DAY ONE RESULTS (PDF)
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (February 1, 2019) – Northern Arizona University's track & field program participated in the first day of the Mountain T's Invitational at the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff, Ariz. This is the third home indoor event the Lumberjacks have hosted during the 2019 indoor season.
The 'Jacks enter the weekend having already had impressive showings in multiple events at Friday Night Duals and the Lumberjack Team Challenge earlier this past January. Athletes have shined in the jumps, hurdles, sprints, distance and throws competitions all year and Friday would see the same efforts produced again.
Senior
Jasmine Malone took the top spot in the women's 200m dash with a notable time of 23.78 seconds. Her performance put her just ahead of second-place finisher Sinclair Watson from Southern Utah. Malone won the 200m at NAU's previous home meet, the Lumberjack Team Challenge, with a time of 24.32 seconds. In just two weeks she was able to see a massive improvement in that event.
Sophomore
Jada Jackson would end the 200m dash in fourth-place with a time of 25.13 seconds to join Malone in the top five.
Junior Helena McCloud won the women's long jump competition at a mark of 5.94m. Senior teammates
Kaitlyn Wayne placed fourth with a mark of 5.54m.
Tyren Wolfe would lead the men's sprint team in the 200m dash. The junior's time of 21.82 seconds put him in third-place. Freshman stand-out
Christopher Grant's time of 22.08 seconds earned him a spot just behind Wolfe in fourth-place.
NAU's men's distance squad's control and effort was on full display yet again as senior
Geordie Beamish and company made sure to make their presence felt in the men's one mile race.
Beamish secured the top individual spot on the individual leaderboard in the mile with a time of 4:06.96. Teammates
Luis Grijalva (4:07.93) and
Tyler Day (4:09.24) would also finish that race in under 4:10 earning the Lumberjacks the top three spots in the mile.
"Geordie and Luis ran phenomenally in the mile," said assistant distance coach
Jarred Cornfield. "It's a result of their effort and training and is really great to see them out there getting those times.
Tyler Day ran fantastic as well. There is a good shot that Luis and Geordie qualify for NCAA's; we won't know until the end of the season."
Freshman
Ryan Raff also ran a 4:15.34 in the mile to finish in fifth-place; the only non-Lumberjacks to finish in the top nine were Southern Utah's senior George Espino (4:09.42) and sophomore Nade Osterstock (4:21.62).
Not to be outshined by the men's team the NAU women would place four runner in the top five of the one mile race. Senior runner
Miranda Myers crossed the finish line at 5:04.79 placing second, with sophomore
Pipi Eitel taking third at 5:05.89. Freshmen
Jesselyn Bries (4
th, 5:06.76) and
Emma Sjolund (5
th, 5:12.79) each also earned a top five placing.
The women's 800m race was dominated by senior runner
Maggie Carruth. Carruth's time of 2:12.69 was just under four seconds ahead of the next closest finisher (SUU Junior: Linnea Saltz 2:16.09).
"It was a mixed-bag but we saw some great efforts and positive steps today from our women's distance team," said Cornfield.
In the men's 800m race junior
Ryan Lanley placed second with a time of 1:52.10.
"Ryan had a great effort in his season opener in the 800," added Cornfield. "He is in a really good place moving towards our Iowa State meet."
NAU's throws team had another big day with sophomore
Parker Joens winning the men's shot put event. His mark of 18.18 was his highest on the season and put him almost a full meter further than Arizona State sophomore Ian Schilz (17.19m).
Joens was joined by freshmen
Jake Arnold (3
rd, 16.39m) and
William Beaudry (5
th, 15.53m) who also set personal bests in the shot put. Junior
Brady Williams fourth-place mark of 15.96m ensured the Lumberjack took four of the top five spots at the end of the shot put competition.
Women's throws saw
Matilde Roe place fourth in the shot put. Her mark of 13.88m was just ahead of fifth-place finisher fellow Lumberjack
Alexa Dragone (13.22m).
"Matilde and Alexa are our two specialists for the shot put right now," said head throws coach
Jason Schutz. "I thought they did a very good job today. Matilde was better than she has been and is moving in a good direction. Last week was a big meet for Alexa and she was able to stay consistent with that mark today."
"It has been great to see our team competing well in various event groups," concluded Cornfield. "We are looking forward to pushing the needle forward next week as we travel for the first time this indoor season. Our program is in a position to put themselves in a great place moving ahead."
The Mountain T's Invite will conclude tomorrow after starting at 8 a.m. (MST) at the Skydome. Live stats provided by wingfootfinish.com.
REMINDER: Admission is free.
