FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (May 18, 2023) – The Northern Arizona University track & field teams will send a total of 25 athletes to next week's NCAA West Regional.
Alyssa Colbert and
David Dunlap will each compete in both the 100-meter and 200-meter races.
Colbert has a season best of 11.41 in the 100-meter, with her personal best of 11.33 also being the school record in the event. She also has a personal best of 23.83 in the 200-meter. Colbert is coming off strong performances at the Big Sky Outdoor Conference Championships, earning gold in the 100-meter and silver in the 200-meter.
Dunlap has personal bests of 10.31 in the 100-meter and 20.38 in the 200-meter. He successfully defended his Big Sky Outdoor titles in both events last weekend.
Madeline Wilson will also compete in the 200-meter for the women. Wilson has a personal best time of 23.84 in the event and won gold at the Big Sky Outdoor Conference Championships.
Kyairra Reigh and
LiNay Perry round out the qualifiers in the sprints, both competing in the 400-meter. Reigh and Perry finished first and second at the conference championships last weekend, with Reigh running a personal best time of 52.90.
The Big Sky Outdoor Conference Championship record-setting women's 4x100-meter relay team also qualified for regionals.
Alyssa Colbert,
Kyairra Reigh,
Kenya Coburn, and
LiNay Perry combined to run a time of 44.95 at the conference championships, earning gold and a spot at the west regionals.
Nikita Moore will run the 1,500-meter and the 5,000-meter after earning qualifying times at the Bryan Clay Invitational. Moore ran personal best times in both events, running 4:19.60 in the 1,500-meter and 16:04.84 in the 5K to earn her spot at regionals.
Also competing in the women's 5K will be
Annika Reiss,
Jesselyn Bries, and
Bryn Morley. Reiss and Bries also ran their qualifying times at the Bryan Clay Invitational, with Reiss running a time of 15:4934 and Bries a time of 15:53.19. Morley ran her qualifying time of 15:58.98 at the Stanford Invitational earlier this season.
Bries also qualified in the 10,000-meter, running a qualifying time of 33:03.07 at the Stanford Invitational. Bries' time was also the second fastest time in school history in the event.
For the men's distance group,
Colin Sahlman and
Kang Nyoak will run the 1,500-meter. Sahlman won the event at the conference championships, running a time of 3:49.18. He has a personal best time of 3:38.30, which he ran earlier this season at the Bryan Clay Invitational. Nyoak ran a season best time of 3:43.67 at the same meet, earning his spot at regionals.
Nyoak will also compete in the 5K, along with teammates
Theo Quax,
Nico Young, Santiago Gomez-Presser, and
Cael Grotenhuis. Young won the 5K at the Big Sky Outdoor Conference Championships, running a championship record time of 13:59.63. Quax ran a personal best time of 13:29.35 at the Stanford Invitational to earn a place at regionals. Prosser has a season best time of 13:51.88 and Grotenhuis has a personal best time of 13:52.05, both ran at the Bryan Clay Invitational earlier this season.
Grotenhuis will also run the 10K after running a personal best, qualifying time of 28:45.92 at the Stanford Invitational.
Drew Bosley will also compete in the event, following his performance at the Stanford Invitational where he ran a personal best time of 28:18.02.
Mitchell Effing will be the 'Jacks final double qualifier, competing in the long jump and the triple jump. Effing has a personal best jump of 7.79 meters in the long jump, which he achieved at the Willie Williams Classic. Effing won the triple jump at the Big Sky Outdoor Conference Championships, hitting a wind-aided personal best mark of 16.01 meters.
Jenna Figueroa will compete in the triple jump for the women. She finished second at the conference championships in the event, jumping a wind-aided 12.62 meters.
Jack Normand will compete in the high jump, hitting his qualifying mark of 2.11 meters at the first meet this season.
The Lumberjacks will have three competitors in the men's hammer throw, with
John Murphy,
Desmond Lott, and
Garret Bernt all qualifying. Murphy has a personal best of 65.30 meters, a mark he achieved at the Willie Williams Classic earlier this season. Lott hit his qualifying mark of 62.53 meters at the same meet. Bernt's qualifying mark of 62.32 meters came at the Desert Heat Classic.
The final qualifiers for NAU will be
Jade Kwinn and
Trevor Hook, both competing in the javelin. Hook's qualifying mark of 68.49 meters at the Texas Relays was also a school record in the event. Kwinn hit a season best 48.76 meters at the Willie Williams Classic to secure her a spot at regionals.
The NCAA West Regional will take place next week in Sacramento, California. Competition will begin on Wednesday, May 24 and conclude on Saturday, May 27. Stay up to date with NAU Cross Country and Track & Field by following us on Twitter and Instagram.
