Lumberjacks Seek Big Sky Outdoor Championship Titles

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (May 11, 2021) - The Northern Arizona track & field program will return to the Big Sky Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships for the first time in two years.

The outdoor championships will be hosted by Weber State at the Chick Hislop Track at Stewart Stadium in Ogden, Utah. Multi-events are scheduled to run Wednesday, May 12 through Thursday, May 13, while the rest of the team competition will commence Friday, May 14 and Saturday, May 15. 

The event will be live streamed on Pluto TV 1054, and www.WatchBigSky.com. Since the throws facility is away from the stadium, those events will be streamed on Weber State's Track Facebook page. Live results will also be available throughout the meet.

Entering the season as Big Sky favorites, the NAU men and women both look to regain their respective team titles, with their most recent conference championship sweep taking place in 2018. 

Although neither team took home a trophy from the 2019 outdoor championships, the Lumberjacks showed resilience in sweeping the 2020 Big Sky Indoor Conference Championships. 

Unfortunately, their championship season stopped there as the remainder of the season, along with the 2020 Big Sky Outdoor Championships, were cancelled due to COVID-19. 

However, that has not slowed the momentum of the program one bit.

Since 2010, the Lumberjack men have claimed six outdoor titles, and are in hot pursuit of their 23rd team championship, while the NAU women have claimed three of the past four Big Sky outdoor titles and seek their 12th team trophy. 

Freshman Madeline Wilson will kick off the conference meet for the Lumberjacks as she competes in the women's heptathlon. This will be Wilson's first time competing in the women's heptathlon at Big Sky Championships. 

The sprints crew currently contains 17 athletes ranked in Big Sky scoring position, with 10 of those athletes competing on the women's side. 

Senior Jada Jackson is slated to score in both the women's 100-meter and 200-meter dashes, as she respectively ranks second and seventh in those events. 

Fellow senior sprinter Miracle Onyemaobi ranks second in the women's 200-meter as well as in the women's 400-meter. 

Running alongside Onyemaobi in the women's 400-meter is junior Melanie Loff, who holds the current top time in the event. 

As for the hurdling events, freshman Kiana Kai will run both for the NAU women, and is expected to pick up points in the 100-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles, as she is ranked fourth and second respectively.

The women's relay teams are also ranked highly, with their 4x100-meter race currently third in the conference and their 4x400-meter relay sitting at the top of the Big Sky leaderboard. 

On the men's side, there are currently seven sprinters ranked in scoring position for the Lumberjacks.

The men's 4x400-meter relay ranks sixth in the league, and the 4x100-meter race ranks third. 

Junior David Dunlap will compete in the men's 100-meter and 200-meter dashes; Dunlap currently ranks fourth and second in these respective events. 

In the 400-meter, senior Erick Thompson occupies the eighth slot in the league. 

The men should also earn some points from the hurdling events, in which senior Carter Bracken is ranked fourth in the men's 110-meter hurdles and third in the 400-meter hurdles. 

Meanwhile, the jumps squad owns 10 conference scoring positions, with six women's marks and four men's marks. 

The women's triple jump team currently ranks 11th in the nation, with three women holding top conference positions. 

Freshman Courtney Weisenberger and junior Jenna Figueroa are tied for third place while freshman Kenashalee Kerr sits at sixth in the rankings. 

Women's long jump also features three women in the top-eight, with freshman Lily Margolis ranking third, while Kerr and Weisenberger hold fourth and sixth respectively. 

On the men's side, freshman Mitchell Effing currently holds the third-best mark in the men's long jump and triple jump. 

Freshman Jack Normand will also be competing in the men's triple jump, as well as the high jump; Normand ranks seventh in both events. 

The distance events are likely where the Lumberjacks will earn the most points, as the men are coming off of a cross country national championship win and the women entered the track season as cross country conference champions.

The NAU men currently own 15 scoring slots while the women hold 10 heading into the outdoor championships this week. 

Senior Ryan Lanley is slated to compete in the men's 800-meter, and holds the potential to score 10 points for the Lumberjack men, as he currently ranks first in the Big Sky. 

Freshman Kang Nyoak and junior Theo Quax will also run with Lanley in the men's 800-meter, and are ranked second and sixth respectively. 

As for the 1500-meter race, the NAU men hold five of the top-eight scoring slots. 

Senior Luis Grijalva sits atop the leaderboard, with senior Cade Burks in third, freshman Abdihamid Nur in fourth, Quax in sixth, and freshman Caleb Easton in seventh; Grijlava and Nur were both awarded Big Sky Men's Track Athlete of the Week earlier this season for their outstanding athletic achievements.

The Lumberjack men also dominate the 5000-meter, with six men in the top-eight. 

Freshman Nico Young owns the top position in the event, while Nur ranks second, Grijalva sits third, senior Blaise Ferro ranks fourth, sophomore Brodey Hasty is sixth and Freshman Santiago Prosser is seventh; Young was also awarded Big Sky Men's Track Athlete of the Week this season after setting the Junior-American record in the men's 5000-meter race. 

The men's 10000-meter run features junior Ryan Raff, currently eighth in conference rankings, as well as Hasty, Prosser, Easton and senior Aldo Marquez who have yet to compete in the event this season. 

On the women's side, Loff will also compete in the women's 800-meter, alongside freshman Maggi Congdon; the two are ranked first and second respectively in the conference. 

As for the 1500-meter run, junior Taryn O'Neill, along with seniors Jeralyn Poe, and Hannah Behunin are ranked second, third and sixth respectively, and will likely pick up a handful of points for the NAU women; O'Neill and Poe were both awarded Big Sky Women's Track Athlete of the Week earlier this season.

The women's 5000-meter rankings also houses four Lumberjack women.

O'Neill ranks first, Poe holds second, senior Mikayla Malaspina ranks seventh and junior Jessa Hanson ranks eighth. 

Malaspina will also compete in the women's 3000-meter steeplechase, in which she ranks fourth this season, as well as the women's 10000-meter run which she has yet to record a time for this season. 

Senior Delaney Rasmussen will also run with Malaspina in the women's 10000-meter race; Rasmussen will also be attempting this race for the first time this season as well. 

The Lumberjack throwers occupy 19 scoring positions, with the men holding 10 and the women entering the meet with nine. 

Ranked second in the men's shot put and the discus, senior Parker Joens leads the NAU men in both events; Joens was also awarded Big Sky Men's Field Athlete of the Week three times this season and is the defending champion in shot put. 

Men's shot put will also feature senior Nicholas Coghill, sophomore Jake Arnold, and freshman Parker Bays who respectively rank third, sixth, and eighth in the conference. 

As for men's discus, freshmen CJ McMullen, and Jay Neilsen and sophomore Will Beaudry ranked fifth, sixth, and seventh respectively.

Beaudry, ranked fourth, will also compete in the men's hammer throw with senior Jacob Kaufman who is currently sixth in the Big Sky. 

On the women's side, freshman Alaina Diggs, junior Matilde Roe, and freshman Carly Watts are slated to compete in the shot put; Diggs ranks first, Roe sits third, and Watts ranks fifth in the Big Sky. 

Diggs and Roe were also awarded Big Sky Women's Field Athlete of the Week earlier this season. 

At the 2019 Big Sky Outdoor Championships Roe was honored as the Most Valuable Female Athlete, as she scored 24 points for the Lumberjack women. 

Roe will also be competing in the women's discus with Watts; Roe is ranked first in the conference while Watts is fifth. 

Additionally, Roe, ranked third, will throw the javelin alongside freshman Eniko Sara, who is currently ranked second.

Women's hammer throw will feature freshmen Kimberly Buchanan and McKenna Chaney; the two hold third and eighth in the conference respectively.

Nearly two years since the previous Big Sky Outdoor Championships were held, all league teams are determined to bring home the conference title.