NAU Has Successful Open to 2019 Indoor Season

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (December 1, 2018) – Northern Arizona University's men's and women's track & field started its indoor season in Bozeman, Mont., at the Bobcat Preview hosted by Montana State and ended the meet having placed first in multiple events on both ends.
 
MSU's Breeden Fieldhouse is unique because it is a 200 meter flat track sitting at 4,926 feet above sea-level. It will also be the sight of the 2019 Big Sky Indoor Championships.
 
"Our entire team did a great job at staying composed despite running on a track such as this," said assistant coach Becca DeLoache. "Our athletes embraced the challenge and difference in setting and I feel as though they did their best on all ends."
 
Jasmine Malone was one of the major highlights of the entire meet, having placed first in three separate events individually. Malone took the top spot in the women's 60m finals finishing with a time of 7.58 seconds, crossing the finish line only milliseconds before fellow Lumberjack Jada Jackson (7.68 sec.). In the women's 200m finals Malone again placed first on the leaderboard finishing with a time of 24.93 seconds, with Jackson taking second again with a time of 25.30 seconds. In the women's 400m finals Malone and her senior teammate Clarissa Maxey both took the top two spots with times of 56.03 and 57.63 seconds respectively.
 
"Jasmine competed well," said head sprints and hurdles coach Alan Dunson.
 
The Lumberjack women comprised of Maxey, Malone, Miracle Onyemaobi and Helena McLeod dominated the 4x400 relay finals finishing in 3:52.90 to place first, finishing just under a full seconds ahead of MSU's squad.

"The women's team went out there today and gave great effort and executed well for it being so early in the season," said Malone. "We have never ran this early in the season, so competing how we did shows how strong we are. We know that we can grow from each of these races."
 
The women's squad did not participate in the hurdles events. The throws and jumps crews for both men and women on the NAU side did not make an appearance at this meet. NAU's women's long distance team did not make the trip to Bozeman either.
 
On the men's sprints end freshman Christopher Grant shined with his teammates on the way to capturing the 60m sprints. Grant placed first individually in the 60m event finishing with a time of 6.86 seconds. Junior Tyen Wolfe was .11 seconds behind Grant to take second in that race.
 
Both Grant and Wolfe finished in the top-three in the men's 200m finals. Wolfe finished just behind top finisher Montana State's senior Mitchell Horning (22.18 sec.) with a time of 22.38 seconds. Grant took the bronze in that race crossing the line at 22.45 seconds.
 
"It was a strong open," added Dunson. "We got good and necessary experience."

The men's team also took first in the men's 60 hurdles event. Carter Bracken had a successful day placing first in the men's 60m hurdles final with a time of 8.34 seconds.
 
It is no secret that the NAU men's distance squad is the top-tier program in NCAA Division I racing. The Lumberjacks entered the race having come off their third-straight national championship. All-Americans Tyler Day, Geordie Beamish, Blaise Ferro, Luis Grijalva and Peter Lomong made the trip to Bozeman to compete in the men's 5000m event.
 
The 'Jacks were also joined by true freshman Brodey Hastey in that race. Hastey's debut in collegiate long distance racing has been highly anticipated by the running world and he certainly proved why he has garned so much attention so early in his career.
 
NAU took the top six-spots in the 5000m finals. Day finished first with a time of 14:02.09, with Beamish coming in second at 14:25.20. Once Beamish crossed the finish line Ferro (14:32.58), Hastey (14:42.61), Grijalva (14:53.35) and Lomong (15:16.76) were not far behind.
 
"It was tough to race today because we are coming off of such an emotional high after winning the cross country championship," said Day. "There was a lot of emotional baggae and I think we all felt that. It was a grind and we went out there and were still able to battle to try and do well enough to hit NCAA qualifying times. Our guys really pushed it today."
 
"We wanted to capitalize on our men's fitness from cross country season," added DeLoache. "It was evident that we still had some fatigue and I think we showed great emotional strength by being able to reset and turn the page entering the 2019 indoor season. On all ends we were successful today and this gave us great experience that we will need to use when we return for conference later in the season."
 
The Lumberjacks will return to action on January 11^th when NAU hosts its annual Friday Night Challenge at the SkyDome.