FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (November 15, 2023) – The Northern Arizona University cross country teams will conclude their season this weekend at the NCAA National Championships in Charlottesville, Va. as they hope to become the first program to sweep the national titles since Colorado in 2004.
The Lumberjack women will look to close out the best season in school history with a national title. The team has gotten first at each meet they have competed at this season, led by a strong top group that has seen much individual success.
Elise Stearns has been a consistent top finisher for the 'Jacks again this year, joined by a quartet of transfers who have played a big role in the team's rise. Stearns won the individual title at the Virginia Invitational earlier this season, running a 16:18.9 5K on what will be this year's national championship course. She also repeated as the Big Sky Conference Champion, leading NAU to a score of 15 points which is the lowest in conference championships history.
Gracelyn Larkin has made an impact in her short time as a Lumberjack, winning the individual title at the NCAA Mountain Regional a week ago after running a 6K time of 19:19.7. Larkin has consistently placed within the top-10 of each meet she has competed in this season, with her performances a large reason for the success the team has seen this season.
After earning their best team ranking in decades, last season the women saw their best national meet finish since 1991, placing sixth after scoring 257 points. This was the second highest placing in both school and conference history for a women's cross country team.
Elise Stearns led the team and became an NCAA All-American after finishing fourth, seeing the highest finish for an NAU women's athlete since 2005.
All eyes will be on the NAU men as they attempt to defend their national champion title and win for the fourth consecutive year. The 'Jacks have won at six of the past seven NCAA National Championship meets, with their wins coming in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, and 2022. Last year's team took home the title following a close race which saw them initially tie with Oklahoma State after both teams scored 83 points. NAU won the tie-break and was awarded their third straight NCAA National Championship title.
At last year's National Championships
Nico Young and
Drew Bosley took an early lead, breaking off from the pack with Stanford's Charles Hicks. Young ultimately finished in second place, with Bosley close behind in third. This was the second time in school history that a Lumberjack duo placed second and third at a national meet, with Matthew Baxter and Tyler Day achieving the feat in 2017 en route to winning the team's second national title. Young and Bosley each earned All-American honors, along with
Santiago Gomez-Prosser,
Brodey Hasty, and
George Kusche.
This season the men have seen plenty of early success, earning multiple team and individual titles.
Nico Young repeated as the Big Sky Champion as he led the team to their third consecutive team title. Young also placed second at the NCAA Mountain Regional last week to help push the team to the national meet.
Drew Bosley has been an important piece to NAU's success, claiming the individual title at the Virginia Invitational earlier this season on the course that will host the national meet.
Aaron Las Heras quickly became a solid contributor for the men's team, finishing 12
th at the Nuttycombe Invitational in his first outing as a Lumberjack. He has seen a pair of top-10 finishes in the postseason, placing second at the Big Sky Championships and eighth at the NCAA Mountain Regional.
Both teams enter the NCAA National Championships as the number one team in the nation. The teams made history earlier this season on Oct. 17 when they were both ranked first in the USTFCCCA National Coaches' Poll at the same time, a first in program history. Since then, both teams have seen dominant performances in the postseason and have stayed consistent at the top of the national rankings.
The 2023 NCAA National Championships will be held in Charlottesville, Va. at Panorama Farms on Saturday, Nov. 18. The women's race will begin at 8:20 a.m. MST, with the men's race following at 9:10 a.m. MST. The races will be broadcast on ESPNU, with coverage beginning at 8:00 a.m. MST. Live results from the races can be found
here.
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