CERRITOS, Calif. – Senior Josh DeKonty led the Northern Arizona University track and field team in the field events Saturday at the Beach Invitational in Cerritos, Calif., marking a personal best and regional top-20 long jump of 24-7.25, while the distance crew was out in full force on the track.  The Lumberjacks had six runners qualify for the Big Sky Championships in the 800 meters, two in the 1,500 meters, and four in the 5,000 meters.

DeKonty, a sixth-year senior out of Gilbert, Ariz., set the career mark on his second of six jumps, putting him fifth overall in the meet.

"Josh really seemed dialed in today," said Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Eric Heins. "He took advantage of the tough competition at this meet. I mean, he had to jump what he did just to be competitive today, and it really looks like he's extending his senior season to the NCAA West Preliminary meet in Austin, Texas after that jump."

It was arguably the best day of the season for NAU's middle distance runners. Junior Agnes Laurent led the charge, earning conference qualifiers and season-best marks in the 800 and 1,500 with times of 2:13.24 and 4:35.81, respectively. Freshman Caroline Hogardh, who sits among the top-25 steeplechasers in the country, was the top Lumberjack in the 800 with a time of 2:12.83.

"This ended up being a really good meet for us today, because almost everyone that raced in the distance events got either or both Big Sky marks or personal bests, " said Heins. "The meet was great because there was competition for them through ever race, and that really helped them to perform as well as they did."

Also qualifying in the 800 were senior Haley Lawrence (2:14.20) and sophomore Carissa Gwerder (2:16.55). Gwerder's qualifying mark earned her a berth in the Big Sky Outdoor Championships for the first time in her career.

On the men's side, sophomore Caleb Potts ran a blistering 1:51.42 to lead the Lumberjacks, followed by Jordan Chipangama in 1:52.31 and Chris Ganem in 1:53.68.

Freshmen Shayla and Kayla Freeman, identical twins from Phoenix, Ariz., both had big days as well in earning conference championship berths for the first time in their young careers. Shayla qualified in the 1,500 (4:39.24), while Kayla earned an auto-bid in the 5,000 meters (17:45.11).

NAU added three additional auto-bids from the men's and women's 5K races, with Kenzie Estes (17:50.40) and Kylee Kieser (17:50.86) earning conference marks for the women, and Adam Vess (14:31.98) qualifying for the men. Freshman Caleb Hoover had already qualified in the event, but earned a PR in the race with a time of 14:33.15.

The women's 4x100-meter relay (46.76) squad led the sprints for NAU, winning their heat and the event overall in the first race of the day. Each member of the relay team competed in at least one other event as well. Seniors Simone Holder and Jenne Childs performed the best of the four, both earning career bests. Holder's best individual race came in the 200 meters with a time of 24.92, while Childs had a major PR in the 100-meter hurdles, crossing the finish line in 14.15.

Competing in the men's sprints Saturday were Dennis Givens, who notched 10th overall in the 400 meters (48.27), Miles Di Sabella, who tied his season best in the 100 meters with 10.68, and Trevor Stevens, a true freshman who just missed a conference qualifier in the 200 with a 22.09. Freshman Vernon Jamison also had a solid day, earning a PR in the 110-meter hurdles (14.80) and running the 400-meter hurdles for the first time ever (55.71).

In other notable field event performances for the Lumberjacks, Frederick Scarber competed in the high jump and finished a 6-7, senior Karl Gehrke made finals in the men's discus, placing eighth with a toss of 172-9, and sophomore Jessica Bush competed well in both the women's shot put and discus with throws of 45-3.5 and 144-9, respectively.

The Lumberjacks will compete at two meets next weekend: the Payton Jordan Invitational on April 29 in Palo Alto, Calif., and the Double Dual with Arizona State and Arizona in Tucson, Ariz. on April 28.