SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - Northern Arizona University's Diego Estrada will be the lone Lumberjack athlete competing this weekend at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Nampa, Idaho. Estrada has the country's third-best time in the 3,000 meters and ranks seventh in the 5,000 meters.

"This is his second time at the championships, so he has goals to succeed since he's been there and done well in the past," said Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Eric Heins. "He's going to have a tough battle to go out and win one this weekend, so hopefully he saves his best performance for last."

In last year's national meet, his first for track and field, Estrada twice earned All-America status. His fourth-place overall finish in the 5,000 meters came after one of the fastest races in NCAA history and broke the NAU and Big Sky Conference record with a time of 13:29.01. He also earned second-team All-America honors with a 14th-place mark in the 3,000 meters.

"Last year was my first track final, and in my eyes I went out there to prove myself, even if I felt like I wasn't quite as prepared to win as I should have been," said Estrada. "Last year my strength was endurance, but this year I have the closing speed necessary to win it. I'm going out there to challenge this weekend."

This weekend's meet is the culmination of a historic season for Estrada, in which he broke school and Big Sky Conference records previously held by former national champions from years past.

His indoor track season started in December 2011, when just two weeks removed from an All-American performance at cross country nationals, Estrada earned an NCAA auto-bid in the 5,000 meters at Indiana's Hoosier Open (13:39).

Estrada's next big performance came a month later at the Mountain T's Invitational, where he became the nation's first athlete in 2012 to register a sub-four minute mile. His winning time of 3:55.48@ broke the NAU record held by former NCAA Champion and Olympian Lopez Lomong.

Two weeks later, Estrada ran one of the fastest 3,000-meter races in NCAA history at the Husky Classic, finishing the event in an NAU and Big Sky-record time of 7:44.63. His time defeated a two-year-old record held by 2-time national champion David McNeill, who graduated from NAU in 2010 after capturing the indoor and outdoor NCAA titles.

Estrada capped his monumental regular season at the Big Sky Conference Indoor Championships two weeks ago, where he became just the fourth male in league history to win three individual titles at one championship event.

His gold medals in the mile, 3,000, and 5,000 meters made him the championship's Most Valuable Athlete, and led the Lumberjack men in winning the team title and shattering the Big Sky record for team points (215).

Estrada will compete in the 5,000-meter run Friday night at approximately 8:05 p.m. Arizona time and the 3,000 meters Saturday night at 7:55 p.m. Both races will be broadcast live on ESPN3, and will be replayed on ESPNU on Sunday night.

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