FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (Nov. 13, 2024) – Coming off a pair of Big Sky Conference titles earlier this month, the Northern Arizona cross country teams are preparing to race at NCAA Mountain Regionals this Friday, Nov. 15. The meet is hosted by Nevada at the Washoe County Golf Course in Reno, Nev.
The women will race a 6k at 12 p.m. Mountain Standard time followed by the men's 10k at 1 p.m. Live results will be available
HERE.
NAU enters Friday's race ranked No. 2 in the Mountain Region on the women's side behind BYU. The men are ranked No. 3 behind BYU and New Mexico. The Lumberjacks will toe the line against 20 other regional teams, including Big Sky Conference foes Idaho State, Montana State, Northern Colorado and Weber State.
Listed among the entries for the women are
Karrie Baloga,
Hayley Burns,
Alex Carlson,
Alyson Churchill,
Maggi Congdon,
Anna Fenske,
Alexis Kebbe,
Ava Mitchell,
Keira Moore,
Nikita Moore,
Elise Stearns,
Emma Stutzman and
Ali Upshaw.
For the men,
Corey Gorgas,
Cael Grotenhuis,
Justin Keyes,
Erik Le Roux,
David Mullarkey,
Zack Munson,
Manny Perez,
Santiago Prosser,
Aidan Puffer,
Colin Sahlman, and
Ford Washburn are listed among the entries.
The top two teams in each regional – there are nine total – automatically qualify for the NCAA Division I National Championships for 18 automatic team qualifiers. The NCAA DI Cross Country Subcommittee will then choose 13 at-large teams to fill out the 31-team field. The selection show is on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 3 p.m. Mountain Standard time on NCAA.com.
Individually, the first four finishers who do not belong to an automatic qualifier or an at-large team automatically advance to the championships and all four finishers have to finish in the top 25 within their region. Thirty-six individuals automatically qualify, and the two at-large individual selections are the highest placing individuals at a regional that were not automatic qualifiers.
Last season, both squads earned automatic bids to the NCAA National Championships after sweeping the team titles at the NCAA Mountain Regionals. The women claimed the team title with 39 points and all five of NAU's scorers earned All-Region honors. Upshaw, Congdon,
Nikita Moore and Fenske all raced for the 'Jacks last season with Upshaw placing sixth.
The men took the team title with 36 points, the second-lowest winning team score in Mountain Region history. All five scorers earned All-Region honors as well, including Nyoak who finished fifth overall. Prosser and Sahlman each finished in the top 25.
Northern Arizona is coming off a pair of Big Sky Conference titles that it claimed on Nov. 1 in Pocatello, Idaho, the fourth-straight team title sweep. Mullarkey and Upshaw both won the individual titles.
For the second-straight season, the Lumberjack women set a Big Sky championship record by finishing first with a perfect 15 points to claim their sixth-straight championship. The NAU men claimed their fourth-straight title with 25 points.
It's the fourth-straight year both programs have won, as the men claimed its 33
rd team title and their 16
th in the last 20 seasons. The women won their 26
th team title and the eighth in the last nine seasons.
Upshaw is the fifth-straight individual champion for NAU and the third different Lumberjack to claim the title in the past five years, earning Northern Arizona its 21
st individual title.
Elise Stearns, the two-time defending Big Sky Champion having won in 2022 and 2023, finished second behind Upshaw in her first race since the 2023-24 indoor season.
Mullarkey is the ninth-straight individual champion for the Lumberjacks and the 33
rd overall, as NAU has earned and individual title in 19 out of the past 20 seasons.
NAU is currently ranked fourth nationally in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) coaches' poll on the women's side while the men check in at No. 8.
The NCAA Division I National Championships are set for Saturday, Nov. 23 at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Course in Madison, Wisc. Hosted by Wisconsin, the women will race a 6k at 9:20 a.m. MST followed by the men who will race a 10k at 10:10 a.m.
