt to pass McNeill on the outside, but was denied as McNeill would pull away down the final stretch to win by six-tenths of a second.

McNeill returns to the track tomorrow night for the 3K championships at 6:55 p.m. MST. He looks to match Galen Rupp's feat of a year ago by winning both the 3K and 5K in the same weekend.

Friday afternoon's men's shot put preliminary and final featured senior Javier Villarreal. He was in the second of two flights and recorded a mark of 17.92m (58-9.5) to give him a 12th-place overall finish. The second best throw of the season for the Eloy, Ariz., native came on his second attempt of the day. It was the first indoor championship appearance in the senior's career.

Although he didn't make it into the final flight, Villarreal knows he left it all in the circle and is proud to be able to compete against some of the nation's best throwers.

"I knew I was going up against some good throwers, but I was mainly in my own world just focusing on what I needed to do in order to get into the final flight," Villarreal said. "Only a select few get to compete in this championship, so I feel honored just being there and having the opportunity to compete against some great competition."

With the outdoor season set to begin in a week, Villarreal has a better grasp of what he needs to accomplish in order to return to the national championships.

"I know now what to expect when it comes to the outdoor season," Villarreal said. "I know the faces, and the way they compete," Villarreal said. "When I am on the list for outdoor season, I just need to keep moving up so that I can make it to the national championships. I will be able to ease my mind more knowing that I am higher on the list instead of being one of the last to get in."

To catch McNeill's 3K run tomorrow evening at 6:55 p.m. MST, tune into ESPN360.com, or log on to NCAA.com.

DID YOU KNOW?…Junior All-American David McNeill finished second and fellow junior Jordan Chipangama placed fifth to lead the Northern Arizona men's cross country team to its second fourth-place finish in three years and third consecutive Top 10 finish at the 2009 NCAA Cross Country Championships.