PHOENIX, Ariz. (March 18, 2023) – The Northern Arizona University track & field teams saw a successful start to their outdoor season as they competed at the GCU Invitational this weekend.
The throws squad started things off strong on Friday night in the hammer throw, with
John Murphy taking the event win for the men. Murphy's throw of 64.75 meters was enough to easily earn him first place.
Desmond Lott took second in the event with a mark of 60.84 meters, while
Garret Bernt threw for 58.62 meters to place third.
Parker Bays and
Cole White placed sixth and eighth, respectively, with throws of 54.46 meters and 52.49 meters.
For the women, freshmen
Sariyah Horne-Kemp and Tania Duncan both competed. Horne-Kemp placed sixth with a mark of 50.21 while Duncan finished ninth with a mark of 44.75 meters. Both women went on to compete in the discus, placing second and fourth respectively. Horne-Kemp threw for 41.64 meters while Duncan threw 39.45 meters.
The men also performed well in the discus throw, taking places 4-5-6-7.
Rudy Tapia was the top Lumberjack, placing fourth with a throw of 50.08 meters.
Desmond Lott was not far behind with a toss of 49.05 meters to finish fifth.
CJ McMullen took sixth with a throw of 47.82 meters, while
Jay Nielsen finished seventh with a throw of 46.96 meters.
The shot put was just as strong of an event for the 'Jacks, with
Alaina Diggs and
Parker Bays each finishing second. Diggs threw for 14.41 meters while Bays threw 17.17 meters.
Jake Tucker finished third in the event with a mark of 16.15 meters, and
Cole White rounded things out in seventh with a mark of 14.99 meters.
In their first meet competing javelin so far this year, the throwers proved to be formidable.
Trevor Hook finished second with a throw of 66.30 meters. Freshman
Porter Sweet took fifth place with a throw of 60.33 meters, while
Clayton Zupke placed seventh after throwing 57.24 meters.
Jade Kwinn and
Piper Pfister finished in third and fourth, respectively, with throws of 47.44 meters and 44.89 meters.
Ian Lipsey had a standout first meet for the jumps squad as he finished first in the long jump. His mark of 7.19 meters was enough to easily give him the event win.
Malachi Marshall finished fifth with a mark of 6.96 meters and
Sirr Butler took eighth place with a mark of 6.59 meters.
Jack Normand also won his event in the high jump, jumping 2.11 meters.
Madeline Wilson and
Jenna Figueroa went back-to-back in the women's high jump, with Wilson taking the event win. Wilson jumped 1.67 meters, while Figueroa jumped 1.62 meters. In the women's long jump,
Brenna Rodriguez placed seventh after jumping 5.49 meters.
Lily Margolis finished tenth with a mark of 5.31 meters.
Drew Bosley put on a show in the 5000-meter only a week after competing at the NCAA Indoor National Championships. His time of 13:37.77 was enough to easily secure the event win. Freshman
Colin Sahlman also picked up an event win, this time in the 1500-meter. He ran a time of 3:47.26 to pick up the win and edge out teammate
Theo Quax. Quax finished in second after running a time of 3:47.49.
Riley Human and
Terrence Keyes finished in fifth and sixth, with Human running a time of 3:53.73 and Keyes running a time of 3:53.78.
Erik Le Roux and
Aiden Barnhill also competed in the 1500-meter, with Le Roux finishing ninth with a time of 3:54.52 and Barnhill finishing 13
th with a time of 3:55.23.
In the women's 1500-meter, four Lumberjacks finished in the top 12.
Anna Fenske placed sixth with a time of 4:38.75, while
Victoria Gaitan and
Lauren Jorgensen finished ninth and tenth. Gaitan ran a time of 4:41.31 while Jorgensen ran a time of 4:41.69.
Abby Riordan placed 12
th after running a time of 4:44.37.
The sprints group saw a promising start to their outdoor season as well. In the women's 200-meter
Alyssa Colbert and
Kyairra Reigh took the top spots. Colbert ran a time of 24.16 to pick up the event win, with Reigh close behind in second with a time of 24.18.
LiNay Perry finished in sixth after running a time of 24.39, while
Kenya Coburn placed 14
th with a time of 25.13.
In the women's 100-meter
Madeline Wilson saw a great start to her outdoor campaign, finishing third with a time of 11.95. Freshman
MarcAnthony Sanchez also had a solid first race, finishing 11
th with a time of 10.96.
In the men's 100-meter hurdles
Tyson Givens was the top NAU performer, finishing third with a time of 14.58.
Wil Peralta was not far behind in fourth, finishing in a time of 14.68.
Trenton Givens placed seventh with a time of 15.23, while
Karsen Burke placed 11
th with a time of 15.92. In the women's race
Olivia Conklin took sixth place after running a time of 15.23.
The women's 4x100-meter relay finished second, running a time of 44.85 to set a new school record.
Alyssa Colbert,
Kyairra Reigh,
Kenya Coburn, and
LiNay Perry combined to set the new record and earn the silver.
The men's 4x100-meter finished in fifth after running a time of 40.39. Competing for the men were
Tyson Givens,
MarcAnthony Sanchez,
Trenton Givens, and
Kyle Smith.
Up next, the Lumberjacks are headed to Tucson for the Willie Williams Classic hosted by the University of Arizona. The meet will run from Friday, Mar. 24 to Saturday, Mar. 25. Stay up to date with NAU Cross Country and Track & Field by following us on Twitter and Instagram.
