VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Highlighted by a conference record by
Elise Stearns in the 5,000-meters, the Northern Arizona men's and women's indoor track and field team had plenty to celebrate after day one of the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships in Virginia Beach, Va.
Stearns made history in the 5,000-meters, running 15:08.07 to place fourth for first team All-American status. The time ranks inside the top ten all-time in NCAA history and sets a new Big Sky Conference and Northern Arizona record – which was previously owned by Stearns with a time of 15:21.43 that she set earlier this indoor season.
It marks her second NCAA Division I Indoor Championship appearance, as she placed 11
th last year, earning a spot on the second team with a time of 16:34.04. In the same race,
Ali Upshaw earned second team All-America honors after finishing 14
th with a time of 15:55.49 in her first national championship appearance indoors.
Maggi Congdon placed fourth in her heat and fourth overall to auto qualify for tomorrow's mile final, clocking 4:34.88. It's the second-straight season Congdon has advanced to the final, as she placed 10
th overall last season with a time of 4:34.06.
Alex Carlson ran a strong race and barely missed qualifying for finals in the mile, placing 11
th with a time of 4:36.47 – just behind the last qualifier who ran 4:36.41, earning second team All-American final.
Carlson also teamed up with
Karrie Baloga,
Kyairra Reigh, and
Agnes McTighe to earn second team All-America in the distance medley relay, marking the first time NAU and the Big Sky has had a DMR team race at the national meet since 2006. The quartet placed 11
th with a time of 11:06.71 which ranks second all-time in program and Big Sky Conference history.
On the men's side,
Colin Sahlman used a strong kick to place fourth right at the line in the men's mile, clocking 4:01.88 to edge his Arkansas competitor in 4:01.92. He placed 12
th overall in the event and advances to the mile final for the second-straight season – finishing sixth overall in 2024 with a time of 4:02.57.
In the weight throw,
Desmond Lott earned second team All-American honors with a toss of 21.82-meters, placing 11
th overall.
Drew Bosley also earned second team All-America, finishing ninth in the 5,000-meters with a time of 13:21.28 in his third 5,000-meter championship race of his career.
The action continues tomorrow, March 15, from Virginia Beach, Va. Congdon will get the action started in the mile finals at 12 p.m. Mountain Standard time, followed by Stearns in the 3,000-meters at 1 p.m. MST. On the men's side, Sahlman will toe the line in the mile at 3 p.m. MST and Bosley will conclude the action in the 3,000-meters at 4 p.m. MST.
The meet is being streamed on ESPN+ with live results on ncaa.com.
