NEW ORLEANS, La. (March 6, 2020) – Northern Arizona senior distance runner
Tyler Day and Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Mike Smith were honored by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association on Friday as the Mountain Region Men's Track Athlete of the Year and Men's Coach of the Year respectively for the indoor season.
Day is the first Lumberjack to earn the Mountain Region's Men's Indoor Track Athlete of the Year award since Futsum Zienasellassie in 2016. He is the fourth all-time recipient joining Zienasellassie, David McNeill (2010) and Lopez Lomong (2007).
Meanwhile, Smith was named the region's Men's Indoor Coach of the Year for the first time. Overall, it is the eighth regional Coach of the Year honor. Smith, in his fourth year at the helm of the NAU track & field programs, is the three-time reigning Mountain Region Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year in addition to earning Women's Coach of the Year twice each for the indoor and outdoor seasons.
Day is a double qualifier for next week's NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in the 3000m and 5000m races. He owns the nation's top time in the 5K (13:16.95) and the third-fastest time in the 3K (7:45.70).
Both of his times are also among the best all-time in collegiate history. His 5K time is the American collegiate record and third all-time, while his 3K time is 12th best all-time.
Day, who is on
The Bowerman Watch List, won gold at the Big Sky Indoor Championships last week as part of NAU's conference indoor championship meet record Distance Medley Relay team. Day ran the anchor leg for the record-breaking relay team that posted a time of 9:42.57, which just missed qualification for the NCAA Championships.
Smith was honored by the USTFCCCA after guiding the Lumberjack men to their ninth consecutive Big Sky Indoor Championship and 23rd in program history. The NAU men are currently ranked No. 3 in the country, and garnered their first-ever No. 1 ranking in the USTFCCCA Indoor Rankings.
Smith coached seven men's distance runners who qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships, which set a new program record for NCAA indoor qualifiers. Among them are junior
Luis Grijalva and Day who lead the nation in the 3000m and 5000m respectively.
The NAU men captured five event wins in Pocatello, Idaho last week during the Big Sky Indoor Championships. They are also first in the country in the 3K and 5K in USTFCCCA's #EventSquad rankings.
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