David Mullarkey, Karrie Baloga, Named Big Sky Conference Athletes of the Week

FARMINGTON, Utah (April 7, 2025) - Two Northern Arizona track and field athletes have been named the men's and women's Big Sky Conference Track Athletes of the Week, the league office announced this afternoon.
 
Karrie Baloga and David Mullarkey put up impressive performances at the Stanford Invitational on Friday night to earn their first outdoor honors of the year.
 
Baloga broke the Big Sky Conference's and NAU's all-time record in the 5,000-meters with a time of with 15:24.38, finishing fourth overall at the prestigious invitational. It was just the sophomore's second-ever outdoor 5k, improving her time from 15:56.76 ran at last year's Stanford Invitational. She breaks Annika Reiss' previous record of 15:30.64 set in 2024, becoming the first Lumberjack in program history to break 15:30 in the 5,000-meters.
 
The New Windsor, N.Y., native now ranks fourth in the nation and leads the Big Sky in the 5,000-meters.
 
Not be overlooked, Baloga was one of two Lumberjacks to break conference records on Friday, as Elise Stearns broke the record in the 10,000-meters in her first-ever 10k and first outdoor race since 2022. She clocked 32:33.18 to rank 11^th in the country currently.
 
In his outdoor debut with the Lumberjacks, David Mullarkey placed third in the 10,000-meters with a personal best of 27:51.80 to rank third all-time in NAU history. His time leads the conference and ranks third nationally.
 
NAU has a week off before spending some time in California from April 16-19. The distance runners will compete at the Bryan Clay Invitational from April 16-18. The throwers will compete at two different meets in Long Beach on April 17-19, and the sprinters and jumpers will be in action at the Mt. SAC Relays from April 17-19.