DES MOINES, Iowa (April 23, 2021) - Northern Arizona freshman Nico Young gave the performance of a lifetime in the men's 5K at the Drake Relays on Friday night; with a time of 13:24.26, Young broke the U20 American record, qualified for the Olympic Trials, posted the best NCAA time this season, earned 22nd NCAA all-time, achieved fourth fastest 5K in school history, and set an NAU freshman record.
On Friday evening, senior Blaise Ferro, sophomore Abdihamid Nur and Young lined up for the men's Journey to Gold 5000-meter as the only collegians entered in the invitational section at the Blue Oval facing off with some of the world's top athletes in near perfect weather conditions.
The circumstances of the challenging outdoor track and field season led to NAU's decision to send the trio to Des Moines for the race.
"In a normal year we likely wouldn't be traveling to Iowa to race, but Drake Relays has assembled a great 5K situation for these three guys," said NAU Assistant Coach Jarred Cornfield.
All three runners were looking to record their first 5K time of the 2021 outdoor season, as Friday's race was a first outdoors for both Young and Nur while Ferro last ran the race at the 2019 Big Sky Outdoor Championships nearly two years ago.
Before the race, Cornfield stressed that the field of professionals did not concern NAU's trio of runners, with the group excited to compete against elite athletes.
"Team presence and focus is always a part of racing for NAU; if one of these guys was racing alone this weekend we believe they could channel what we do as a team," Cornfield said. "It's great that they will be all together in this race situation against great competition."
The men stayed strong throughout, pacing just over two and a half minute splits per kilometer.
Nur led the Lumberjack men for more than half of the race, and even led the entire pack at one point, with Ferro and Young nipping at his heels.
But it was the fourth kilometer where Young kicked into high gear and began maneuvering through the pack and traded fifth place for third place with nearly a kilometer left in the race.
All NAU men set personal best times tonight; Young's time of 13:24.26 ranks No. 1 in the nation, while Nur ranks sixth with 13:26.74, and Ferro places eighth with 13:31.54; Young, Nur, and Ferro also rank first, sixth and seventh in the DI West Region.
"All three of those guys did a tremendous job competing in that race and their placing was great," Cornfield said, "For Nico to accomplish all of this under 20 is something really special, but also huge races from Abdi and Blaise as well."
Young ran a historical race, breaking the U20 American record which has stood untouched since German Fernandez of Oklahoma State set it in 2006.
Young also now owns the fourth fastest 5K time in NAU history, sitting behind Diego Estrada (13:15.33), Luis Grijalva (13:16.75), and Andy Trouard (13:21.07).
"This gives us a great indication of where our team is now," Cornfield said. "We talk so much about the pulse of the team and seeing what those guys did tonight is definitely telling that we're in a great place."
With the race complete, NAU's trio of runners turns its attention to the West Coast Relays in Fresno, Calif on April 30.
Cornfield said, "We are exactly where we want to be, heading into championship season."
The 'Jacks will also compete at the Canyon Invitational on Saturday, April 24; the meet begins at 1:30 p.m. MST.
Stay tuned for updates on the NAU Track & Field and Cross Country Twitter and Instagram.
