FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Nico Young and
Elise Stearns swept the Big Sky weekly awards, winning the men's and women's Cross Country Athlete of the Week. This is the third consecutive week that a Lumberjack man has won the weekly award, no other school has seen the honor this season.
Both Young and Stearns placed fifth at the Cowboy Jamboree in Stillwater, Okla. this past weekend. Young, with his second consecutive top-five finish at the Jamboree, ran a time of 23:20.8 in the 8K. Stearns led the women with a time of 20:29.5 in the 6K.
The women pulled off an upset at the Jamboree, taking second place and knocking off many top-10 teams and Mountain Region competitors. The team scored 88 points to finish behind No. 3 Oklahoma State. They knocked off Mountain Region opponents No. 7 BYU and No. 3 Colorado, shooting up the regional rankings to number 1.
Stearns had previously ran in the season-opening George Kyte Classic, leading the team once again and placing second. She ran the 2.5-mile course with a time of 15:16.4, leading the Lumberjacks to an easy victory.
Young also ran at the George Kyte Classic, placing second as the men swept the top 7. He ran the 4.5-mile course with a time of 21:22.0, finishing only two seconds behind the lead runner. The Jacks easily won the meet, scoring only 15 points in a dominant performance.
Stearns, Young, and the rest of the Lumberjacks will be back on the road in a couple weeks, heading to Madison, Wis. For the Nuttycombe Invitational. The meet will take place on Friday, Oct. 14 and will be hosted by the Wisconsin Badgers.
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