LAWRENCE, Kan. – What was supposed to be a quiet Saturday for the Northern Arizona University track and field athletes during the NCAA West Preliminary Round was anything but, as Andy Trouard and the men's 4x100m relay team—composed of DeShon Norris, James Fisher, Isaiah Kennedy and Kossi Tchenawou—all punched their tickets to the NCAA National Championships with outstanding performances in their respective events.

With the dust of the west region finally settled, 11 total athletes from the Big Sky Conference qualified for NCAA Championships. Eight of those athletes, though, are NAU Lumberjacks.

"This is definitely one of the best teams we've ever had, across the board," said Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Eric Heins. "We've had a 'team' finish top-10 in the country, but that was David McNeill by himself. This time around, we have four guys and a relay team. It's exciting to be going to the national meet with this many guys in this many events."

It was the men's relay squad leading things off for NAU during the final day of action at the west regional, and they certainly set the tone. The four Lumberjack athletes all ran exceptionally well during their 100m splits, placing fourth in their heat and 11th overall with a time of 40.00 seconds flat—a mere hundredth of a second off their season-best time. Putting this performance in a more historical perspective, the NAU relay athletes will be the first ever men's 4x100m team to go to NCAA nationals in Big Sky Conference history.

"Those guys entered the meet with an extreme amount of confidence," said Associate Head Coach Kenny McDaniel. "To finish 11th in the region is a huge step for them. They took it upon themselves to make history today, and they did just that. As their coach, it was awesome to watch their approach toward this event; it was, 'This is what we need to do, so let's go do it and see what happens.' At the end of the day, it was exhilarating to see those guys advance to NCAA Championships as a relay."

The relay performance was going to be a tough act to follow, but NAU's Trouard matched its excitement with a thrilling homestretch rally in the fourth heat of the men's 1500m run. The junior from Tucson, Ariz., shifted positions the last 100m—pulling toward the outside—and hit another gear to cross the finish line with a career-best time of 3:43.61. Even more impressive, Trouard ranked 46th out of 48 athletes coming into the event—he finished fourth overall.   

"This is what makes the preliminary meet so exciting," said Heins. "To see a guy ranked 46th in the region make it to the national meet because he knows how to race well, that's something. [Trouard] definitely earned it."

Shawn Collins was the final Lumberjack athlete to compete Saturday, putting a bow on the west regionals for NAU. Collins registered the second-best mark of his career, muscling a 58-5.75 (17.82m) throw for fourth place in his flight and 25th place overall in the competition.

"The big takeaway for [Collins] is that he knows he can compete with these guys and even though the competition did get better than most people anticipated, I think he has a vision now of what he can do," said Assistant Coach Nathan Ott. "I think he'll learn from this experience and be much more motivated going into next season, his senior year."

Other events for NAU included the men's 200m dash, in which Fisher (18th – 20.87) and Tchenawou (36th – 21.42) both placed higher than their regional ranking coming into this weekend. Additionally, Nathan Weitz, Cory Glines and Caleb Hoover all raced in the men's 5000m event. Kennedy (200m) and Futsum Zienasellassie (5000m) were scratched from their events today.

The Lumberjacks' Micael Ljungberg (men's discus), Melanie Townsend (women's 5000m) and Kylie Goo (women's 1500m) also competed for NAU during today's regional action. In fact, Goo came into the NCAA West Prelims as the 41st-ranked athlete in her respective event and finished six spots better than that today (35th – 4:30.29). 

The season for four individual Lumberjack athletes—Zienasellassie, Hoover, Trouard and Adam Keenan—will continue at NCAA National Championships, June 8-11, while the NAU men's 4x100m relay squad will join their teammates for the fun in Eugene, Ore. It will be the second such trip for Hoover, the third for Zienasellassie and the first taste of the national championships for everyone else.