FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (March 26, 2026) – Following a dominant indoor season that saw Northern Arizona University sweep the Big Sky Conference team titles, the Lumberjacks shift their focus to the 2026 outdoor campaign. NAU will look to complete the Triple Crown by capturing conference titles in cross country, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field within the same academic year. Both the men's and women's teams have already secured cross country and indoor titles.
While much of the distance group prepares to open its outdoor season at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, California, on April 3–4, the rest of the roster will travel to Mesa, Arizona, this weekend for the inaugural Carvel Jackson Memorial Track & Field Showcase, hosted by Mesa Community College on Saturday.
The Lumberjacks enter the outdoor season with momentum, aiming to build on a historic indoor campaign. The men's sprint and hurdle group is led by Josiah Johnson, who tied the No. 5 mark in program history in the 200 meters (21.17) and placed third in the 60-meter hurdles (7.97) at the Big Sky Championships. Johnson also earned his first All-America honors as a member of NAU's national champion Distance Medley Relay.
Joining him in the hurdles are Shon Martin and Erick Reyes-Aguilera, who finished fourth and fifth, respectively, at the conference meet. In the long sprints, Big Sky 400-meter champion Luke Yruretagoyena (47.39) and Nicolas Martinez (47.81) will look to establish early regional marks while leading the 4x400-meter relay.
On the women's side, Sydnie Watkins enters the outdoor season as a key athlete to watch following a record-breaking indoor campaign. Watkins set the school record in the 60-meter hurdles (8.25) and moved to No. 7 all-time in the 200 meters (23.89). She will be a contender in both the 100-meter hurdles and 200 meters this weekend. Shanye Harris will also be a factor in the short sprints after finishing runner-up in the 60 meters (7.41) at the Big Sky Championships.
A select group of distance athletes will compete in Mesa, focusing on early-season race sharpness in the 800 and 1,500 meters. The meet provides an opportunity to refine tactics and build speed ahead of next weekend's Stanford Invitational, where NAU's distance squad will target regional qualifying marks in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters.
In the field events, Justin Cardoza leads the jumps group following a strong indoor season that included runner-up finishes in both the long jump (7.69m) and triple jump (15.41m). In the high jump, Christian Mutengela looks to build on his second-place finish at the conference championships (2.07m).
The outdoor season also marks the return of events not contested indoors, including the hammer throw, javelin and discus. With the graduation of Desmond Lott, a new group will look to establish itself in the throws, with an emphasis on gaining experience early in the season.
Competition begins Saturday at 9 a.m. MST with the women's hammer throw and men's javelin. Running events are scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. MST with the women's 100-meter hurdles, followed by the men's 110-meter hurdles at 4:40 p.m. The meet will conclude at 9:20 p.m. MST with the men's 4x400-meter relay.
Final results will be posted on directathletics.com and TFRRS.org.
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