SPOKANE, Wash. (February 23, 2024) – The NAU track & field teams saw a strong first day of competition at the Big Sky Indoor Track & Field Championships. Both teams sit in first place, with the men earning 74 points and the women earning 58 points.
The men started the day off strong in the weight throw, scoring 24 points as they swept the podium.
Garret Bernt was the Big Sky Champion in the event, throwing a meet record 22.09 meters.
Desmond Lott took silver after throwing 19.72 meters, while
Parker Bays finished third with a season best throw of 19.51 meters.
Mitchell Effing and
Ian Lipsey added 11 more points to the team total in the long jump. Effing took the event win with a mark of 7.71 meters to earn 10 points, while Lipsey finished eighth with a mark of 6.70 meters to earn one point.
The distance crew added 29 more points in the men's 5,000-meter, led by
Aaron Las Heras who ran a meet and facility record of 13:36.24.
Brodey Hasty finished second to earn eight points with a personal best time of 13:37.10.
Drew Bosley placed fourth to earn five points with a time of 13:53.09.
Aidan Puffer,
Zack Munson, and
John Scherer placed sixth, seventh, and eighth respectively. Puffer ran a time of 14:05.35 to earn three points, Munson ran a time of 14:05.43 to earn two points, and Scherer earned one point with a time of 14:05.79.
The men's distance medley relay closed out the first day of competition with another gold medal performance to add 10 points to the team total.
Caleb Easton,
Joshua Anderson,
Kang Nyoak, and
Colin Sahlman ran a time of 9:46.90 to easily take the title in the event.
Eight men qualified for the finals of their respective events.
Trenton Givens was the third-fastest in the men's 60-meter hurdles, running a time of 7.98 to qualify for the finals.
Khamis Hassan and
Mitchell Effing advanced to the finals of the 60-meter, while
Kyle Smith was the lone NAU athlete to qualify for the finals of the 200-meter.
Four Lumberjack men qualified for the finals of the 800-meter, with
Theo Quax,
Colin Sahlman,
Nico Young, and
Kang Nyoak all advancing to the finals.
Alaina Diggs earned the first points of the day for the women, taking the event win in the shot put with a season best mark of 16.02 meters to score 10 points.
Madeline Wilson earned six points in the long jump after placing third with a mark of 5.76 meters.
The women's distance squad earned 32 points in the 5K, with
Aliandrea Upshaw taking the individual title with a time of 16:32.65.
Annika Reiss and
Elise Stearns were close behind in second and third. Reiss ran a time of 16:32.67, while Stearns ran a time of 16:32.86.
Meagan Van Pelt placed fourth with a time of 16:42.15 while
Nikita Moore finished sixth with a time of 16:42.57.
The women's distance medley relay finished out the day with another event win to add 10 points to the team total.
Ava Mitchell,
Hannah Schmidt,
Bryn Morley, and
Maggi Congdon combined to run a time of 11:38.55 to earn the event win.
Madeline Wilson qualified for the finals of both the 60-meter and the 200-meter. Wilson's 200-meter time was a Big Sky Conference Championships record.
Kyairra Reigh and
LiNay Perry both qualified for the finals of the 200-meter and the 400-meter.
Maggi Congdon and
Karrie Baloga both qualified for the finals of the 800-meter.
Competition at the Big Sky Indoor Track & Field Conference Championships tomorrow with field events beginning at 11:30 a.m. MST and races beginning at 11:00 a.m. MST. The meet will be streamed on ESPN+, while 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.
