FARMINGTON, Utah (Jan. 20, 2025) – Three Northern Arizona track and field athletes put up some of the top marks in the nation over the weekend in their respective events at the Lumberjack Team Challenge and have earned Big Sky Conference Indoor Track & Field Athlete of the Week honors, the league office announced this afternoon.
The Lumberjacks swept the awards on the men's side, with
Garret Bernt claiming men's field honors and
Ford Washburn earning the track nod. For the women,
Alexandra Carlson earned the women's track honor.
Bernt earns the award for the first time this season and fourth time in his career after winning three times indoors last year. It's the first weekly award for both Washburn and Carlson.
Carlson set two new all-time top ten marks and ran the fastest mile time in the country on Friday in her first-ever indoor mile as a collegian. She won the mile with a personal best of 4:37.27, which ranks fifth all-time in NAU history. When adjusted to 4:27.20 for altitude, it's the fastest time in both the Big Sky Conference and in Division I this season.
She turned around and finished second the 800-meters and was the top collegian in the field, running the 10
th-fastest time in program history at 2:09.49. The time currently ranks 19
th in the country and second in the Big Sky.
Washburn also put on an impressive performance in the mile, winning with a personal best time of 4:04.08 which is a new personal record by nearly 15 seconds. When adjusted for altitude, Washburn's time of 3:55.22 is the seventh-fastest time in Division I and the top time in the conference.
For the second consecutive week, Bernt won the men's weight throw by tossing 21.94-meters. His mark of 22.62-meters that he threw last week at the Friday Night Axe 'Em Open currently ranks eighth in the nation and first in the Big Sky by over five feet. He is the current Big Sky and NAU record holder in the event with a mark of 23.09-meters, thrown at the 2024 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships where he finished third.
Northern Arizona has nearly two weeks off before its next event, hosting the Ron Mann Classic on Jan. 31 in the Skydome. A handful of athletes will also be off to Boston, Mass., for the John Thomas Terrier Classic on Jan. 31-Feb. 1.
