EUGENE, Ore. (June 10, 2022) — On their final day at Hayward Field, Nico Young and George Kusche respectively finished third in the men's 5,000-meter and 11th in the men's 1,500-meter races; Young picked up six points for the Lumberjacks with his bronze medal performance.
After an incredible team effort, the NAU men walk away from the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Championship with 12 total points to tie for 23rd place.
Young raced his heart out tonight, ultimately posting a season best time of 13:28.62 to earn third, first-team All-American honors, and six points for the Lumberjack men.
Young bounded into scoring position from the gun, maintaining a solid spot within the front seven athletes for most of the race; with several laps remaining, Young made a move into third and patiently ran on the outside shoulder of Olin Hacker (Wisconsin).
The bell lap began an all-out sprint to the finish, with Hacker, Morgan Beadlescomb (Michigan State), and Young sequentially rounding the track; this trio respectively split 54.62, 55.36, and 55.28 in the final 400-meters of the men's 5K.
Meanwhile, in a rigid 1500-meter race, Kusche got boxed in early and fought for better positioning throughout the race, ultimately finishing 11th with a time of 3:47.20 to earn second-team All-American honors.
