FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (May 22, 2024) – The NAU track & field team saw a strong start to their NCAA West Regional competition, with two athletes qualifying for the national meet.
Aaron Las Heras and
Cael Grotenhuis qualified for the NCAA National Championships in the 10,000-meter after placing seventh and eighth in the semifinals. Las Heras ran a time of 28:38.05 to place seventh, while Grotenhuis ran a personal best time of 28:42.97 to finish eighth.
This is the fourth time in school history that NAU has had two men's athletes make the national meet in the 10,000-meter. This previously occurred in 1998, 2015, and 2018.
Colin Sahlman qualified for the quarterfinals of the 1,500-meter after running a first-round time of 3:41.21 to win his heat. Sahlman will compete in the quarterfinals of the 1,500-meter on Friday, May 24 at 3:15 p.m. MST.
Garret Bernt finished 17
th overall in the hammer throw with a personal best mark of 65.13 meters. His mark is fourth on NAU's all-time performance list in the event.
Mitchell Effing finished 26
th overall in the long jump with a mark of 7.47 meters.
Parker Bays finished 30
th overall in the shot put with a mark of 17.53 meters.
Kyle Smith finished 43
rd overall in the 200-meter after running a time of 21.81.
Competition at the NCAA West Regional will continue tomorrow and will follow a revised schedule due to weather conditions. An updated schedule can be found on NAU's schedule page. Live results for the meet can be found
here, while a stream can be found on ESPN+. Stay up to date with NAU Cross Country and Track & Field by following us on Twitter and Instagram.
