BOSTON, Mass. (Dec. 7, 2024) – A quartet of distance runners represented Northern Arizona well on the opening weekend of the indoor track and field season.
Ali Upshaw,
Drew Bosley,
David Mullarkey and Santiago Prosser all traveled to Boston, Mass., for the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener, hosted by Boston University on Saturday, Dec. 7 where they competed in the 5,000-meters.
Two weeks after earning All-American honors at the NCAA National Cross Country Championships, Upshaw started the day off on a high note by breaking both the Big Sky Conference's and Northern Arizona's school record in the 5k. Upshaw clocked a time of 15:27.86 for a new personal best by nearly 10 seconds to win her heat and finish 13
th overall and 10
th among collegians.
Upshaw moved into first place on the 21
st lap as the race reached the 4,2000-meter mark and never looked back. She breaks current teammate
Elise Stearns' record of 15:33.74, set in 2022-23. Upshaw's previous personal best of 15:36.48 was fourth all-time in program history.
On the men's side, Mullarkey raced in his first-ever indoor competition for the Lumberjacks, finishing 10
th in his heat and 37th overall with a time of 13:38.27. He was just two seconds shy of cracking NAU's all-time top-ten list.
In his first race since the 2024 NCAA Indoor Championships, Bosley finished 18
th overall in his heat and 55th overall with a time of 13:43.62.
Prosser ran a personal best in just his second-ever collegiate indoor 5k, placing 17
th in his heat and 81st overall with a time of 13:51.10.
The bulk of the NAU track and field team will kick off its season on Jan. 10, 2025, in Flagstaff for the Friday Night Axe 'Em Open, one of five home meets the Lumberjacks will host this season, including the 2025 Big Sky Conference Indoor Championships.
