ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (November 13, 2026) – Northern Arizona cross country delivered a strong performance at the NCAA Mountain Region Championships today, with the women's team securing an automatic qualifying spot to the NCAA Cross Country Championships after finishing second overall. The men's team placed fourth, putting themselves in contention for an at-large selection to next week's national championships.

The women's second-place finish guarantees the Lumberjacks a spot at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, which will take place next Saturday, Nov. 21, in Terre Haute, Indiana. The men's team will await the NCAA selection announcement on Saturday to determine whether they earn an at-large bid based on their season results.

Ava Mitchell led the women's team with a ninth place finish, closely followed by Elsa Sundqvist in 10th and Hayley Burns in 11th, giving the Lumberjacks three runners inside the top 11. Emma Stutzman finished 16th, while Addy Ritzenhein rounded out NAU's top five scorers in 21st. All five scoring runners earned All-Region honors.

The Lumberjacks finished with 67 points, placing second behind No. 7 New Mexico, which claimed the regional title. NAU finished ahead of No. 1 BYU, which placed third with 81 points.

"This group of women is super special and I think a huge attribute to that is the group as a whole, so not just the 7 people in the race. We really focus on each other all the time and mainly outside of practice. And we truly love each other like family," said Ava Mitchell.

On the men's side, Northern Arizona competed in its first 10 kilometer race of the season after racing 8 kilometers throughout the regular season. Erik Le Roux led the Lumberjacks with a 16th place finish, closely followed by Ethan Godsey in 17th. Rheinhardt Harrison finished 19th, giving NAU three runners inside the top 20, all earning All Region honors.

Ford Washburn placed 26th, while Derebe Ayele finished 28th to complete the Lumberjacks top five scorers. Northern Arizona finished fourth overall with 101 points against a competitive regional field.

The men's race featured three nationally ranked programs, including No. 1 Colorado, No. 2 New Mexico and No. 6 BYU. New Mexico claimed the regional title with 35 points, followed by Colorado with 42 and BYU with 65.

"This team has overcome some adversity early in the season. However, our main message has been to gain forward momentum one day at a time. That momentum has started to show in workouts, conference action, and now regionals where we run together and move forward together. We are focused on spending time with each other so when we get on that nationals starting line we run for each other and for NAU," said Erik Le Roux.

With the regional championships complete, the Lumberjacks now turn their attention to the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Indiana, on Saturday, November 21. The women have secured their place in the national field, while the men await the NCAA selection announcement on Saturday.

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