FARMINGTON, Utah (March 24, 2025) – After a successful opening weekend of the outdoor track and field season, three Northern Arizona track and field athletes have been named the Big Sky Conference's Athletes of the Week.
Fresh off a second team All-America finish in the weight throw indoors and in his first outdoor meeting since the 2022-23 season,
Desmond Lott notched three new all-time top ten marks in his respective events at the Willie Williams Classic to earn the Big Sky Outdoor Men's Field Athlete of the Week award. All three of his marks in the shot put, discus and hammer throw lead the Big Sky Conference, with his hammer throw mark ranking 15
th in the nation and his discus toss ranking 29th.
In the shot put, he placed ninth with a personal best toss of 17.10-meters that now ranks 10
th all-time in program history. In the discus, he threw 55.56-meters to place third with a new personal best that ranks sixth all-time in program history. He rounded out the weekend with a third-place finish in the hammer throw where he threw a personal best of 64.72-meters, now ranking fifth all-time in program history.
LiNay Perry, who was named the Big Sky's Most Valuable Athlete and Most Outstanding Performer following the Big Sky Indoor Championships, earns the Big Sky Outdoor Women's Track Athlete of the Week honor. She won the 400-meters at the Willie Williams Classic with a personal best of 52.77 that ranks third all-time in NAU history and is the sixth fastest time in the country and leads the Big Sky. She also took to the track in the 400-meter hurdles where she placed seventh with a time of 1:01.74, the second fastest time currently in the conference. She rounded out her weekend by helping the women's 4x100-meter relay team place fourth with a time of 45.61, the 10
th fastest time in program history.
In his first-ever collegiate outdoor meet, freshman
Josiah Johnson takes home Big Sky Outdoor Men's Track Athlete of the Week for his performances on the track. He placed third in the 400-meter hurdles, clocking 51.70 to rank fourth all-time in program history. His time leads the conference and ranks 16
th nationally. In the 4x400-meter relay, he helped the 'Jacks run a Big Sky leading time of 3:15.55, placing sixth in the event. Johnson also placed 10
th in the 110-meter hurdles in 14.60, ranking fourth in the Big Sky.
The Lumberjacks have a break from competition this week and will split squads next week, as the distance runners will head to the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif., and the sprinters, jumpers and throwers will all compete at the UNLV Rebel ELITE in Las Vegas, Nev., from April 4-5.
