NEW ORLEANS, La. (October 20, 2020) – Northern Arizona senior All-American Luis Grijalva was chosen as the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's NCAA Division I National Male Athlete of the Week.
This past weekend Grijalva and the NAU men's team conquered the OSU Invitational in Stillwater, Okla. with Grijalva leading the way for a Lumberjack victory. NAU dominated the race with 36 points, ahead of Oklahoma State with 42 points and BYU with 59 points.
Grijalva led the race through the first 2K of the race and maintained his lead at the 3K and 6K marks. His average pace was 4:43.7 per mile.
Grijlava was first overall across the finish line setting a course-record of 23:30.2, slightly a second faster than BYU's Conner Mantz. Mantz placed third at NCAA's last year, pacing BYU to the team national championship.
At the National Championships last year, Grijalva contributed to the Lumberjacks' second place team finish by placing 52nd with a time of 31:31.5.
Grijalva is the second NAU athlete to be named National Athlete of the Week during the cross country season; first was redshirt junior Jack Shea in 2018.
