FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (January 31, 2024) – The NAU track & field team is back at home this Friday as they host the third annual Ron Mann Classic.
Last week the 'Jacks were on the road as they competed at the John Thomas Terrier Classic and the New Mexico Team Open.
Nico Young highlighted the weekend, setting a new collegiate record in the 5,000-meter with a time of 12:57.14 in Boston. His time was not only a collegiate record but is also the first sub-13 minutes 5K time in NCAA history. Young owns the top mile, 3,000-meter, and 5,000-meter times in the nation.
Maggi Congdon also saw strong performances at the John Thomas Terrier Classic, breaking the school and conference mile record with a time of 4:30.24. Congdon currently sits at number two in the national rankings in the event.
Karrie Baloga also competed in the mile, running a time of 4:36.72 to put her at third on NAU's all-time performance list.
Mitchell Effing was the lone jumper competing over the past weekend, competing in the long jump and triple jump at the New Mexico Team Open. He won the long jump with a conference best mark of 7.81 meters to take the event win. Effing sits at the top of the Big Sky in both the long jump and triple jump, and is ranked seventh in the nation in the triple jump and 14
th in the long jump.
The women's sprinters will be headlined by
Kyairra Reigh who will compete for the first time this season. Reigh will run the 60-meter and the 200-meter along with Big Sky standouts LaTrouchka Duke and
LiNay Perry.
Annika Reiss will run for the first time in the Skydome this season as she competes in the 800-meter and the mile. Reiss is ranked second in the nation in the 5K after a strong performance at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener to begin her season. Also highly ranked in the 5K is
Ruby Smee, who sits at number seven, and will be competing in the mile and the 3K this weekend.
Brenna Rodriguez will compete in the long jump, looking to improve upon her season best mark of 5.49 meters. She is currently ranked first in the conference in the triple jump.
Kenashalee Kerr will compete in both the long jump and the triple jump.
Alaina Diggs and
Sariyah Horne-Kemp will each compete in both the weight throw and the shot put. Diggs is ranked second in the conference in the shot put and fifth in the weight throw. Horne-Kemp is ranked third in the Big Sky in the weight throw and 12
th in the shot put.
Trenton and
Tyson Givens will both run this weekend, competing in the 60-meter, 60-meter hurdles, and 200-meter. Trenton is ranked fifth in the Big Sky in the 200-meter and third in the 60-meter hurdles.
The men's distance squad will see multiple athletes make their season debut this week.
Caleb Easton,
Terrence Keyes, and
John Scherer will each compete for the first time this season. Easton will run the 800-meter and the mile while Keyes and Scherer will run the 3K.
Sirr Butler and
Malachi Marshall will both compete in the long jump. Butler is ranked third in the conference in the triple jump, while Marshall is ranked 11
th in the long jump.
Garret Bernt,
Desmond Lott, and
Parker Bays will each compete in the weight throw, with Lott and Bays also competing in the shot put. Bernt, Lott, and Bays are the top three athletes in the conference in the weight throw, with Bernt also ranked 17
th in the nation in the event. Bays is also ranked second in the Big Sky in the shot put with Lott being ranked sixth.
The meet will take place at the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome with field events beginning at 1:00 p.m. MST and running events beginning at 4:00 p.m. MST. Live results for the meet can be found
here. Stay up to date with NAU Cross Country and Track & Field by following us on Twitter and Instagram.
