Day One Results

EUGENE, Ore. – Wednesday was the start of the NCAA Track & Field Outdoor Championships and two athletes from the Northern Arizona Track & Field team competed with the best of the best in the country. Futsum Zienasellassie and Matt McElroy ran the 10,000-meter race at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon and for the first time in his outdoor career McElroy earned All-American honors finishing in sixth place with a time of 29:16.55. Zienasellassie finished in 12^th place with a time of 29:41.34.

"Matt ran the perfect race today," said Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Eric Heins. "He showed so much toughness, mentally and physically and to see where he was three years ago to now running with the best and possibly competing at the USA Championships later this month is a great way to end your collegiate career. I am very proud of Matt."

Zienasellassie went into the race with the fifth best time and McElroy was slotted in eighth. Out of the 24 runners in the event, the top-eight times in the nation came from the west region going into the meet. Zienasellassie and McElroy set the pace early in the race as the two Lumberjacks shared first-place in the first four-of-five laps.

"Matt pushed the pace early because he noticed it was a slower race," said Heins as McElroy was in first place from laps 20-14. "He then decided to run a smart race and back off and put himself in position where he could finish strong and finish in the top-eight."

McElroy and Zienasellassie were a part of a large pack from sixth to 12^th place and McElroy was able to move from ninth place to sixth place in the last 200-meters of the race. McElroy's All-American finish gives NAU three points at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, already scoring more points than last season.

"This means so much to me," said McElroy in his first appearance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. "I wanted to end my last season at NAU with a bang and I gave everything I had in this race. Throughout the race I was surrounded by multiple runners so I had to stay positive and stick with my game plan."

The Lumberjacks will be back in action on Friday, June 12, as Weston Strum will compete in the 5,000-meter race. The race will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the University of Oregon and can be seen on ESPN3.