BOZEMAN, Mont. – The Northern Arizona University men's track and field team sits in the driver's seat heading into the final day of 2016 indoor conference championships tomorrow. The Lumberjacks racked up 47 points in the three finalized events, including a gold medal performance in the men's weight throw and locking in the first four finishers in the men's 5000m race.

It was NAU's Adam Keenan getting the Lumberjacks off to a great start in the men's weight throw Friday morning, recording a first-place finish among a competitive conference field. Keenan looked strong throughout, though, excelling past his peers with a season- and career-best 19.75m, 64-09.75 mark. The win meant Keenan was the first Lumberjack since Pascal Tang in 2012 to secure gold in the men's weight throw for NAU.

Keenan's performance Friday morning was also the fourth-best in NAU indoor history and the ninth-best mark in Big Sky indoor history. Because of the victory, Keenan tallied 10 points for NAU and was named a Big Sky all-conference athlete, an honor earned in an event he had only competed in once before—which occurred earlier this season.

In the men's 5000m, it was NAU's Nathan Weitz and Cory Glines taking charge and stretching out a sizeable lead over the rest of the field. Weitz (14:42.01) and Glines (14:44.80) both went No. 1 and 2 to secure the gold and silver, but it was Mike Baxter (14:48.99) crossing the finish line in third for the Lumberjacks and taking home the bronze. Tyler Day (14:54.82) won a contested battle for fourth place as well, leaning in over Southern Utah's athlete to lock up the spot. Of the possible 29 points available in the first four placement spots, the Lumberjacks snatched them all.

Racing in the second heat of the 60m hurdles, redshirt-senior JaShawn Combs placed third overall in the preliminary round and qualified for finals with an 8.21 time. Teammates James Fisher, Isiah Kennedy and Kossi Tchenawou will also be joining Combs in tomorrow's finals festivities. Fisher—the reigning indoor and outdoor 200m champ—qualified for the 200m final after placing second overall in the prelims with a 21.96 mark, while Kennedy and Tchenawou are heading to the 60m finals after second and fourth-place performances in the prelimaries today, respectively. Kennedy also locked up a finals spot in the 200m today after recording a 22.05 time.

Brooke Andersen had another memorable day as a Lumberjack, competing in the women's weight throw and earning bronze with her 19.31m, 63-04.25 mark. Andersen uncharacteristically struggled a bit today, but the redshirt-sophomore kept her attitude up and perservered to score six valuable points for the NAU women's crew.

The distance highlight of the day for the women came in the 5000m race, where Paige Gilchrist, Melanie Townsend and Kayla Freeman—the Lumberjacks' reliable core—all crossed the finish line in consecutive order at fourth, fifth and six-place. Gilchrist ran a 17:15.46, while Townsend tallied a 17:26.03 time and Freeman scored a 17:35.01 mark. All three athletes earned a combined 12 points with their gutsy performances.

The sprints crew for the women also had an impressive opening day, locking in five final qualifying times. Senior Bria Edwards hit both in the 200m and 400m, while junior Nicole Fotinos and freshman Clarissa Maxey recorded qualifying times in the 400m and freshman Jasmine Malone tallied one in the 200m. NAU's Maggie Carruth also finished in third-place in the women's 800m, which allowed her to punch a ticket for finals in that event tomorrow afternoon.

As referenced above, the Lumberjacks are back at it bright and early tomorrow with the men's shot put at 10 a.m. MT. The distance events begin at 12:20 p.m. MT with the women's mile.