FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - As we enter 2018, here are the top moments in what was another record breaking year for Northern Arizona University Athletics in 2017.

Men's Cross Country wins back-to-back NCAA National Championships
As if they were going to go out any other way, the Northern Arizona University men's cross country team ended its perfect season by winning its second-consecutive NCAA Division I National Championship. NAU posted the lowest team score since 2014 and bested last year's title run by 52 points.

The Lumberjacks dominated the meet, winning with a 74-point performance and beating the next closest team by 53. NAU placed an almost unheard of five athletes in the top 40 of the race.

Matt Baxter led the way for NAU with a second-place finish with a time of 29:00.78. Just like it has been all year, Tyler Day was right behind him to finish third with a 29:04.55 performance. The two have gone back-and-forth besting one another all season, with Baxter just beating out Day by four seconds.

Baxter and Day led the race from the start and battled with Syracuse's Justyn Knight for the individual title. Knight eventually out kicked them at the end, but it didn't matter in the team scoring. The goal was to leave Louisville with another National Championship and that is exactly what this group did.

Day was the top American finisher, while Baxter finished with the best performance out of any male athlete that has come out of New Zealand.

Not to be outshined by the top two, Peter Lomong ran his best race of the season with an eighth-place showing at 29:33.09. Andrew Trouard finished 35th (29:58.07), while Geordie Beamish rounded out the NAU scoring attack in 40th (30:01.12). Luis Grijalva and Cory Glines also competed, with Grijalva coming in 60th (30:19.32) and Glines coming in behind him in 102nd (30:44.54).

Baxter, Day, Lomong, Trouard and Beamish also earned All-American honors with their performances.

The Lumberjacks became the first program to win back-to-back titles since the University of Colorado accomplished the feat during the 2013 and 2014 seasons.

The team also tied a school-record by placing three runners inside the top-25 of the meet in securing the second national championship in NAU history.

Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Michael Smith wins Men's National Coach of the Year
After leading his team to its second-consecutive NCAA National Championship on Saturday, Northern Arizona University's Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Michael Smith was honored with winning the Bill Dellinger Award for being this year's National Men's Coach of the Year.

Smith keeps the award in Flagstaff after former Director Eric Heins won the award in 2016. Smith and Heins are the only NAU coaches to earn the award since its inception in 1969.

The NAU men entered the season as the No. 1 team in the nation, a spot they held from start to finish that ended with the second national title in school history.

The Lumberjacks became just the 17th program in the 80-year history of the Division I Cross Country Championships to win multiple national titles. The team returns five of its top seven athletes for next season.

To go with the National Championship, the men were a perfect six-for-six in meets this year, including winning the Mountain Regional title, the Big Sky Championships and the prestigious Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational.

Smith was also named the Big Sky's Men's and Women's Coach of the Year after leading his team to both the individual (Day for the men, Paige Gilchrist on the women's side) and team championships. Smith earned the Men's Mountain Regional Coach of the Year as well after his team won the region's meet to secure an automatic bid to NCAAs.

Football makes FCS playoffs for first time since 2013
NAU football returned to the FCS playoffs for the first time since 2013 after finishing the regular season 7-4 overall and posting a 6-2 mark in the Big Sky Conference, including a signature 37-16 win over then No. 7/11 Illinois State.

The Lumberjacks great season was due to the success on both sides of the football.

NAU finished 11th in the nation in passing offense (301 yards per game) and 29th in scoring, averaging 30.3 points per contest. The Lumberjacks sat 22nd in the country in total offense (430.8 yards per game).

NAU held opponents to just under 30 points per game and finished the year 19th in the nation in passing yards allowed per game (174.3) and 14th in interceptions with 16. The Lumberjacks took four of those back to the house for touchdowns, which was tied for the most interception return scores in the country.

It was the sixth playoff appearance overall in program history and the fifth time that head coach Jerome Souers has led his squad to postseason play.

Senior wide receiver Elijah Marks finished his NAU career in style after picking up two All-America honors with his standout performance this season.

Marks was named to the FCS All-America Second team by the Associated Press and Third Team All-America by STATS after losing fellow wideout Emmanuel Butler early in the season to injury, Marks stepped up and became the focal point of the NAU passing attack, posting career-best marks of 1,170 receiving yards on 71 receptions and six touchdowns. The yardage total ranked eighth nationally and was the third-highest single-season performance in NAU program history

In addition, Sophomore quarterback Case Cookus, senior offensive tackle Tyler Shank, junior safety Wes Sutton and Marks all earned All-Big Sky Conference First Team selections.

Sophomore cornerback Khalil Dorsey and junior safety Kam'ron Johnson were also selected to the All-Big Sky Second Team Defense and senior center Blake Porter and junior running back Cory Young were honored as All-Big Sky Third Team Offense choices. Senior defensive tackle James Walton was slotted as a third team All-Big Sky Defense selection.

The team dropped its opening round matchup to the University of San Diego, 41-10 on Nov. 25 but returns a strong core for the 2018 season to take another run at the FCS Playoffs and Big Sky Title.

Brooke Andersen Finishes Second at NCAAs in Hammer Throw
Northern Arizona University thrower Brooke Andersen finished runner up at the 2017 NCAA Outdoor National Championships, becoming the highest finish out of any Big Sky Conference athlete, men's or women's in a fields event since 2001.

Andersen's second-place finish at nationals was also the highest of any Lumberjack athlete, men's or women's, in a field event since 1996

The now redshirt-senior from Vista, Calif., became only the second athlete in Big Sky history to secure a first-team All-American accolade in the women's hammer and the first women's hammer throw athlete in the history of NAU to record first-time All-American honors.

Andersen—who had recorded at least one foul in every hammer throw event she competed at in 2017—bucked that trend and landed all six throws safely in the sector during her NCAA performance. After qualifying for finals with a plus-65 meter toss on her second attempt, Andersen mustered a personal-best 225-1 (68.62m) throw on her sixth and final toss of the day. With that mark, Andersen finished as the nation's runner-up to earn first-team All-American accolades.

Women's Golfer Sofia Anokhina Wins Big Sky Individual Title
NAU's Sofia Anokhina won the Big Sky Conference Championships individually, defeating the field by three strokes with a tournament total of 2-over 218 in Boulder City, Nevada in April.

Anokhina became the first NAU golfer since Stephanie Kim in 2010 to win the conference championship tournament and only the sixth Lumberjack in the history of the program to accomplish the feat.

She started the tournament off with two strong rounds of even par 72 and 1-under 71. She closed the final round of the championships out with a 3-over to secure her first conference title.

With the victory, Anokhina also passed Kim for most wins in a single season in program history as the 2017 Big Sky's Player of the Year collected her fourth win on the season. Along with the Big Sky title, the now junior also won the Sacramento State Invite, NAU's Red Rock Invitational and UC Riverside's Battle by the Rock.

As a team, the Lumberjacks finished fourth overall with a three-day total of 57-over 921.

Swimming and Diving captures fourth-consecutive WAC Championship
For the fourth straight season, NAU's Women's Swimming and Diving team finished the year with yet another WAC Championship.

Unlike in year's past, this championship meet came down to the wire. After four days of competition at the University of Houston's CRWC Natatorium, the Lumberjacks sat with 615.5 points, outlasting New Mexico State by just 64.4 points to take home their fourth-consecutive conference title.

NAU's string of four straight WAC titles matches the program's longest conference championship streak in school history. NAU previously won four consecutive Pacific Collegiate Swimming Conference titles from 1987-90.

Aside from taking the team title, the Lumberjacks also cleaned up in the awards department. Head Coach Andy Johns was named the WAC Co-Swimming Coach of the Year, receiving the award for the fourth straight season. Diving coach Nikki Huffman picked up her second straight WAC Diving Coach of the Year honor. Sophomore Tanya Kurach was voted the WAC Diver of the Year after winning the 3-meter competition, and placing third on platform and seventh on 1-meter.

The team was just as solid in the classroom as in the pool, with 10 student-athletes earning WAC All-Academic honors. NAU was also named a Scholar All-America Team by the College Swimming Association of American in January of this year after recording a team semester GPA of 3.41 in the fall.

Diver Tatiana Kurach becomes second Lumberjack All-Time to make NCAA Championships
Sophomore Tanya Kurach qualified for the NCAA National Championships on the 1-meter springboard in 2017, becoming the first Lumberjack to achieve the feat since 1986.

Kurach was just the second Lumberjack diver in program history to qualify for the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships, and the first to do so on the 1-meter springboard.

Kurach joined Valerie Carter as the only NAU women's divers to advance to the national championships. Carter placed 17th overall at the 1986 NCAA Championships on 3-meter.

Kurach was the fourth Lumberjack, swimmer or diver, to qualify for the NCAA Championships in school history.

The sophomore criminology and criminal justice major finished in 49th in the 1-meter event at the NCAA Championships. Kurach posted a six-round score of 218.40 in her first national appearance.

Kurach was the only WAC diver to qualify for NCAAs and finished the year as the Female WAC Diver of the Year and the Big Sky's 3-meter champion.

Women's Basketball's Rene Coggins finishes NAU career with second Academic All-American honors
For many of us, finding enough time in our day for work, family or even sleep can be a major challenge. For Northern Arizona University student Rene Coggins, balancing three majors in the Honors College and being a Division I basketball player was just part of her daily routine.

Coggins has balanced those academic and athletic demands so well, she recently became the first two-time College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-American in NAU women's basketball history. Coggins is the second player in program history to earn that distinction even once—Tracy Barnes was the first in 1987. Earning more than one Academic All-American honor is so rare, Coggins is only the ninth NAU student-athlete across all sports to receive two or more.

Out of more than 4,000 student athletes in NCAA Division I basketball, only 30 (15 women and 15 men) were honored as CoSIDA Academic All-Americans. Of this year's women, Coggins is one of four to carry at least a 4.0 grade point average and is the only one to have a triple major.

Coggins majored in accounting, finance and hotel-restaurant management. She also is a four-time Big Sky Conference All-Academic honoree and a four-time recipient of the NAU Golden Eagle Scholar Athlete Award.

She started 100 of her 113 career games and finished her career as one of 16 players in the 1,000 point club in Lumberjack history. Coggins wrapped up her career 12th in scoring with 1,053 points. She also finds herself ranked fourth in three-pointers made (167), fourth in free throw percentage (.795) and 10th in assists (267).

Her 3,909 minutes played rank as the second-most in program history.

Men's and Women's Tennis sweeps Big Sky Regular Season Championships
The Northern Arizona University men's and women's tennis programs swept the Big Sky Regular Season Championships in 2017.

For the women, it was the second-consecutive conference crown while the men took home the title for the first time since 1982.

The women advanced all the way to the Big Sky tournament Championship round before falling to Idaho, 4-3 after finishing the season with a 18-5  record and a perfect 11-0 mark in conference play. Six Lumberjacks in Chiara Tomasetti, Blanka Szavay, Hanneke Lodewijks, Brandy Walker, Marta Lewandowska and Hailey Rochin garnered All-Big Sky honors.

The men fell in the conference semifinals to Montana, 4-3, but not before finishing the year 15-8 overall with a 10-1 conference record. Three Lumberjacks in Tim Handel, Ruben Montano and Lucas Taylor received All-Conference selections.

Track and Field Goes 3-for-4 in Big Sky Indoor and Outdoor Championships
It is simple: to win a Big Sky Championship, a team must record the most points compared to its competitors. In three out of the four instances in 2017, the Northern Arizona University did just that in taking home conference titles.

The NAU women won both the indoor and outdoor conference championships this season, while the men added an indoor title of their own to continue what has been a stellar run for the program.

Dating back to 2016 Outdoor Conference Championships, the two squads have combined to go 5-of-6 in Big Sky Championship meets and have sent countless athletes to the NCAAs to compete as individuals.