FLAGSTAFF, Ariz (September 3, 2021) - Northern Arizona Cross Country will kick off their season on Saturday, as they host the Geroge Kyte Classic at Buffalo Park. The men's race will begin at 1:30 p.m. MST while the women will run at 2:30 p.m. MST.
Grand Canyon and University of Arizona will attend the meet, and there are over 100 athletes entered in each race; three-time NAU National Championship team member and All-American Matt Baxter will be competing as a professional under Hoka One One.
Seniors
Aldo Marquez, and
Ryan Raff will compete for the Lumberjack men, along with redshirt junior
Jack Shea, sophomore
Drew Bosley, redshirt sophomore
Theo Quax, and freshmen,
Jordan Black,
Riley Human and
George Kusche.
Bosley and Raff return this season after placing 62nd and 150th sequentially in Stillwater as members of the National Championship team; both men also placed eighth and fourth respectively at Big Sky Championships.
Marquez enters this season after competing in four meets last year and placing 16th at conference championships. Black and Shea also ran in a few races last season, while Quax hasn't competed since 2019, and Human will compete in his first collegiate meet.
Kusche joins the roster this year as a transfer from Nebraska; Kusche won the individual title at the 2020 Big Ten Cross Country Championships.
As for the women, seniors
Pipi Eitel, and
Jenna McCaffrey, are set to race, as well as juniors,
Bryn Morley,
Cassi Land,
Abby Riordan,
Meagan Van Pelt, and
Luna Slater, redshirt sophomores
Melanie Loff and
Jesselyn Bries, sophomore
Elise Stearns, and freshmen
Maggi Congdon and
Alexis Kebbe.
Morley, Bries and Eitel return after finishing 93rd, 171st, and 195th respectively at NCAA Championships in Oklahoma last season; Morley, Bries, and Eitel are also Big Sky Championship team members after placing sixth, 11th, and seventh at conference.
McCaffrey, a Big Sky Championship team member as well, finished 26th at the meet last season.
Land, Van Pelt, and Slater competed in a handful of meets while Riordan and Loff have not run cross country since 2019; Stearns, Congdon and Kebbe will all compete in their first collegiate cross country race.
Stay updated with NAU Cross Country and Track & Field by following us on Twitter and Instagram.
