FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (June 14, 2021) – Turns out the Northern Arizona men's cross country team's runner-up finish in 2019 was just a blip on the radar because the Lumberjacks are once again the National Champions. Led by four All-American performances by freshman
Nico Young, senior
Blaise Ferro, sophomore
Abdihamid Nur and senior
Luis Grijalva, NAU claimed its fourth ever national championship – all coming in the last five seasons – on March 15 in Stillwater, Okla.
Young, in his national championship debut, was stellar pacing the Lumberjacks with a fourth-place finish and a sub-30 time of 29:58.3 on the 10K course. Ferro and Nur crossed the line next in sixth and seventh, while Grijalva powered his way to a ninth-place finish. The four All-Americans gave NAU the distinction of being the first team to place four runners in the top 10 since 2003.
With sophomore
Brodey Hasty's finishing in 44th, the Lumberjacks' return to the top of the NCAA Cross Country world was complete, following NAU's national championships in 2016, 2017 and 2018. The final tally of 60 points was the lowest team champion score since 2005.
Even though the fall season was delayed to the spring, the NAU men got a preview of the OSU Cross Country Course in October. Even without two of their eventual four All-Americans, the Lumberjacks won the OSU Invitational, finishing ahead of host Oklahoma State and their rival – and defending national champions – BYU.
The Lumberjacks would make their spring debut at the Silver State Collegiate Cross Country Challenge on Feb. 1 in Las Vegas with BYU getting the best of them. Following a second-place finish behind the Cougars, the 'Jacks flexed their muscle running their national championship lineup to win the Battle Born Collegiate Challenge in their return to Las Vegas nearly three weeks later.
Nur emerged victorious at the Big Sky Cross Country Championship, becoming the 29th individual champion in program history, but despite placing four runners in the top 10, the Lumberjacks came up just shy of their fifth consecutive conference title by three points behind Southern Utah.
However, the momentary disappointment was ultimately replaced with validation 16 days later though with the national championship victory, which once again proved that NAU men's cross country is at the head of the class amongst the country's premier distance programs.
NAU men's cross country is the first feature in NAU Athletics' Champions Week celebrating the department's national and conference champions. Be sure to follow Champions Week on
www.nauathletics.com and on social media on
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FROM THE COACH
"Our 2020 Men's Cross Country team competed at the top of the country – culminating in a national championship title in an abnormal year that saw the cross country championships moved from November to March. There were numerous highlights and measured growth in a group that was already incredibly strong. Seasons like this help forge our identity and also our values. I am continually proud of how our athletes navigate external expectation in the spotlight at the top. This season was a full team, full NAU Athletics' effort which we will never forget." – Director of Cross Country and Track & Field
Michael Smith2020-21 NAU MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY BY THE NUMBERS
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The Lumberjacks captured their fourth national championship in program history with all four coming in the last five seasons. |
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NAU's final team score of 60 points was the lowest total for a national champion since Wisconsin won the 2005 title with 37 points. |
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The Lumberjacks claimed the title by a 27-point margin over Notre Dame, who had entered the race in Stillwater, Okla. ranked ninth in the country. |
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It has been almost 26 years since a team won four NCAA Men's Cross Country Championships in five years. The last team prior to NAU's current run was Arkansas, who won five in six years from 1990-95. |
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With Nico Young (fourth), Blaise Ferro (sixth), Abdihamid Nur (seventh) and Luis Grijalva (ninth) all placing in the top 10, it marked the first time that a team had four runners finish that high in almost 18 years. |
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Young became the ninth Lumberjack to notch a top four finish at the national championships. It was the best finish by a Lumberjack since Matt Baxter was the national runner-up in 2017. |
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This spring marked Grijalva's second career cross country All-American honor following his 23rd place finish at the 2018 championships. |
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After leading the Lumberjack men to the national championship, Michael Smith earned the Bill Dellinger Award as the National Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year for the third time in his career. Smith also received his fourth consecutive Chick Hislop Award, given to the USTFCCCA Men's Mountain Region Coach of the Year. |
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Nur became the 29th Lumberjack to win the Big Sky Conference individual title on Feb. 27 in Riverdale, Utah. Nur, who also finished first at the Battle Born Collegiate Challenge a week earlier, is the fifth consecutive NAU runner to take home the individual conference title. |
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NAU's run at No. 1 in the USTFCCCA Coaches Poll lasted a record 32 weeks before BYU dethroned the 'Jacks following the Cougars' win at the Silver State Collegiate Cross Country Challenge, Of course, NAU finished the season at No. 1 while BYU placed seventh at the national championship. |
