COLUMBIA, Mo. (Nov. 22, 2025) - Northern Arizona closed out its 2025 cross country season on the sport's biggest stage Saturday morning, delivering a pair of eighth-place team finishes at the NCAA Division I Championships at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course. NAU stood as one of only three programs in the nation to place both squads inside the top 10, reinforcing the Lumberjacks' status as one of collegiate distance running's most consistent forces.
The day opened with the Women's 6K Championship, where the Lumberjacks produced a composed, disciplined performance that far exceeded their pre-meet billing. Entering the race ranked No. 14, NAU surged six positions to finish eighth nationally, marking their seventh consecutive NCAA appearance.
Big Sky Champion Hayley Burns led the effort with a gritty run through a tightly packed field, placing 32nd to earn All-American honors. Close behind, Ava Mitchell finished 37th, and Agnes McTighe crossed 38th, giving NAU three All-Americans inside the top 40, one of the strongest front-end trios in the championship field. Their performance put the Lumberjacks ahead of Colorado, Arkansas, and Stanford, and behind only the podium squads of New Mexico and BYU among their regional rivals.
In the Men's 10K Championship, NAU found itself locked in one of the tightest battles of the meet, ultimately finishing eighth after a razor-thin tiebreaker with Virginia for seventh. Colin Sahlman, the reigning Big Sky individual champion, ran one of the standout races of the day, surging with the nation's top pack before finishing 16th in 28:51.6 to secure All-American honors and cap a breakout season.
The Lumberjacks, who entered ranked No. 9, improved by one spot while continuing a run that includes six NCAA titles since 2016. NAU battled through a stacked field featuring podium teams Oklahoma State, New Mexico, and Iowa State, while finishing ahead of major contenders such as Colorado, Eastern Kentucky, and BYU.
Head Coach Jared Cornfield, in his first NCAA Championship at the helm as Director of Cross Country, reflected on the day with pride: "At NAU, we've built a warm and powerful tradition of showing up at this meet and executing when. Today, both teams did exactly that. We went two-for-two on strong, composed races, and I'm absolutely thrilled with how they competed. I couldn't be more proud of this group."
Together, the Lumberjacks closed the season with two top-10 finishes, four All-Americans, and another performance that cements NAU's identity as a championship-caliber program year after year.
Complete results here.
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