MADISON, Wis. (November 17, 2018) – Northern Arizona University's men's cross country has won its third title in a row after competing in the NCAA National Championships at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course in Madison, Wis.
The elusive three-peat has not been done since the 1998, 1999 and 2000 Arkansas squads. NAU also becomes the first non-power five school since the 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1981 UTEP teams to win at least three straight national championships.
NAU scored a total of 83 points as a team to take the top spot. The next closest score was BYU who scored a total of 116 points. Portland ended the day in third-place overall scoring 160 points. Colorado and Stanford would round out the top-five at the event scoring 178 and 201 points respectively.
The Lumberjack men did what they have done all season. They came to the race prepared and executed the race plan envisioned for them, despite the obstacles of weather and a deeper field than any they had seen all season.
"Every inch of this championship win was earned by these young men," said Director of Cross Country and Track & Field
Michael Smith. "I am proud to be by their side in this moment. We do not often speak of the pressure of expectation, but the truth is the higher the bar the finer our margin of error. This was the most challenging championship to secure and required selfless execution. They knew what to do."
"Being a coach of a championship team is a byproduct of being a coach of young men filled with talent, grit and heart," added assistant coach
Becca DeLoache. "These men have established a culture that is practiced and displayed every single day. I feel honored that I get to witness the way these guys do things and I am blessed to be a part of their journey."
In 2016 when NAU won its first national title ever in any sport it might have been hard for someone outside of Flagstaff to point it out on the map. But on this day after three years of dominating the sport opponents, media and fans know exactly where the small mountain town is situated. "The Hub of Long Distance Running" has helped to produce a program that has one goal in mind every season: Win.
The 2017 campaign saw the Lumberjacks capture yet another national title and cemented the teams place in the world of collegiate cross country. Entering the 2018 season everyone in the country had their eyes on this squad. Those eyes did not distract the men that have earned the right to call themselves members of college cross country's premiere school.
What made the third title so impressive was the challenging weather that presented itself on race day. Throughout the field the course was filled with at least an inch of snow, making the site NAU has raced at twice this year all the more difficult. One might assume that the snow would put the Lumberjacks at a disadvantage, however every other team had to run on the same ground evening the playing field.
Temperatures reached as low as 28 degrees Fahrenheit on the course throughout the day. The snow that had made its way onto the Zimmer field the previous evening looked intimidating at first. For runners like
Matt Baxter this was their first official competition in the snow.
NAU was the heavy favorite heading into the weekend. Teams like BYU, Colorado and Stanford were expected to give the Lumberjacks a run for their money but ultimately the top ranked NAU crew prevailed.
After the first 2k it was apparent that NAU had put itself in a position to control the race with six of the team's seven runners being within 32
nd place. Throughout the day it had been said that the first kilometer of the event would be the most problematic. Once the Lumberjack men were able to traverse that first leg of the course it was all about keeping position and taking it one step at a time.
5k was something the coaches and runners had spoken about all throughout training and leading up to the big day. NAU knew that if they could maintain positioning and create races within the race itself they would be able to come out on top again. The Lumberjacks were in the lead at 5k as a team and from there it was all about continuing to fight for the lowest number of points possible.
The final 2k was a race to the finish with no clear winner in sight in the individual standings. NAU had what looked to be a secured victory over the entire field. As the last turn came up a Wisconsin Badger and Stanford Cardinal runner were neck-and-neck for the top spot. Wisconsin's Morgan McDonald won the individual title with a time of 29:08.3. Stanford's Grant Fisher was milliseconds behind him with a 29:08.8 second-place showing.
The Lumberjacks top finisher was senior
Tyler Day who came in sixth-place individually with a time of 29:12.9.
"I am proud of my performance," said Day. "I gave it my all and I cannot think of a better way to end the season. The group of guys we have within this program are some of the best runners I know so I am pumped to see what they can achieve in the future."
Teammate and friendly-rival Baxter would come in 15
th-place overall with a time of 29:37.5. Baxter had previously commented on the course advantage that the Wisconsin Badgers would have and how they would need that kind of benefit. It may have been Baxter's lowest finish at the NCAA's but the Badgers team would finish eighth-overall with 240 points.
Many in the crowd saw Baxter's place and thought that perhaps this could be the year the Lumberjacks were going to be knocked off the top of the mountain.
Colorado had three runners finish in the top 11 (Joe Klecker 8
th, John Dressel 9
th and Ryan Forsyth 11
th). Yet that performance would not be enough to defeat the NAU crew as the Buffs last two finishers placed 43
rd (Eduardo Herrera) and 222
nd (Gus Newcomb).
The Lumberjacks depth in their stacked roster was on display for the entire sporting world. The last three scorers for NAU would capture the title for the team, as their performances sealed the deal.
Sophomore
Luis Grijalva, who was racing in his first ever NCAA National Championship event, came in third for the Lumberjacks in 23
rd-place with a total race time of 29:44.3. Almost immediately behind Grijalva was fellow sophomore
Blaise Ferro with a time of 29:50.8 earning him a 26
th-place finish.
The last scoring position for the Lumberjacks laid on the shoulders of
Peter Lomong who was just under two full seconds behind Ferro. Lomong's time of 29:52.3 gave him a 29
th-place finish.
"With these conditions it is very important to not lose position," said Lomong. "Weather made it difficult tom pass people. The best thing that helped me through it was Blaise and Luis in front of me. I needed to sustain the distance and fight for as long as I could. The struggle started after the first mile and you could see how much everybody was fighting out there. We used each other to win this championship. I am proud of these boys."
The scoring may have been done for the NAU men's team but junior
Geordie Beamish came in at 29:58.4 giving him a 39
th-place on the individual leaderboard and another All-American honor to match last season's.
In fact Lomong, Ferro, Grijalva, Baxter and Day each earned a spot on this season's All-American team with Beamish. Six of the seven runners in the event for the team out of Flagstaff were honored, with three of them set to return in the 2019 season.
Ryan Raff would take the form of NAU's seventh runner and was able to gain some valuable experience racing as a freshman at nationals. His 151
st-place finish (31:03.0) will surely play a large role in helping him develop into one of the Lumberjacks front-runners in the years to come. Raff will be someone to keep an eye on moving forward into the indoor and outdoor track & field season, as well as next year in cross country.
"The success of NAU cross country is not possible without an impeccable support staff and our Flagstaff community," added Smith. "We come from the best place to train on Earth and run on the support of our community. We are thinking of you today."
What may be most exciting about the third national title in a row was the echoes and whispers of what can happen next year almost immediately after the race. The celebration was mirrored by the fact that the Lumberjacks have another opportunity to make history next season. For a team that always has its eyes on the horizon, a third national title almost just seems like another step in the process to achieving even more in the future.
Yet the season and all the training that it took to get to this point this year cannot be overlooked. On a snow covered field on a chilly November morning Northern Arizona University was able to brave the elements and race the way it had all season, for each other. The focus on teammates and those internally within the program is what has made this team into what it is today.
"The special moments for me today was watching each of these guys meeting difficult moments in the race with courage and selflessness," said assistant coach
Jarred Cornfield. "They laid everything on the line for each other. It was a hard race that required immense concentration and poise and they executed brilliantly. I couldn't be more proud to be a Lumberjack today."
"Winning a third national title is crazy," added Day. "I cannot really describe it in words at the moment but all I can say is today is a great day to be a Lumberjack."
"We are going to take some time to truly soak in this season and this championship," added DeLoache. "We want to be careful to not just close this cross country book and move onto indoor track as we so easily could do. Taking this time will set us up for the best the rest of the year."
The building blocks set up by legends like Ron Mann and Eric Heins have created a foundation in which athletes today can shape themselves into the best competitors and people of the course as possible. Smith has made quite the name for himself since taking over the program last season. The impact each of these men has made on not only the distance program but the entire university will echo through the halls and buildings of Northern Arizona University for generations to come.
"It is important that we realize this is not possible without the coaches and athletes that have come before us at NAU Track and Cross Country's history," concluded Smith. "They have laid the foundation for our success. To those that came before us, you are with us every minute of this day and this championship is yours as well. We promise to keep representing our tradition at the highest standard."
