FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (April 1, 2026) — Northern Arizona Track & Field continues its outdoor season this weekend with a split-squad effort at the Stanford Invitational. (April 3) and Triton Invitational (April 3–4). The meets follow a historic outdoor opener at the Carvel Jackson Memorial Track & Field Showcase and present an early opportunity for the Lumberjacks to build national marks across event groups.
NAU's distance squad heads to Palo Alto, California, for the Stanford Invitational, one of the premier distance meets in the country, highlighted by elite collegiate and professional fields and fast qualifying sections.
Leading the group is Colin Sahlman, the NCAA indoor 800-meter collegiate record holder and a key piece of NAU's national championship distance medley relay. After winning the NCAA indoor 3,000-meter title, Sahlman is entered in the 5,000 meters as he continues his transition into the outdoor season in a highly competitive field.
On the women's side, Hayley Burns enters as one of the most accomplished runners in the field following a dominant indoor season. Burns leads a deep NAU group in the 5,000 meters alongside Payton Godsey, Ava Mitchell, Emma Stutzman and Nikita Moore.
Ali Upshaw is scheduled to compete in the 10,000 meters, making her 2026 debut after spending the fall 2025 season building strength at altitude in Flagstaff (7,000 feet). Competing in the 5,000 meters for NAU are Grace Copeland, Randy Espinoza, Kang Nyoak and Aidan Puffer, giving the Lumberjacks representation across multiple sections.
While the distance group competes at Stanford, NAU's sprint, hurdle, jump and throws squads will travel to San Diego for the Triton Invitational.
The group is headlined by Josiah Johnson, who opened the outdoor season with a 49.56 in the 400-meter hurdles, a school record that ranks No. 1 in the NCAA and among the top times in the world this season.
On the track, the Lumberjacks will be active across sprint events and relays. Erick Reyes-Aguilera, Nicolas Martinez, Luke Yruretagoyena, Elijah Clifford, Blaise Nelson and Adam Olayinka are entered across the 100 meters, 200 meters and 400 meters, with several doubling back in relay competition.
On the women's side, Kenzie Blanchard, Bella Brauc, Jordann Germain, Brooklyn Grizzell, Shanye Harris, Ariel Haygood, Janelle Sanchez and Sydnie Watkins will compete across sprint events and relays.
In the hurdles, Johnson will lead the men's group alongside Shon Martin and Reyes-Aguilera in the 110-meter hurdles, while also doubling in the 400-meter hurdles. On the women's side, Blanchard, Watkins, Grizzell and Sanchez will represent NAU in the 100-meter and 400-meter hurdles. Relay squads in the 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relays will feature a combination of the same sprint groups, with multiple athletes competing in both individual and relay events.
In the field events, Justin Cardoza leads the jumps group with entries in the long jump, triple jump and high jump, joined by Malachi Marshall, Jaymis Brown and Bjorn Molenaar. The throws group will feature Nikolas Strait, Grant Wade and Trig Riefkohl competing in the hammer throw, discus and shot put. On the women's side, Sariyah Horne-Kemp, Larissa Francois, Ronan Gallagher and Alexys Salas will compete across the hammer, discus and shot put.
The Triton Invitational begins Friday with field events and sprint races before continuing Saturday with a full slate of relays, hurdles and field events. The weekend marks NAU's first split-squad competition of the outdoor season as the Lumberjacks continue building toward conference and national qualifying marks.
Live results and meet information for both meets can be found here: Stanford Invitational and Triton Invitational.
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