Phoenix, Ariz. (April 25, 2021)- Northern Arizona rose to the occasion at the Canyon Invitational on Saturday night with 22 podium finishes, 19 of which involve marks that fall within Big Sky scoring position.
Juniors Melanie Loff and Taryn O'Neill stood out from the group, as their respective performances in the women's 400-meter and 1500-meter skyrocketed them to top of the conference leaderboard.
Loff ran a time of 54.56 and placed first overall in the women's 400-meter, while O'Neill placed second in the women's 1500-meter with a time of 4:20.14.
The women's 1500-meter race also featured a third-place (4:27.86) finish from freshman Maggi Congdon; Congdon's time currently falls eighth in the league.
Lumberjack seniors Mikayla Malaspina, Jeralyn Poe, and Hannah Behunin occupy the second, third, and sixth positions in the Big Sky, totalling five NAU women within the top-eight of this event.
Senior Cade Burks made his outdoor season debut with a third-place finish and a time of 3:46.64 in the men's 1500-meter race; Burks' time grabs seventh in conference, distributing five NAU men within the top-eight of the event as well.
The distance crew continued their momentum into the men's 800-meter race with a first-place finish by freshman Kang Nyoak; Nyoak's time of 1:49.77 earned second in the league this season.
This performance ensues three Lumberjack men ranked within the top-eight slots of the event; the NAU women hold two of the eighth-best positions in the 800-meter race as well.
The jump squad completed the meet with seven podium finishes, with women's freshman Kenashalee Kerr and men's freshman Mitchell Effing leading the team.
Effing championed the men's long jump and triple jump with marks of 7.54 meters and 15.07 meters respectively; Effing's long jump measurement earns him second in the Big Sky.
Although Effing already owns the league's third best mark in the men's triple jump, his result today lands him fifth on the list as well.
Meanwhile, Kerr finished first overall in the women's triple jump with a measurement of 11.98 meters; Kerr currently holds the fifth-best position in the conference, but this mark additionally places her in seventh.
Fellow freshmen jumpers Courtney Weisenberger (11.45m) and Kenya Coburn (11.35m) placed second and third sequentially to round out the team.
Kerr led the Lumberjack women in the long jump as well, placing third overall with a mark of 5.80 meters; this jump moves Kerr from eighth in the Big Sky to fourth.
The women occupy three of the conference's top-eight positions in the long jump and half of the top-eight slots in the triple jump.
Freshman Madeline Wilson competed in the women's high jump, placing second overall with a mark of 1.63 meters, boosting Wilson from her previous placement of 22nd on the Big Sky leaderboard, to now tied for 11th.
Similarly, three leaders emerged from the sprints unit, each placing at the top of two events for NAU.
Junior David Dunlap finished sixth (10.88) in the men's 100-meter dash and second (21.41) in the 200-meter dash; Dunlap currently owns the second-best 200-meter time in the league, but his time on Saturday additionally qualifies as fifth-best.
Hurdlers (senior) Carter Bracken and (freshman) Kiana Kai also tackled their events with tenacity.
Bracken placed fourth in the men's 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.38, a result that directly follows his current third-place slot on the Big Sky leaderboard.
Bracken finished second (52.87) in the men's 400-meter hurdles as well; this time ranks fourth in the conference this season, right behind a previous time also set by Bracken.
Lumberjack senior Alex Alton placed third ( 54.54) in the event on Saturday too.
On the women's side, Kai posted a sixth-place (14.36) finish in the 100-meter hurdles, and a first-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:03.00.
Kai occupies the second-best women's 400-meter hurdle time in the league, however her performance on Saturday also awards Kai the fifth-best position on the list.
The men's 4x400-meter relay, run by Bracken, senior Erick Thompson, Dunlap, and senior Ryan Lanley, recorded a time of 3:19.37 to place second overall.
Junior Matilde Roe led the women's throwers to two podium finishes as well.
Roe's first-place (49.56) javelin performance on Saturday lifts her from eighth to third on the Big Sky leaderboard; as a result, NAU's women now occupy two of the top-three javelin slots in the conference.
Roe posted a second-place (52.58) finish in the discus as well; this measurement ranks directly behind her top-conference mark of 54.85 meters this season.
Freshman discus counterpart Carly Watts also ranks within the top-four Big Sky slots of the event.
As for the men, freshman Rudy Tapia finished third in the discus with a throw of 50.74.
Half of the top-eight men's discus marks are held by Lumberjack throwers.
Watts and junior Jake Arnold swept the second-place spots in the women's and men's shot put respectively.
Watts currently holds the fifth-best mark in the Big Sky, and her throw of 14.06 meters on Saturday now ranks sixth as well.
On the other hand, Arnold occupies the sixth-best slot in the league, and his most recent measurement of 17.40 meters also qualifies for seventh-best in the conference this season.
Evidently, three NAU women and four Lumberjack men clutch spots within the top-eight on their respective Big Sky shot put list.
With conference championships around the corner, the student-athletes are extremely motivated to capitalize on every opportunity.
The Lumberjacks will compete again April 30 at the West Coast Relays, and May 1 at the Desert Heat Classic.
Stay tuned for updates on the NAU Track & Field and Cross Country Twitter and Instagram.
