FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (September 25, 2020) – The stage was set for history when the Northern Arizona men's cross country team stepped foot at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Ind. on Nov. 19, 2016. The No. 1 ranked Lumberjacks, led by Director of Cross Country Eric Heins, aimed to become the first team in program history to claim a national championship.
Led by All-American performances by Futsum Zienasellassie, Matt Baxter, Tyler Day and Andy Trouard, the Lumberjacks did just that at the 2016 NCAA Cross Country Championships. The Lumberjacks posted 125 team points to become not only the first NAU team – in any sport – to win a national championship, but they were also the first Big Sky team to win a national championship, outside of FCS football.
In the final Lumberjack Flashback highlighting top moments and individual performances from the past decade, Baxter and Day talk about NAU's 2016 men's cross country national championship – the first in a three-peat – that cemented the 'Jacks atop the national cross country world.
