NEW ORLEANS, La. (March 20, 2020) – After claiming the top honors in the Mountain Region, Northern Arizona senior distance runner
Tyler Day and Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Mike Smith were named finalists by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for National Men's Track Athlete of the Year and National Men's Coach of the Year respectively on Friday.
Both Day and Smith were among the top three vote-getters in their respective categories in voting done by member coaches. There will be a final vote by member coaches beginning next Monday with the winners to be announced for the 2020 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field season to follow.
NAU has only had one athlete previously named a National Athlete of the Year. Johanna Nilsson was named the National Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Year and National Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Year in 2005 and 2006 respectively.
The Lumberjacks have never had a National Track Coach of the Year, although Smith is a two-time recipient of the Bill Dellinger Award given to the Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year in 2017 and 2018. Former Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Eric Heins also received the Bill Dellinger Award in 2016.
Day, the fourth Lumberjack to earn Mountain Region Men's Indoor Track Athlete of the Year, was a double qualifier for the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in the 3000m and 5000m prior to the championships' cancellation. He finished the indoor season with the fastest time in the country in the 5K (13:16.95) and the third-fastest time in the 3K (7:45.70).
Day's 5K time, which was set on Jan. 24 at the BU John Thomas Terrier Classic, set a new American collegiate record and is third all-time. His 3K time is 12th best all-time.
Smith was named the Big Sky Men's and Women's Coach of the Year last week, following his first Mountain Region's Men's Indoor Coach of the Year award. It was his eighth career regional Coach of the Year honor.
Smith led the NAU men to their ninth consecutive Big Sky Indoor Championship and 23rd in program history last month. The Lumberjack men were ranked No. 2 in the country by USTFCCCA heading into the NCAA Championships. He guided a school record seven men's distance runners to NCAA Indoor Championship qualifying times.
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