FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (May 14, 2025) – The biggest meet of the year so far has arrived.
The Northern Arizona men's and women's outdoor track and field teams will head to Sacramento, Calif., for the 2025 Big Sky Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, hosted by Sacramento State.
The meet runs from May 14-17, beginning with the combined events, which Northern Arizona does not have anyone competing in. The bulk of the 'Jacks will compete on May 16-17. The meet will be streamed on ESPN+, with live results available
here. For a complete meet schedule and other details, click
here.
The NAU women are the defending champions, finishing first last year with 240.5 points ahead of Montana State who placed second with 134.5 points. They have won four-straight championships and eight out of the last 10 dating back to 2014.
On the men's side, the 'Jacks finished runners up by one point to hosts Montana State last year. Prior to that, they had won three-straight and have won nine out of the last 11 dating back to 2012.
If the Lumberjacks can earn two trophies, they will have completed the calendar sweep for the second time in the last three seasons – as both the men's and women's team won the Big Sky cross country and indoor track and field titles this season.
A full preview for each event group can be found below.
Men's Sprints and Hurdles:
Kyle Smith earned two All-Conference honors last year in the 100-meters and 200-meters, placing first and second, respectively. He will be back to defend his 100-meter title, as he enters the competition with the second fastest time in the Big Sky this year of 10.30. His season-best 200-meter time of 20.89 also ranks second.
Khamis Hassan placed fourth in the 100-meters at last year's outdoor championships and enters with the fifth fastest time this season (10.46). He will also compete in the 200-meters.
The hurdle crew will look to put big points up on the board for the 'Jacks, as they enter with the fourth, fifth, and sixth fastest times in the Big Sky this season.
Tyson Givens ranks fourth with a season best of 14.04, followed by
Shon Martin (14.09) and
Josiah Johnson (14.22).
Johnson has the fastest 400-meter hurdle time in the conference this year with a blazing time of 50.87. Joining him in the 400-meter hurdles is
Cannon Booker who placed fourth in the event last year. He has the third fastest time of 53.03. Givens earned All-Conference honors in the event at last year's championships with a third-place finish. He currently ranks fourth with a season best of 52.68. Rounding out the hurdle crew is
Nicolas Martinez who ranks fifth with a time of 53.07.
The 4x100-meter relay squad will take to the track to defend its outdoor title from a year ago.
Ian Lipsey,
Kyle Smith,
Lamar Smith and Hassan enter the event ranked first in the Big Sky with a school record time of 39.66.
The men's 4x400-meter relay team will be made up of
Luke Yruretagoyena, Johnson,
Colin Sahlman and Martinez. The quartet ranks fifth with a time of 3:13.25.
Yruretagoyena will also be NAU's lone competitor in the open 400-meters, currently ranked 12
th with a season-best of 48.07.
Women's Sprints and Hurdles:
At last year's championships,
Kyairra Reigh won the 400-meters and placed second in the 200-meters, and she will be back in both events this year. Reigh currently ranks third in the 200-meters with a season best of 23.76 and has the top time in the 400-meters of 52.83. Reigh placed second in the 400-meters indoors this year.
LiNay Perry will be back to defend her 400-meter hurdle title from a year ago, entering the event with a school record time of 57.53 which leads the Big Sky. Fellow school record holder in the 100-meter hurdles,
Sydnie Watkins, enters the event with the third fastest time in the conference of 13.72.
Perry won the Big Sky's Indoor Most Valuable Athlete award after winning the 200-meters and the 400-meters at the championships, while Watkins placed third in the 60-meter hurdles.
Shanye Harris will be making her outdoor conference debut and is entered in the 100-meters with the third fastest time in the Big Sky of 11.56.
Jordann Germain is ranked sixth, coming in with a time of 11.83. Both Germain and Harris are entered in the 200-meters, ranking seventh and ninth, respectively.
Both the 4x100-meter relay and the 4x400-meter relay squads placed first at last season's outdoor championships and the teams look relatively the same this season. Harris, Perry, Reigh and
Ariel Haygood will represent NAU in the 4x100-meter relay, while Perry,
Alaynah Reed, Reigh and
Maggi Congdon will take on the 4x400-meter relay.
Men's Distance:
Colin Sahlman won Big Sky titles in both the 800-meters and the 1,500-meters at last year's championships, and he will be back to defend both this week. He will be making his outdoor 800-meter debut this season and is currently ranked third in the 1,500-meters with a time of 3:39.41. At the indoor championships, Sahlman took home gold in both the 800-meters and the mile.
Joining him in both the 800-meters and the 1,500-meters is
Caleb Easton who placed eighth in the 1,500-meters last season. His current 1,500-meter season best is 3:42.37 which ranks seventh.
Ford Washburn will also double in the 800-meters and 1,500-meters, coming in fifth in the 800-meters with a time of 3:40.52.
Corey Gorgas enters with the sixth-fastest time in the 1,500-meters of 3:42.27.
Jeret Gillingham will be NAU's lone competitor in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, entering with the second-fastest time of 8:32.00, which also ranks second all-time in program history. He will also compete in the 5,000-meters.
The 5,000-meters will be stacked, as the 'Jacks currently own the top five fastest times in the Big Sky.
Drew Bosley, who will also compete in the 1,500-meters, enters with the fastest time of 13:17.06. Bosley hasn't competed at an outdoor championship since 2022 where he won the 5,000-meters and placed second in the 10,000-meters. At this year's indoor championships, Bosley won both the 3,000-meters and the 5,000-meters and placed second in the mile.
Rounding out the top 5,000-meter competitors are
David Mullarkey (2
nd, 13:29.55), Gorgas (3
rd, 13:35.47),
Santiago Prosser (4
th, 13:35.94) and
Justin Keyes (5
th, 13:37.90).
Mullarkey, Keyes, and Prosser will also double and race in the 10,000-meters, owning the top three spots in that event as well. Mullarkey enters with the fastest time of 27:51.80, followed by Keyes (2
nd, 28:22.14) and Prosser (3
rd, 28:22.14). At the indoor championships, Mullarkey placed second in the 3,000-meters and the 5,000-meters while placing third in the mile. He also won the 2024 individual cross country title.
Others that will compete in both the 5,000-meters and 10,000-meters include
Aidan Puffer and Manny Perez. Perez is ranked 4
th in the 10,000-meters (28:47.14) and 10
th in the 5,000-meters (13:52.62), while Puffer is ranked sixth in the 10,000-meters (29:12.52) and ninth in the 5,000-meters (13:48.14).
Women's Distance:
Maggi Congdon is the defending champion in the 800-meters and placed third in the 1,500-meters last season. She enters the 800-meters with a Big Sky Conference record mark of 2:00.27 and leads the way with a record time of 4:07.23 in the 1,500-meters. In 2023, she finished second in 800-meters and the 1,500-meters. Indoors this season, Congdon won the mile.
Joining Congdon in the top five of the 800-meter rankings is
Odessa Zentz and
Kiki Vaughn. Zentz ranks seconds with a time of 2:06.75 and placed seventh in the event outdoors last year. Vaughn was named the Big Sky Indoor Freshman of the Year after placing second in the event at the indoor championships. She ranks fourth with a personal best of 2:08.24.
NAU owns the top three times in the 1,500-meters. Behind Congdon,
Alexandra Carlson ranks second with a time of 4:14.73 and
Emma Stutzman is coming in with the third fastest time of 4:20.54. Carlson won the 800-meter title indoors this season.
Karrie Baloga is the defending 3,000-meter steeplechase champion, and she will toe the line on Friday with the top time in the Big Sky of 9:44.09. She is the current NAU, Big Sky, and U-20 record holder in the event. She will be joined by
Maisie Grice who has the third fastest time of 10:02.35. Baloga won the indoor 3,000-meter title this year and placed third in the mile.
Baloga is also the NAU outdoor record holder in the 5,000-meters with a time of 15:24.38 and she will compete in that event as well. She comes in with the second fastest time behind
Elise Stearns who clocked a Big Sky record of 15:08.07 at the NCAA DI Indoor National Championships. Stearns won the 1,500-meters at the 2022 outdoor championships and placed third in the 5,000-meters. At the indoor championships this year, she placed second in the mile and third in the 800-meters.
In fact, the Lumberjacks hold seven of the top eight times in that event heading into the championships.
Ava Mitchell, who placed sixth in the event at last year's outdoor championships, is ranked third with a time of 15:31.41. Mitchell is the indoor 5,000-meter champion as well. Behind her are
Hayley Burns (4
th, 15:39.97),
Agnes McTighe (5
th, 15:44.82), Stutzman (15:48.92), Grice (16:01.79) and
Keira Moore (16:02.50).
Moore scored points in both the 800-meters and the 1,500-meters at last year's championships but will try her hand at longer-distance events this year as she is also entered in the 10,000-meters.
Joining Moore in the 10,000-meters is
Alexis Kebbe who has the top time of 33:55.75 and will also race in the 5,000-meters. Burns and Mitchell will both double in the 5,000-meters and 10,000-meters as well. Burns placed third indoors in the 3,000-meters this season.
Men's Throws:
Desmond Lott will compete in all three throws events at the championships. He is the conference leader in the hammer throw (65.27m), ranks second in the discus (56.65m), and is third in the shot put (17.68m). Lott won both the shot put and the weight throw indoors this season.
Joining Lott in the discus throw is
Amar Elmore (6
th, 53.60m) and
Nikolas Strait (9
th, 49.92m). Strait will also compete in the hammer throw and enters with the seventh-best mark of 56.33-meters.
Trevor Hook will be NAU's lone competitor in the javelin, coming in with the second-best toss in the conference this season of 68.17m.
Women's Throws:
Sariyah Horne-Kemp is the conference leader in the hammer throw, coming in with a mark of 60.10-meters.
Jamie Jacobs (4
th, 53.96m) and
Ronan Gallagher (8
th, 52.07m) also rank in the top ten and will look to give NAU crucial points in the event.
Larissa Francois will be the lone competitor in the shot put for the 'Jacks and will also compete in the hammer throw.
In the discus, Horne-Kemp is ranked third with a mark of 48.18-meters. She placed second indoors in the weight throw back in February.
Emilia Betlej placed eighth at last year's championships in the javelin throw. She is ranked eighth this year as well, coming in with a mark of 40.12m.
Men's Jumps:
Northern Arizona will be represented by
Ian Lipsey (3
rd, 7.33m),
Malachi Marshall (4
th, 7.29m) and
Shon Martin (11
th, 6.94m) in the long jump. Lipsey earned a second place finish indoors in the long jump.
Marshall and Martin will also compete in the triple jump along with
Sirr Butler. Butler placed sixth in the event last year and comes in ranked fifth this year with a mark of 14.49m. At the indoor championships, Butler earned All-Conference honors in the triple jump with a third-place finish.
In the high jump,
Carter Anderson comes in ranked seventh with a personal best of 2.01-meters.
Women's Jumps:
Brenna Rodriguez is entered in both the long jump and the triple jump. At last year's championships, she earned NAU points with a seventh-place finish in the triple jump.
Alexa Hamilton will compete in the triple jump and is currently ranked eighth with a mark of 11.83-meters.
Up Next:
The top 48 in each event group on the men's and women's side in the Division I West Region will advance to the NCAA West Regional where they will look to punch their tickets to the NCAA National Championships. The West regional is held in College Station, Texas, from May 28-31.
