WALNUT, Calif. – After placing his name atop Northern Arizona's 5,000 meter indoor record book last month at the NCAA Indoor Championships, junior Diego Estrada ran into NAU history once again Friday night at the 53rd Annual Mt. SAC Relays. Making his outdoor season debut, Estrada ran the third fastest 1,500-meter time in school history as he crossed the finish line in 3:41.80 for fifth place in his heat.

Estrada passes former Lumberjack Richard Selby's 1972 time of 3:42.34 and couldn't be happier with his performance.

"They started the race about 20 minutes early so I think that helped me because I wasn't thinking much," Estrada said after running his first career 1,500m. "I started sprinting at 1,000m thinking I only had 300 meters left, but it worked out for the best."

"I have to give credit where it is due and that is to Coach (Eric) Heins," Estrada said about his success in his third season at NAU. "He has given me confidence all season and it was his idea to enter me in the race at 3:42 when I wasn't sure if I could do it. I feed off of confidence and he's been providing it all season."

The top time for Estrada places him among the best in the West Region, but the Salinas, Calif., native still plans on focusing on the 5K for the postseason.

It was a great day for NAU in the 1,500m and kicking off the action at Hilmer Lodge Stadium for the Lumberjacks was senior Kam Holbrook along with juniors Jordan Chipangama and Matthew Coloe. All three picked up Big Sky qualifiers as Coloe ran 3:48.20 to best Chipangama by .21 in section four of the event. Holbrook collected a personal-best mark, finishing with a time of 3:50.83 in section seven.

NAU sprinters performed well at the world famous facility as they were led by junior Rashida McKinnon who met Big Sky standards in the women's 400-meter run (56.31). Fellow junior Mark Hughes also ran to a conference qualifier, crossing the finish line in the 400-meter hurdles in a time of 54.21.

Sophomore Miles Di Sabella had a busy day as he lowered his 100-meter dash time (10.78), picked up a Big Sky qualifier in the 200-meter dash (21.70) and kicked off the men's 4x400m relay that recorded a new season-best time of 3:12.63.

The men's hammer throw from Mt. SAC saw senior Jacob Nicol win flight three of the event with a new personal-best mark of 195 feet, eight inches (59.64). It is the second-straight week Nicol has recorded a personal record in the event.

NAU had athletes competing across town at Azusa Pacific in the Brian Clay Invitational. Junior Haley Lawrence (1,500m) and redshirt freshman Paul Osunwa (shot put) both met Big Sky standards in their respective events.

The Lumberjacks close out their west coast weekend Saturday with the Beach Invitational from Cerritos, Calif.