Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Picked to Finish First in Big Sky Preseason Coaches Poll

BIG SKY RELEASE

OGDEN, Utah - Both the men's and women's Northern Arizona University outdoor track and field programs were picked to finish first in the Big Sky Conference Preseason Coaches Poll released on Thursday.

The Lumberjacks are fresh off a sweep of the conference indoor championships, the 10th time the program has accomplished the feat in school history.

For the outdoor season, NAU is looking for a three-peat on the women's side (which would make 11 Big Sky team titles overall) while the men are looking for their 22nd conference crown.

The NAU women's team was selected as the unanimous No. 1 with 12 first place votes and a max of 144 points. The Lumberjack men took the top spot with 11 first place votes and 143 points overall.

Both teams return strong units to go after the outdoor title.

On the women's side, the Lumberjacks have athletes like NCAA All-Americans Ashley Taylor and Brooke Andersen. The unit also has two NCAA All-American Second Team members in sprinter Jasmine Malone and distance runner Paige Gilchrist. The squad returns Big Sky 800-meter gold medalist Maggie Carruth who is back from an indoor redshirt season.

The men's side is just as stacked with sprinter Kossi Tchenawaou, distance runners Andy Trouard and Matt Baxter and the return of NCAA All-American Tyler Day from a redshirt indoor season. The team also has conference gold medal jumper Cameron Rayford.

Northern Arizona will be back in action with two high-caliber meets on March 30-31. Part of the team will be in Austin at the University of Texas for the Texas Relays while the other athletes will be up at Stanford University for the Stanford Relays.


2018 Big Sky Conference Preseason Outdoor Track and Field Polls

MEN
1. Northern Arizona (11)        143
2. Southern Utah                  129
3. Sacramento State (1)       116
4. Montana State                  114
5. Weber State                     96
6. Idaho                                77
7. Eastern Washington         70
8. Idaho State                       52
9. Portland State                  48
10. Northern Colorado          37
11. North Dakota                   30
12. Montana                          24

WOMEN
1. Northern Arizona (12)       144
2. Sacramento State            129
3. Weber State                     118
4. Eastern Washington         103
5. Montana State                  98
6. Southern Utah                  72
7. North Dakota                    60
8. Idaho                                58
9. Northern Colorado           56
10. Montana                          50
11. Portland State                  26
12. Idaho State                      22

(First place votes in parentheses)