MOSCOW, Idaho (February 25, 2023) – The Northern Arizona University track & field teams swept the Big Sky Indoor Conference Championships, with the men winning for the 11
th year in a row. NAU was also awarded Men's Most Outstanding Athlete as well as Co-Men's Most Valuable Athlete and Co-Women's Most Valuable Athlete.
The Lumberjacks earned a total of 11 gold medals in the second day of competition and broke multiple conference championship records. The men scored a total of 182.50 points while the women scored 200.50. The women's point total is the highest in conference championship history.
David Dunlap set a new school and conference record in the 200-meter with a time of 20.54, easily giving him the event win. He also claimed victory in the 60-meter, running a time of 6.64. Dunlap's efforts earned him the titles of Men's Most Outstanding Athlete as well as Co-Men's Most Valuable Athlete.
Also earning Co-Men's Most Valuable Athlete was
Drew Bosley, who picked up his second event win today. Bosley put up a strong effort in the 3000-meter, finishing in a time of 7:59.05 to take home his second gold medal.
Alyssa Colbert and
Annika Reiss each took a share of the Co-Women's Most Valuable Athlete. Colbert took the gold in the 60-meter and 200-meter. She ran a time of 23.97 in the 200-meter, while her time of 7.32 in the 60-meter set a new conference championship record. Reiss won the 3000-meter and the mile, running times of 9:17.87 and 4:45.53 respectively.
The distance group contributed big to the points total for each team, earning 91 points for the women and 77 points for the men. Behind Reiss in the 3K were four other point scorers for NAU.
Elise Stearns finished second with a personal best time of 9:21.50, with
Jesselyn Bries not far behind with a personal best time of 9:31.90.
Nikita Moore finished fifth with a time of 9:34.50 while
Alexis Kebbe finished eighth with a time of 9:43.63.
Scoring points in the 3K behind Bosley were
Nico Young,
Corey Gorgas, and
Kang Nyoak. Young took third place with a time of 8:00.17, with Gorgas in fifth after running a personal best time of 8:10.62. Also scoring points in the race was Nyoak, who finished seventh with a time of 8:13.11.
The men's mile saw five point scorers from NAU, with
Theo Quax leading the way after running a time of 4:03.88 to finish third.
Kang Nyoak ran a personal best time of 4:04.87 to place fourth, while freshman
Colin Sahlman took fifth place with a time of 4:04.94.
Corey Gorgas and
Aiden Barnhill finished in sixth and seventh, running times of 4:04.96 and 4:06.02 respectively.
All three women that ran the mile scored, with
Annika Reiss and
Bryn Morley taking the top two spots. Morley ran a time of 4:46.11 as she finished in a close second behind Reiss.
Nikita Moore placed fourth in the race, running a time of 4:49.54.
Another conference championship record fell in the women's 800-meter, as
Maggi Congdon ran a 2:05.71 to easily take home the gold.
Bryn Morley finished fifth in the race after running a time of 2:10.98. In the men's race,
Colin Sahlman and
Theo Quax finished back-to-back in sixth and seventh. Sahlman ran a time of 1:51.67 while Quax ran a personal best 1:51.93.
The sprints squad also had a successful second day of the conference championships, seeing multiple event wins.
Kyairra Reigh took first place in the women's 400-meter, running a personal best time of 53.68.
LiNay Perry was not far behind, taking second with a personal best time of 53.98. Also scoring in that race for the 'Jacks was
Alonna Johnson who finished sixth with a time of 55.80.
Reigh also saw success in the women's 200-meter, finishing third with a time of 24.23. Also scoring in that race were LaTrouchka Duke and
LiNay Perry. Duke finished fourth with a time of 24.28, while Perry placed sixth with a time of 24.37. The men's race saw three point scorers, with
Kyle Smith and
Trenton Givens finishing behind
David Dunlap. Smith placed third with a time of 21.56, while Givens finished sixth with a time of 21.95.
Smith also scored in the men's 60-meter, placing seventh with a time of 6.98. In the women's race,
Alyssa Colbert took home the gold but was closely followed by
La Trouchka Duke. Duke finished second with a time of 7.40.
Kenya Coburn also earned points in the race, finishing sixth with a time of 7.69. In the 60-meter hurdles the women had one competitor,
Madeline Wilson, who ran a time of 8.73 to finish sixth. In the men's race
Trenton Givens took second with a time of 7.82, while
Wil Peralta finished sixth with a time of 8.15.
Finishing out the day of competition was the 4x400-meter relay teams. LaTrouchka Duke,
LiNay Perry,
Alonna Johnson, and
Kyairra Reigh combined to run a time of 3:41.06 to win the event.
Trenton Givens,
Tyson Givens,
Ethan Seppala, and
Kyle Smith ran a time of 3:15.67 to finish fifth in the men's relay.
The men's weight throw was stacked with Lumberjacks, as they took the top three spots to sweep the podium.
John Murphy finished first with a throw of 20.62 meters, with
Desmond Lott not far behind in second after throwing 20.15 meters.
Parker Bays placed third after throwing a personal best 19.72 meters.
Alaina Diggs was the lone women's throws competitor today, finishing fourth in the shot put after throwing 14.11 meters.
The triple jump saw a pair of second place finishes from
Mitchell Effing and
Jenna Figueroa. Effing jumped 15.27 meters while Figueroa jumped 12.03 meters to each take home the silver. Also scoring in the event for the men,
Jack Normand jumped 14.49 meters to place fifth while
Sirr Butler jumped 14.44 meters to finish seventh. On the women's side,
Kenashalee Kerr finshed fifth with a personal best mark of 11.83 meters while
Lily Margolis placed eighth after jumping 11.42 meters.
Madeline Wilson was the lone women's high jumper, tying for sixth place after jumping a height of 1.67 meters.
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