FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Coming off a sweep at the Big Sky Cross Country Championships, Northern Arizona cross country is off to the University of New Mexico for Friday's NCAA Mountain Regional, the final step before the NCAA National Championships on Nov. 22.

No. 10 Northern Arizona men's cross country extended their dominance over the Big Sky Conference on Nov. 1 when they put up a near-perfect score of 24 and placed all of their top five in the top 10. Futsum Zienasellassie, Matt McElroy and Caleb Hoover – all three with All-American honors from 2013 track & field and cross country – swept the top three spots, holding Southern Utah's contender Nate Jewkes to fourth. Tyler Byrne and Nathan Weitz wrapped up the Lumberjacks' score with eighth- and 10th-place finishes.

"The regional isn't really about winning; it's about qualifying," said Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Eric Heins. "The most important thing is to run controlled and as a pack. We want to finish as high as possible without overexerting ourselves before the national championships."

No. 10 Northern Arizona has won the past two Mountain Regional Championships.

Friday marks the first time since last year's NCAA Championships the 'Jacks meet up with returning champion No. 1 Colorado, the 2014 PAC-12 Champions. No. 10 Northern Arizona topped them last year at the regionals before being narrowly defeated at the national meet.

"The altitude at the schools throughout the region really attracts distance runners," said Heins about the strength of the mountain region. "They also have trails and forest to run on as opposed to other schools across the country that is running on roads and sidewalks."

On the women's side, Melanie Townsend led the 'Jacks once again with her fourth-place finish and first career All-Big Sky honor. Kayla Freeman followed closely in her first Big Sky Championship appearance in four years with a fifth-place finish. The 'Jacks entire top five finished in the top 20 to give them their first Big Sky title since 2009.

Last year, the women finished sixth at the Mountain Regionals.

"With their current momentum, I'm really excited for regionals this weekend," said Assistant Cross Country Coach Leah Rosenfeld. "I'm really excited to see all their hard work pay off. They've been getting better every single week, and I think their legs will be fresh enough that they'll run to the best of their ability."

Following the 'Jacks showing at the Big Sky Championships, Heins was named the Big Sky Cross Country Coach of the Year for both men's and women's cross country. This is his seventh-straight honor on the men's side and his second for women's cross country. He was named the Big Sky Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Coach for the men's and women's teams last year.

The women kick-off the Mountain Regional with the 6K at the UNM North Golf Course followed by the men's 10K at 1 p.m.