FARMINGTON, Utah (Nov. 13, 2024) – After guiding both the Northern Arizona men's and women's cross country teams to their fourth-consecutive sweep of the Big Sky Conference Cross Country Championships, head coach
Michael Smith has been named the 2024 Big Sky Conference Men's and Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year as announced by the league office this afternoon.
The unanimous honor was voted on by the league's head coaches. It's the seventh Coach of the Year title for each respective squad, bringing his total to 14 since taking over in 2017. In August, Smith announced he will retire following the conclusion of the outdoor track and field program in 2025 to pursue professional coaching opportunities.
Smith guided both squads to Big Sky titles on Nov. 1 in Pocatello, Idaho, and boasted the individual champions in
David Mullarkey and
Ali Upshaw.
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. Regionally, the women are second in the Mountain Region rankings while the men are third.
Both teams saw success during the regular season, kicking off the year with team titles at both the George Kyte Classic and the Dave Murray Invitational. At the Joe Piane -Notre Dame Invitational, NAU placed all five scorers in the top 15 on the women's side to place first while the men placed second. The squads previewed the NCAA Championship course at Wisconsin Pre-Nationals where the women finished second and the men brought home a fifth-place finish.
Mullarkey twice earned Big Sky Athlete of the Week honors after finishing fourth at Notre Dame and 21
st at Pre-Nationals.
Ava Mitchell,
Justin Keyes and
Karrie Baloga also earned weekly honors from the conference.
Northern Arizona is preparing to race at NCAA Mountain Regionals on Friday, Nov. 15 at the Washoe Golf Course in Reno, Nev. The women will race a 6k at 12 p.m. Mountain Standard time while the men will run a 10k at 1 p.m. MST.
