2022-23 Men's Cross Country and Track & Field Season Recap

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (June 28, 2023) – The Northern Arizona University men's cross country and track & field teams ended their 2022-23 campaign after seeing both team and individual success.
 
The team earned their third consecutive cross country conference championship, their 11^th consecutive indoor track & field conference championship, and their third consecutive outdoor track & field conference championship. They also completed a calendar sweep of the conference titles for the second consecutive year.
 
The men's cross country team also defied the odds to become national champions for the third year in a row, and for the sixth time in the past seven years. Nico Young and Drew Bosley cemented their places as two of the top runners in the nation as they saw the highest NCAA Cross Country National Championship finish for an NAU pairing since 2017.
 
David Dunlap had a dominant final season in the blue and gold, making it to nationals in both the indoor and outdoor seasons and seeing the highest NCAA Outdoor Track & Field National Championship finish in school and conference history in the 200-meter.
 
Trusting the Process
 
There were high expectations for the Lumberjacks as they headed into the 2022 cross country season. The men were ranked first in the USTFCCCA preseason national poll, and the pressure was on to win their sixth national championship in seven years.
 
The team started the season out on a high, winning the George Kyte Classic for the 10^th consecutive year.
 
The men scored 15 points to take the win, with their runners sweeping the top seven places on the 4.5-mile course. Drew Bosley and Nico Young set the tone for the season as they finished first and second, respectively, with times of 22:09.1 and 22:11.0. Ryan Raff, Brodey Hasty, Theo Quax, Santiago Gomez-Prosser, and Kang Nyoak followed as the NAU men earned an easy first victory.
 
Following a strong performance and individual win at the Coaching Tree Invitational, Theo Quax was named USTFCCCA Men's National Athlete of the Week. At the Coaching Tree Invitational, he ran a time of 23:26.3 on the 8K course, leading the NAU men to a third-place finish.
 
At the Cowboy Jamboree, the team got their first look at the course which would host the NCAA National Championships.
 
The men saw their first challenge of the year, finishing second behind BYU and Stanford after scoring 110 points. Nico Young saw his second consecutive top-five finish, placing fifth with a time of 23:20 in his first 10K of the season. Drew Bosley also placed in the top-10, finishing ninth with a time of 23:35.5. Ryan Raff ran an impressive race, finishing in a time of 23:45.4 to place 19^th as he cut 22 seconds from his previous years' time on the course.
 
Heading to the Nuttycombe Invitational, the men would then face their toughest obstacle of the season.
 
Despite placing Nico Young and Drew Bosley in the top-10 once again, the men saw a relatively disappointing finish as they placed third behind Stanford and BYU once again. Young finished second in a time of 23:10.0, only .1 seconds behind the lead runner, while Bosley took fifth place with a time of 23:17.2.
 
As the teams headed into the postseason, they had a lot to prove. The team successfully defended their title as Big Sky champions and swept the championships with the women for the 18^th time.
 
The men scored only 19 points en route to victory, the lowest conference championship points total since their 2016 win in which they scored 15 points. Nico Young led the pack for the entire race, easily finishing first with a time of 22:31.5 to earn the individual title. Drew Bosley finished second in a time of 22:57.1 after a race spent battling for the position. Brodey Hasty, George Kusche, Colin Sahlman, Ryan Raff, and Theo Quax also finished within the top-10 and were named to the All-Conference team along with Young and Bosley. Sahlman was also named the Big Sky Freshman of the Year.
 
As the 'Jacks headed to the Mountain Regionals, they knew that they had a hard road to get to the national championships. The men earned an automatic bid seeing strong performances from their runners and winning the team title.
 
Nico Young and Drew Bosley continued their dominance, finishing first and second with only .1 seconds separating them. Young took the individual title with a time of 28:01.8 with Bosley right behind, coming in with a time of 28:01.9. Ryan Raff, Brodey Hasty, and Santiago Gomez-Prosser each placed within the top-17 to help push the men to victory. All five scorers for the Lumberjacks earned All-Region honors.
 
As the countdown to the NCAA National Championships began, there was more pressure than ever on the Lumberjack men. They were looking for their third consecutive national title, and their sixth in seven years.
 
Nico Young and Drew Bosley took an early lead in the race, breaking off from the pack with Stanford's Charles Hicks. Young eventually took second place with a time of 28:44.5 while Bosley finished close behind in third with a time of 28:55.9. Santiago Gomez-Prosser ran his best race of the season as he finished 19^th with a time of 29:19.5. Brodey Hasty and George Kusche also gave huge efforts as they placed 25^th and 39^th respectively. All five NAU scorers earned All-American honors.
 
The men scored a total of 83 points, initially tying with hosts Oklahoma State before winning on the tie-break. As they successfully defended their title of National Champions, the men continued the NAU cross country dynasty and solidified their place as the top team in the country.
 
History in the Making
 
The men's indoor track & field season was marked with numerous new records as the team continuously defied expectations.
 
The Lumberjack men started the indoor season with two historic performances at the Boston University Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener. Drew Bosley and Nico Young both ran the 5,000-meter, with Bosley setting a new school and conference record. He finished fourth with a time of 13:13.26, with his time putting him at No. 5 on the All-Time Indoor Collegiate 5K list. Nico Young wasn't far behind, finishing fifth with a time of 13:15.25 to earn a new PR and a spot at No. 9 on the All-Time Indoor Collegiate 5K list.
 
Bosley continued his dominance in distance events when he broke the collegiate 3,000-meter record at the John Thomas Terrier Classic. Bosley's time of 7:36.42 earned him a spot in the history books as he broke the school, conference, and collegiate records in his first 3K race of the season.  He was also named USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week following his historic performance.
 
Another standout during the indoor season was David Dunlap who impressed in his final season as a Lumberjack. Dunlap inked his name in the record book as he broke the 60-meter, 200-meter, and 400-meter school records.
 
Two of Dunlap's record-breaking performances came during his first meet of the season. He ran a 60-meter time of 6.62, later running a time of 20.68 in the 200-meter to set a new school and conference record. Dunlap would go on to better his 200-meter time, running 20.54 at the Big Sky Conference Championships to break his own record. In his first meet running the 400-meter, Dunlap would run a time of 46.21 to earn his third school record of the season.
 
Mitchell Effing started his season off strong, breaking the school triple jump record in his first meet of the season. He jumped 15.81 meters, cementing his place as one of the top jumpers in the conference early on.
 
Also breaking school records this season were Trenton Givens and John Murphy. Givens broke the 60-meter hurdles record after running a time of 7.76. Murphy ended out his Lumberjack career on a high note, breaking the weight throw record in his final meet at the Skydome. He threw a distance of 21.40 meters to earn his place in the history books.
 
At the Big Sky Conference Championships, the men scored a total of 182.50 points to win their 11^th straight conference title. David Dunlap and Drew Bosley were named Co-Men's Most Valuable Athlete, while Dunlap was also named Men's Most Outstanding Athlete.
 
The distance squad had a strong performance at the conference championships, earning 80 points. 27 of those points came in the 5K, with Drew Bosley and Nico Young finishing first and second in the event. Santiago Gomez-Prosser and Aidan Puffer finished in fourth and fifth to help make it the men's highest scoring event.
 
Bosley was a double event winner, taking gold both the 5K and the 3K. Also winning a pair of gold medals was David Dunlap, who won the 60-meter and the 200-meter.
 
The 200-meter was another high scoring event for the 'Jacks, earning a total of 19 points. Dunlap took gold in the event, while Kyle Smith placed third and Trenton Givens finished sixth.
 
The men's weight throw was stacked with Lumberjacks, as they took the top three spots to sweep the podium. John Murphy finished first, while Desmond Lott and Parker Bays followed in second and third. Together the three scored a total of 24 points.
 
The triple jump was the top scoring event for the men's jumpers, earning a total of 14 points. Mitchell Effing finished in second place, while Jack Normand placed fifth and Sirr Butler finished seventh.
 
The 'Jacks sent four men to compete at the NCAA Indoor National Championships. Drew Bosley competed in the both the 5K and the 3K, earning a spot on the podium in both events. In the 5K, he finished third after running a time of 13:38.62, finishing as the runner-up in the 3K with a time of 7:48.34. Bosley earned first-team All-American honors in both events.
 
Also competing in the 5K was Nico Young. Young ran a time of 13:40.55 to finish fourth and earn first-team All-American honors.
 
David Dunlap competed in the 200-meter, running a time of 20.69 to finish 14^th overall and earn second-team All-American honors. Mitchell Effing also finished 14^th overall, jumping 7.55 meters in the long jump to earn second-team All-American honors.
 
Finishing Strong
 
The men kept their momentum as they headed into outdoor season, with multiple athletes stepping up and seeing big performances.
 
Trevor Hook started out his season with a personal best 66.30 meter javelin throw at the GCU Invitational and continued to better his throws as the season progressed. At the Texas Relays, Hook threw 68.49 meters to break the school record by more than a meter.
 
The throws group had an impressive season, led by John Murphy, Desmond Lott, Garret Bernt, and Parker Bays. The quartet led the conference in the hammer throw throughout the season, each recording throws over 60 meters. Murphy had a season best throw of 65.30 meters at the Willie Williams Classic, which earned him a spot at number three on the NAU all-time records list.
 
Bays was also ranked fourth in the conference in the shot put, while Lott and Bernt were ranked fourth and fifth respectively in the discus. Bays was one of five athletes in the conference to register a throw over 17 meters in the shot put this season.
 
Freshman Colin Sahlman had a breakout season, seeing success in the 800-meter and the 1,500-meter. Sahlman led the Big Sky in the 800-meter, with his season best time of 1:46.99 earning him a spot at number two on NAU's all-time record list. He was also ranked second in the conference in the 1,500-meter, with his time of 3:38.30 at the Bryan Clay Invitational ranking fifth on the all-time list.
 
At the Big Sky Outdoor Conference Championship, Sahlman was a double event winner and was later named the Big Sky Freshman of the Year. He won both the 800-meter and the 1,500-meter, earning 20 points towards the team total. The men scored a total of 220.5 points, the second highest point total in conference championship history.
 
The throws group saw impressive performances, contributing 72 points to the team. The hammer throw was the strongest event, with the 'Jacks sweeping the podium as they earned 32 points. John Murphy took gold with a throw of 62.86 meters, while Desmond Lott took second with a throw of 60.45 meters and Garret Bernt rounded out the podium with a mark of 59.65 meters. Parker Bays finished fourth in the event and Cole White placed sixth to add to the point total.
 
The distance group also contributed 72 points, with the 1,500-meter being their strongest event. Nico Young placed second behind Colin Sahlman, while Kang Nyoak finished fourth and Cael Grotenhuis placed sixth.
 
The 5,000-meter was another strong event, with Nico Young taking gold after running a conference championship record time of 13:59.63. Theo Quax finished fourth, and Santiago Gomez-Prosser and Cael Grotenhuis placed fifth and sixth respectively.
 
David Dunlap was a triple event champion for the Lumberjacks, 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 en route to winning his titles.
 
Mitchell Effing put up two strong performances at the conference championship, winning gold in the triple jump with a mark of 16.01 meters, and finishing second in the long jump with a mark of 7.77 meters.
 
The men sent 13 competitors to the NCAA West Regional in Sacramento, California, with multiple athletes seeing success.
 
Freshman Colin Sahlman had a strong regional meet, finishing fourth in his heat of the 1,500-meter quarterfinals to earn his spot at the national championships.
 
David Dunlap continued his remarkable season, turning in a time of 20.28 in the 200-meter as he finished second in his heat to punch his ticket to the national championship meet.
 
Nico Young won his heat of the 5,000-meter in a time of 13:33.77, easily securing his place at the national championships. Theo Quax wasn't far behind, finishing in a time of 13:40.79 to just miss out on a trip to Austin.
 
At the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships, Colin Sahlman closed out an outstanding freshman season with a 17^th overall finish in the semifinals of the 1,500-meter. His time of 3:42.02 earned him honorable mention All-American honors.
 
Nico Young finished as a first-team All-American in the 5K, running a strong race to finish eighth with a time of 14:10.17.
 
David Dunlap closed out his NAU career with a school record time of 20.16 in the finals of the 200-meter, placing seventh as he earned first-team All-American honors. Dunlap's finish was the highest in both NAU and Big Sky conference history in the event.