IRVINE, Calif. – Friday afternoon marked the first official day of the 2016 outdoor track and field season for Northern Arizona University, but newcomer Adam Keenen showed no signs of culture shock in his Lumberjack outdoor debut with a first-place victory in the hammer throw event.

In what is considered to be his strongest event, Keenen slung an NAU and Big Sky Conference record with his 69.32m, 227' 5" hammer mark. Keenan's throw surpassed the previous Lumberjack record—a mark set in 2005 by Karim Chester—by nearly eight feet and the conference record by a little more than a foot.

"[Keenan] has just been a pleasure to work with," said Assistant Coach Nathan Ott. "He started out a little rusty, but he felt pretty good and he looked solid, so all he had to do was make some adjustments going into finals. He made them, and he hit a good mark. It's exciting, but I still think there's more to see there."

Redshirt-senior Jessica Weise also performed well for the Lumberjacks on the women's side, earning a second-place finish with a 55.36m, 181' 07" mark in the hammer throw event.

"[Weise] did well today, with the hammer throw not really being her top event," said Ott. "Coming off of indoor season, I think she has something to prove. The weight and the hammer throw are fairly similar, and by redshirting Brooke [Andersen], Weise is our top hammer girl this year. She wants to represent NAU well, and she has stepped up and done so accordingly."

For the distance crew, senior transfer Tim Cummings recorded the second first-place victory on the day for the NAU team, with his coming in the 3000m steeplechase—his specialty event. Cummings crossed the finish line with a 9:07.26 time, while freshman teammate James Fitzgerald also notched a top-five finish with a 9:24.58 time. 

On the women's end, it was true freshman Miranda Myers with a fifth-place time in the 5000m event (17:47.32), while Mikayla Malaspina followed Myers with her seventh-place time of 18:07.51.

"[Cummings] was a regional qualifier while running at the University of Washington and had a rough year last year, but to open up the season with a 9:07.26 [time] at a new school and new environment, it was really exciting," said Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Eric Heins. "I was very pleased; just icing on the cake."

The Lumberjacks pick up tomorrow from the UC Irvine Spring Break Invite at 10 a.m. MST with a number of field events, while track action begins at noon with the women's 4x100m relay.