GREELEY, Colo. (May 13, 2023) – The Northern Arizona University track & field teams claimed victory at the Big Sky Outdoor Championships, completing their calendar year sweep of the awards. The teams previously won at the men's and women's cross country and indoor track & field championships.
The men scored 220.5 points, the second highest point total in conference history, while the women scored 192 points. This is the third consecutive Big Sky Outdoor Conference title that both the men and women have won.
The team earned a total of 14 gold medals today and saw three conference championship records.
Annika Reiss was named Co-Women's Most Valuable Athlete, and
Alyssa Colbert was named the Women's Most Outstanding Performer.
Nico Young had an impressive victory in the 5,000-meter, with his time setting a new conference championship record. He finished in a time of 13:59.63 to easily win the event.
Theo Quax wasn't far behind, placing fourth in the event with a time of 14:15.27.
Santiago Gomez-Prosser and
Cael Grotenhuis placed fifth and sixth, respectively, with times of 14:29.62 and 14:31.08.
Young also competed in the 1,500-meter, where he finished second behind teammate
Colin Sahlman after running a time of 3:49.95. Sahlman ran a time of 3:49.18 to edge out Young and earn gold.
Kang Nyoak finished fourth in the event with a time of 3:52.12, while Grotenhuis placed sixth with a time of 3:53.29.
Sahlman also won gold in the finals of the 800-meter, running a time of 1:50.79 to become a two-time Big Sky champion. Nyoak also competed in the 800-meter, finishing fourth in a time of 1:52.46.
David Dunlap was a triple event winner on the day, taking gold in the 100-meter, the 200-meter, and as part of the 4x100-meter relay squad. Dunlap ran a wind-aided time of 10.08 in the 100-meter and a wind-aided time of 20.21 in the 200-meter as he successfully defended his Big Sky titles.
Kyle Smith also competed in both races, finishing fourth in the 100-meter with a wind-aided time of 10.48 and third in the 200-meter with a wind-aided time of 20.94.
Dunlap and Smith were both members of the 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relay squads. They combined with
Trenton Givens and
Tyson Givens to run 39.97 in the 4x100-meter to win gold, and 3:10.88 in the 4x400-meter to finish second.
Mitchell Effing had a strong outing in the triple jump, earning gold with a wind-aided jump of 16.01 meters.
Jack Normand finished fifth in the event, hitting a wind-aided mark of 14.12 meters.
Trevor Hook finished second in the javelin, throwing 65.16 meters.
Porter Sweet finished fourth in the event with a mark of 62.05 meters.
The men had a good day in the shot put, finishing three athletes in the top-7.
Parker Bays was NAU's top finisher, placing third with a mark of 17.00 meters.
Jake Tucker finished fourth with a mark of 16.55 meters, while
Desmond Lott was not far behind with a throw of 16.45 meters to place seventh.
The women had just as impressive of a victory, with multiple event champions.
Both the 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relay teams claimed gold and set new conference championship records.
Alyssa Colbert,
Kyairra Reigh,
Kenya Coburn, and
LiNay Perry combined to run a time of 44.95 in the 4x100-meter to pick up the event win and set a new record. In the 4x400-meter,
LiNay Perry,
Madeline Wilson, LaTrouchka Duke, and
Kyairra Reigh ran a time of 3:38.86 to win the event with a new record.
Alyssa Colbert picked up yet another gold medal as she won the 100-meter in a wind-aided time of 11.16.
Madeline Wilson finished second with a wind-aided time of 11.33, with LaTrouchka Duke not far behind in third with a wind-aided time of 11.50.
Kenya Coburn finished seventh in the event with a wind-aided time of 11.80.
Wilson pushed past Colbert in the 200-meter to claim gold, running a wind-aided time of 23.25. Colbert ran a wind-aided time of 23.44 to finish second. LaTrouchka Duke placed third as she ran a wind-aided time of 23.75.
LiNay Perry and
Kyairra Reigh finished fifth and sixth, respectively, with wind-aided times of 23.85 and 23.90.
Reigh and Perry took the top two spots in the 400-meter. Reigh ran a time of 52.90 to win gold, while Perry ran a time of 53.69 to take silver.
Annika Reiss took the event win in both the 800-meter and the 1,500-meter. She ran a time of 2:07.34 in the 800-meter to easily take home the gold, while she ran a time of 4:33.84 in the 1,500-meter to win her second medal of the day.
Bryn Morley finished second in the 1,500-meter, running a time of 4:35.99.
The Lumberjack women placed four athletes in the top-8 of the 5,000-meter.
Jesselyn Bries led the pack with a third-place finish after running a time of 16:52.53.
Bryn Morley wasn't far behind in fourth with a time of 17:05.77.
Meagan Van Pelt and
Anna Fenske finished sixth and eighth, respectively, with times of 17:17.20 and 17:23.17.
Jenna Figueroa had another good day, finishing second in the triple jump. She hit a mark of 12.62 meters to take home the silver.
Brenna Rodriguez finished fifth in the event, jumping 12.31 meters.
In the discus,
Sariyah Horne-Kemp saw an impressive throw of 46.98 meters to finish fourth.
The Lumberjacks have a week off before they will hit the road and travel to the NCAA West Regional. Stay up to date with NAU Cross Country and Track & Field by following us on Twitter and Instagram.
