FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Spending an afternoon with a national-caliber Division I track and field program made Tuesday a special day for first year Coconino High School track and field head coach Tera Larsen and her team of prep athletes.

"This was an amazing experience for our kids, and was something I had always wanted to be a part of as a collegiate athlete," said Larsen, who competed in the heptathlon and the pole vault for NAU from 2002-2006. "This is a wonderful opportunity both for the NAU student-athletes to coach a little bit, and for the high school athletes to see a little bit of what collegiate athletics is like."

Getting the athletes involved in something that would take them beyond their competitive days was something that was attractive to NAU's coaches as well. Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Eric Heins, along with assistant coach Ed Jacoby, jumped at the opportunity to give back to Flagstaff's youth.

"Coach Larsen is one of our many volunteers who help us officiate at home track meets, so having our athletes work with the high school kids was a good opportunity to do something in return," said Heins, now in his second full year at the helm of NAU's storied program. "Getting more community involvement with things like this will hopefully create an interest in track and field among more young people in Flagstaff."

The various Lumberjack athletes, split up into position groups, all had different things to offer their younger peers Tuesday afternoon. Sophomores Bahlbi Gebreyohanns and Cody Reed showed distance runners what a typical track workout looks like, while jumpers Edgar Panford, Deante Kemper, and Lauren Laszczak helped the student-athletes perfect their techniques.  In the sprints, junior Miles Di Sabella and senior Rashida McKinnon gave runners some keys to exploding a little bit faster out of the blocks, all while keeping a light mood and answering any questions student-athletes had.

"We looked a lot at the athletes' personal running style and built on that, so it was fun for them to be able to see real progress from the beginning of the workout to the end," said McKinnon. "I liked encouraging the kids, and it was really inspiring to be able to use what we've learned at NAU to coach others."

All the high school athletes were grateful for the valuable time given to them by their collegiate counterparts, and Larsen hopes that inspiration from the day will propel her student-athletes to succeed in high school and beyond.

The Lumberjacks hit the Walkup Skydome track Thursday night for the NAU Tune-Up, their final home meet before the Big Sky Championships on Feb. 24-25. The event offers free admission, and will begin with the field events at 4:30 p.m.