DAY 2 HEAT SHEETS
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The Northern Arizona University men's track team rode three individual titles and a win in the distance medley relay to a comfortable first-place lead after the first day of competition at the Big Sky Conference Indoor Championships. On the women's side, sophomore high jumper Lauren Laszczak added a fifth title for the Lumberjacks her first career conference title in the high jump.
"Our men put up one of the most impressive first days I've ever seen at a Big Sky meet," said Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Eric Heins. "At the same time, our women are in great shape headed into tomorrow with Lauren winning and some others putting themselves in position to score points."
The Lumberjack men lead the field with 73 first-day points, 36 ahead of Montana State in second place, while NAU's women sit in second place behind Sacramento State with 34 points.
It was a successful day for NAU from the beginning, as Pascal Tang and Laszczak won Big Sky crowns in the first two individual events of the championship. Tang's weight throw crown was the second of his career, and his first since his freshman season in 2008. His winning toss of 65-7 was five and a half feet better than his nearest competitor.
The Lumberjacks kept their momentum going with a sweep of the top-three spots in the men's long jump. Senior Josh DeKonty (24.5.75), and sophomores Edgar Panford (24-3) and Andre Gaines (24-0.25) all jumped over 24 feet for the first time this season, earning 24 total points for NAU in the event.
Diego Estrada followed the trio of champions with a win in the 5,000-meter run—the fourth Big Sky crown of his career. Estrada turned on the jets in the last kilometer, trouncing the field by 12 seconds and finishing in an altitude-converted time of 14:12.99@.
Estrada was one of five Lumberjacks to earn points in the 5K Friday, as junior Tim Freriks finished third (6) and was followed by freshman Caleb Hoover in fourth (5), Andrew Belus in sixth (3), and Bahlbi Gebreyohanns in seventh (2).
"Diego ran perfectly today, but I really liked the performances of the rest of our distance crew," said Heins. "We put the race on a nice steady pace to begin, and our ending really showed a lot about the quality of our men's team."
To close out the running events for the day, NAU men's distance medley relay squad of Chris Ganem (1,200m), Dennis Givens (400m), Caleb Potts (800m), and John Yatsko (1,600m) outran the conference field in a time of 10:04.29@.
The Lumberjacks built up a good amount of points from Friday's races, but they still must rely on the athletes competing in tomorrow's finals to close the door on a great weekend.
Leading the preliminary finishers going into Saturday is 400-meter dash runner Adel al Nasser, whose time of 47.24 was Friday's fastest in the event.
Other notable preliminary marks from Friday included freshman Deante Kemper claiming fourth-place in the 60-meter hurdles (8.28), as well as Givens and Miles Di Sabella holding third and fifth in the 60-meter dash.
The Lumberjacks will also field three men in the 800-meter run, led by senior Jordan Chipangama. In addition, he and Estrada will lead tomorrow's mile race as the only two sub-four minute milers in the Big Sky Conference so far in 2012.
NAU's women are in great shape heading into the final day, with two athletes placed in at least one event's top-three for tomorrow's finals. Freshman phenom Darriel Banks not only earned the outright school record in the 60-meter dash (7.52@), but also earned the second seed in the 200 meters with a career best time of 24.59@.
Fellow freshman Caroline Hogardh also has good position for tomorrow's final with the second seed in the 800-meter run.
The only blemish on a positive day for the Lumberjacks came in the second heat of the 400-meter dash, where junior standout Arnaud Froidmont pulled up with a hamstring injury 20 meters from the finish line. Froidmont is done for the weekend, so NAU will replace him with Potts for tomorrow's 4x400-meter relay.
One of the marquee events for Saturday will be the women's weight throw, as senior Nicole Elliott attempts to achieve a fifth-straight career best, capture her second career Big Sky title, and break three-time Olympian Anna Soderberg's 15-year old record. Elliott's best toss of 65-4.25 is currently less than two inches from Soderberg's record (65-6).
No matter the outcome, Saturday has the potential to be a monumental day for Lumberjack track and field.
The action begins at 8 a.m. with the remaining three heptathlon events. Field events begin at 11 a.m., followed by the running events at 1:30.
Big Sky Indoor Track and Field Championship
J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome
Flagstaff, Arizona
Men's Team Scores (5 Events)
1. Northern Arizona 73; 2. Montana State 37; 3. Eastern Washington 20; 4. Weber State 18; 4. Idaho State 18; 6.
Sacramento State 15; 7. Montana 11; 8. Portland State 3.
Women's Team Scores (6 Events)
1. Sacramento State 60; 2. Northern Arizona 34; 3. Weber State 31; 4. Montana State 26; 4. Montana 26; 6. Idaho State
21; 7. Portland State 20; 8. Eastern Washington 14; Northern Colorado 2.
Women Pentathlon
1. Hall, Lindsey, UM, 3,928. 2. Vinson, Joenisha, PSU, 3,686. 3. Celma, Baiba, SAC, 3,599. 4. Berryman, Samantha,
ISU, 3,535. 5. McGree, Sarah, MSU, 3,522. 6. Rogers, Mariah, SAC, 3,424. 7. McKearney, Zarria, SAC, 3,421. 8.
Schmidt, AmyLyn, WSU, 3,393.
Women 60 Meter Hurdles Preliminaries
1. Bolton, Sakya, SAC, 8.37q. 2. Dorsett, P'Lar, PSU, 8.50q. 3. Hall, Lindsay, UM, 8.56q. 4. Niemeir, Katie, MSU,
8.65q. 5. Vinson, Joenisha, PSU, 8.65q. 6. Childs, Jenne, NAU, 8.66q. 7. Green, Anika, UM, 8.67q. 8. Sidner,
Cassandra, OSU, 8.68q.
Men 60 Meter Hurdles Preliminaries
1. Warner, Steven, EWU, 8.09q. 2. Mohl, Jeff, MSU, 8.22q. 3. McUne, Jonathon, WSU, 8.24q. 4. Kemper, Deante,
NAU, 8.28q. 5. Lyons, Paul, SAC, 8.36q. 6. Engel, Cory, NC, 8.37q. 7. Staven, Asa, MSU, 8.38q. 8. Williams,
Anthony, SAC, 8.42q.
Men Weight Throw
1. Tang, Pascal, NAU, 65-07. 2. Parry, Zach, WSU, 60-02. 3. Nielsen, Zach, EWU, 59-07. 4. Harrebomee, Derek,
WSU, 59-07. 5. O Farrell, Mike, ISU, 59-03.50. 6. Millan, Alberto, SAC, 58-04.50. 7. Arakawa, Jordan, EWU, 57-
07.50. 8. Buchanan, Jon, EWU, 57-01.50.
Women 400 Meter Dash Preliminaries
1. Danreuther, Kourtney, UM, 54.17q. 2. Whittington, Dominique, SAC, 54.54q. 3. Alston, Amanda, WSU, 55.54q. 4.
Jaeger, Chantel, MSU, 56.31q. 5. Worthington, Hayli, ISU, 56.64q. 6. Cole, Brianna, SAC, 56.73q. 7. Antar, Sonia,
MSU, 56.76q. 8. Robinette, Shaylee, NC, 56.90q.
Women High Jump
1. Laszczak, Lauren, NAU, 5-07.75. 2. Abbott, Gwenn, UM, 5-05.75. 3. Hall, Lindsey, UM, 5-05.75. 4. Amsbaugh,
Amber, MSU, 5-05.75. 5. Robinson, Moira, SAC, 5-05.75. 6. Jepsen, Elise, EWU, 5-03.75. 7. Richardson, Shayla, ISU,
5-03.75. 8. Wilcox, Makenzie, 5-03.75.
Men 400 Meter Dash Preliminaries
1. al Nasser, Adel, NAU, 47.24q. 2. Michael, Brad, EWU, 47.27q. 3. Crayton-Crogan, Evan, SAC, 47.92q. 4. Wall,
Brad, EWU, 47.94q. 5. Hambright, Dylan, UM, 48.26q. 6. Okoro, Michael, EWU, 48.27q. 7. Durfee, Dustin, WSU,
48.43q. 8. Owens, Drew, UM, 48.74q.
Women 60 Meter Dash Preliminaries
1. Black, Geronne, PSU, 7.42q. 2. Banks, Darriel, NAU, 7.48q. 3. King, Karene, PSU, 7.50q. 4. Brooks, Sierra, PSU,
7.55q. 5. Billings, Kristen, WSU, 7.58q. 6. Ashby, Amoni, NC, 7.62q. 7. Rhodes, Anaiah, PSU, 7.65q. 8. Leavitt,
Whitney, EWU, 7.65q.
Men Long Jump
1. DeKonty, Josh, NAU, 24-05.75. 2. Panford, Edgar, NAU, 24-03. 3. Gaines, Andre, NAU, 24-00.25. 4. Mohl, Jeff,
MSU, 23-06.25. 5. Staven, Asa, MSU, 23-06. 6. Johnson, Thremaine, NAU, 23-05.25. 7. Ryabokoravka, Oleg, SAC,
22-11.25. 8. Wright, David Jon, SAC, 22-08.
Men 60 Meter Dash Preliminaries
1. Taylor, Evan, NC, 6.76q. 2. Grady, Isaiah, NC, 6.85q. 3. Givens, Dennis, NAU, 6.87q. 4. Wilson, Chris, MSU,
6.89q. 5. Di Sabella, Miles, NAU, 6.89q. 6. Lisowski, Donny, UM, 6.91q. 7. Lewis, Jared, NC, 6.94q. 8. Meehan,
Evan, SAC, 6.96q.
Women 800 Meter Run Preliminaries
1. Henry, Amber, WSU, 2:12.81q. 2. Hogardh, Caroline, NAU, 2:13.18q. 3. Kealamakia, Ashley, WSU, 2:13.81q. 4.
Stinnett, Veronica, SAC, 2:14.70q. 5. Palakovich, Cloe, ISU, 2:15.05q. 6. Lawrence, Haley, NAU, 2:16.62q. 7.
Paulsen, Caitlin, WSU, 2:16.63q. 8. Haas, Ani, UM, 2:17.07q.
Men 800 Meter Run Preliminaries
1. Grosvenor, Grant, MSU, 1:55.15q. 2. Litwiller, Nathaniel, SAC, 1:55.67q. 3. Chipangama, Jordan, NAU, 1:55.69q.
4. Ganem, Chris, NAU, 1:55.85q. 5. Norris, David, UM, 1:56.08q. 6. Potts, Caleb, NAU, 1:56.23q. 7. Ward, Kurt,
WSU, 1:57.51q. 8. Anestos, Chaz, ISU, 1:57.60q.
Women 200 Meter Dash Preliminaries
1. King, Karene, PSU, 24.02q. 2. Billings, Kristen, WSU, 24.45q. 3. Banks, Darriel, NAU, 24.53q. 4. Whittington,
Dominique, SAC, 24.59q. 5. Danreuther, Kourtney, UM, 24.62q. 6. Leavitt, Whitney, EWU, 24.66q. 7. Jaeger,
Chantel, MSU, 24.66q. 8. Black, Geronne, PSU, 24.90q.
Men Pole Vault
1. Arnold, Michael, ISU, 17-04.50. 2. Mohl, Jeff, MSU, 16-04.75. 3. Stearns, Nick, EWU, 15-11. 4. Webber, Keith,
UM, 15-05. 4. Horlick, Kaleb, UM, 15-05. 6. Staven, Asa, MSU, 15-05. 7. Lohse, Andrew, SAC, 14-11. 8. Fraley,
Kyle, SAC, 14-11.
Men 200 Meter Dash Preliminaries
1. Taylor, Evan, NC, 21.35q. 2. Givens, Dennis, NAU, 21.37q. 3. Okoro, Michael, EWU, 21.63q. 4. Michael, Brad,
EWU, 21.66q. 5. White, Matt, WSU, 21.85q. 6. Di Sabella, Miles, NAU, 21.86q. 7. Grady, Isaiah, NC, 21.86q. 8.
Wilson, Chris, MSU, 21.89q.
Women 5000 Meter Run
1. Callister, Sarah, WSU, 16:58.65. 2. Hutchison, Bradi, ISU, 17:00.30. 3. Thornley, Taylor, WSU, 17:28.75. 4.
Kanuho, Rochelle, NAU, 18:00.10. 5. Burton, Kortnee, NAU, 18:05.63. 6. Blackford, Kayla, WSU, 18:34.21. 7.
Urlacher, Audrey, ISU, 18:40.21. 8. Deelstra, Jenna, WSU, 18:40.74.
Men 5000 Meter Run
1. Estrada, Diego, NAU, 14:52.80. 2. Jackson, Daniel, MSU, 15:04.23. 3. Freriks, Tim, NAU, 15:10.59. 4. Hoover,
Caleb, NAU, 15:12.93. 5. King, Kyle, EWU, 15:12.93. 6. Belus, Andrew, NAU, 15:13.08. 7. Gebreyohanns, Bahlbi,
NAU, 15:25.55. 8. Turner, Jake, MSU, 15:28.11.
Women Shot Put
1. Murphy, Amanda, MSU, 50-00. 2. Agwuenu, Ify, SAC, 48-09.50. 3. Jones, Erinn, SAC, 48-05.25. 4. Bingham,
Mari, EWU, 46-04. 5. Johnson, Hanna, PSU, 46-02. 6. Elliott, Nicole, NAU, 45-10.50. 7. Bush, Jessica, NAU, 44-
07.50. 8. VandeBergh, Kristi, MSU, 43-07.75.
Women Distance Medley
1. Weber State 'A' 12:20.45. 2. Portland State 'A' 12:24.04. 3. Montana State 'A' 12:27.04. 4. Sacramento State 'A'
12:34.06. 5. Northern Arizona 'A' 12:38.30. 6. Idaho State 'A' 12:44.74. 7. Northern Colorado 'A' 12:54.01. 8. Eastern
Washington 'A' 13:31.34.
Men Distance Medley
1. Northern Arizona 'A' 10:19.94. 2. Montana State 'A' 10:24.65. 3. Sacramento State 'A' 10:26.93. 4. Weber State
'A' 10:26.95. 5. Idaho State 'A' 10:32.82. 6. Portland State 'A' 10:34.93. 7. Montana 'A' 10:46.98. 8. Eastern
Washington 'A' 11:09.86.
Women Long Jump
1. Wright, Natalia, SAC, 19-00.50. 2. Robinson, Moira, SAC, 18-11.25. 3. Childs, Jenne, NAU, 18-06.50. 4. Rogers,
Mariah, SAC, 18-04.50. 5. Monterola, Keisa, EWU, 18-03. 6. McGlory, Nicole, SAC, 18-02.50. 7. Leslie, Jessica, UM,
18-02.25. 8. Davis, Shene, EWU, 18-01.50.
KEY: EWU - Eastern Washington; ISU - Idaho State; UM - Montana; MSU - Montana State; NAU - Northern
Arizona; NC - Northern Colorado; PSU - Portland State; SAC - Sacramento State; WSU - Weber State.
