FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (March 9, 2022) – All-American Abdihamid Nur, Drew Bosley and Nico Young will travel to Birmingham, Ala. to compete in the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships this weekend; all three men will race in the men's 5,000-meter at 4:05 P.M. (MST) on Friday, while Nur and Young will additionally run the men's 3,000-meter at 4:00 P.M. (MST) on Saturday. Live results, online streams (Friday, Saturday) and a live television broadcast on ESPN3 will be made available.
There is no shortage of Lumberjack jerseys in the men's 5K as NAU is the only program to advance three men into the national championship 5K this season, presenting plentiful opportunities regarding team racing.
This distance trio opened their indoor seasons with a statement, recording their qualifying 5K times at the BU Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener on December fourth; the NCAA indoor 5K in Birmingham will only mark Young's second attempt in this event since his indoor career debut in Boston earlier this season.
Heading into the race, Nur (13:22.24) ranks sixth on the national list, Young (13:22.59) holds seventh and Bosley (13:26.19), the recent Big Sky 5K Champion, sits 14th overall.
Both receiving votes for The Bowerman award this year, Nur (7:40.66) and Young (7:41.97@) will respectively compete in the men's 3K on Saturday as well, as they currently rank second and third in the NCAA this season.
Nur posted his qualifying time at the Husky Classic in February, and at the time, became the fastest in the nation and third fastest in NCAA history; he also broke the Big Sky Conference record, the NAU record, and set a new Dempsey Indoor facility record at the University of Washington.
Meanwhile, Young made his qualifying mark at the Big Sky Championships on February 24th, breaking a meet record, becoming the new Big Sky 3K Champion, and garnering the Big Sky Men's Outstanding Performer award.
Northern Arizona will compete at the Indoor National Championship for the first time since 2019, when All-Americans
Geordie Beamish,
Tyler Day and Luis Grijlava qualified in the men's mile, 3K, and 5K; Beamish earned gold in the mile (4:07.69) and ultimately contributed 10 team points to tie for 20th place. This year, the Lumberjack men head into the NCAA Championship sitting at No. 16 on the USTFCCCA Track and Field Rating Index.
After the devastating NCAA championship meet cancellation in 2020 due to COVID-19, in which the Lumberjacks were prepared to send a school record seven distance men, including Nur, the NAU indoor track and field team opted out of competing during the uncertainty of safety protocols in 2021.
However, while the Lumberjacks stayed home, many other programs kept their feet on the gas, pursuing individual and team NCAA titles.
Last season, the Oregon men claimed the team trophy with 79 points, with 18 points coming from Cole Hocker and Cooper Teare's respective one-two performances in the men's 3,000-meter run. Although Hocker and Teare will not appear this season, Aaron Bienenfeld, who currently ranks fifth (13:21.99) on the NCAA 5K list this season will compete in an Oregon uniform, after placing fifth at the meet for Cincinnati last year.
Meanwhile, Adrian Wildshutt of Florida State ranks first (13:09.30) in the nation this season after placing fourth in the men's 5K at the NCAA 2021 Indoor Championship.
Wesley Kiptoo of Iowa State will also defend his individual 5K championship and meet record of 13:23.77, while also entering the men's 3K; Kiptoo respectively ranks third (13:14.74) and eighth (7:43.61) in the NCAA this season.
The field is stacked on Saturday as well with the number one seed in the nation, Yared Nuguse of Notre Dame, in the mix; Nuguse broke the men's 3K collegiate record with a time of 7:38.13, on February 11th at the Boston University David Hemery Valentine Invitational.
Amon Kemboi (7:42.29) of Arkansas currently ranks fourth in the NCAA and placed fourth in the men's 3K at the 2021 Indoor Championships last year.
Duncan Hamilton (7:45.40) of Montana State, a fellow Big Sky competitor, who ranks 13th in the NCAA this season, along with Cameron Ponder (7:45.56#) of Furman, who holds 14th, will also compete in the event; Ponder finished eighth last season.
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