For the 11th time in school history, the Northern Arizona men\u2019s and women\u2019s track & field teams swept the Big Sky Indoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The men captured their ninth consecutive Big Sky indoor team title and 23rd overall. No other school has more than six men\u2019s indoor championships. The women are back atop the conference for the third time in four years and the 14th time overall in program history.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really proud of the way both teams fought for these championships,\u201d said Mike Smith<\/b>, director of Track & Field and Cross Country. \u201cThey were full team efforts. We stress that how we compete is just as important as the outcome. The way we went about that on both sides was fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sweep of both team titles is the third in the last four years as well. Coincidentally, the last three times the Big Sky Indoor Track & Field Championships have been hosted in Pocatello, NAU has claimed both team championships (2014, 2017, 2020).<\/p>\n
The Lumberjack men ran away with the championship, scoring 141.5 points. Host Idaho State was a distant second with 89.5 points.<\/p>\n
The NAU women hoisted the trophy after outlasting Sacramento State, last season\u2019s women\u2019s indoor champions and the preseason favorite to repeat. The Lumberjacks recorded 103 team points, just edging out the Hornets\u2019 total of 100.5.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe women\u2019s team came down to two points and that was a matter of tenacious, unrelenting focus and belief,\u201d Smith said. \u201cHalfway through Friday night and even halfway through Saturday, we thought it was a long shot, but it shows how special track & field is because things can change in just a few events. We capitalized at the end of the meet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Senior Mikayla Malaspina<\/b> and freshman Abdihamid Nur<\/b> also collected individual honors. Malaspina, who narrowly missed becoming the fifth Big Sky woman to be a triple indoor champion in a single year, was named the Big Sky\u2019s Most Valuable Women\u2019s Athlete. Nur, who swept the 3000-meter and 5000-meter races, earned Big Sky Men\u2019s Freshman of the Year.<\/p>\n
Malaspina and Nur were at the forefront of a dominant performance by both squads\u2019 distance runners. On Saturday alone, NAU placed five of the top eight in the men\u2019s and women\u2019s miles, five of the top eight in the men\u2019s 3000-meter and four of the top eight in the women\u2019s 3000-meter. NAU\u2019s distance team took home three total event wins on Saturday.<\/p>\n
In the men\u2019s 3K, Nur recorded his second gold-medal performance of the weekend with a time of 8:17.30. He became the eighth Lumberjack male to be a double indoor champion in the last eight years. He also joins senior Tyler Day<\/b> as well as former Lumberjack greats Futsum Zienasellassie<\/b> and Matt McElroy<\/b> to win both the indoor 3K and 5K in the same year since 2013.<\/p>\n
Throughout the final day of competition, there was never any serious doubt in who would win the men\u2019s title. However, the women\u2019s championship came down to the last event between NAU and Sacramento State. Even though Sacramento State won the women\u2019s 4×400-meter relay it was not enough to overtake NAU for the win. The NAU women\u2019s team of Madeline Wilson<\/strong>, Miracle Onyemaobi<\/strong>, Chloe Barylski<\/strong> and Melanie Loff<\/strong> took fourth in the 4×400-meter relay event. It was just enough to seal the deal and become indoor champs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n NAU’s top finishers:<\/p>\n Men\u2019s high jump: Men\u2019s triple jump: Men\u2019s shot put:\u00a0<\/span> Men\u2019s mile:\u00a0<\/span> Men’s 60m hurdles: Men\u2019s 60m dash: Men\u2019s 800m: Men\u2019s 3000m:\u00a0<\/span> Women\u2019s 60m dash: Women\u2019s mile:\u00a0<\/span> Women\u2019s 200m dash:\u00a0<\/span> Women\u2019s 400m: Women\u2019s 800m: Women\u2019s 3000m:\u00a0<\/span>
\n6. Jack Normand 1.94m\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\n5. Cameron Rayford 14.52m<\/p>\n
\n3. Parker Joens 18.31m
\n6. Jake Arnold 17.27<\/p>\n
\n1. Luis Grijalva 4:09.79
\n2. Theo Quax 4:12.11
\n3. Geordie Beamish 4:12.33
\n6. Cade Burks 4:14.16
\n8. Ryan Raff 4:16.7<\/p>\n
\n6. Carter Bracken 8.09<\/p>\n
\n7. Joseph Hylton 6.89<\/p>\n
\n3. Geordie Beamish 1:54.24<\/p>\n
\n1. Abdihamid Nur 8:17.30
\n2. Blaise Ferro 8:18.70
\n3. Tyler Day 8:19.15
\n4. Luis Grijalva 8:22.40
\n7. Ryan Raff 8:24.26\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\n2. Jada Jackson 7.59<\/p>\n
\n2. Mikayla Malaspina 4:54.78
\n5. Pipi Eitel 5:00.41
\n6. Bryn Morley 5:00.85
\n8. Annika Reiss 5:04.70<\/p>\n
\n4. Miracle Onyemoabi 24.40
\n5. Jada Jackson 24.72<\/p>\n
\n3. Miracle Onyemaobi 55. 30<\/p>\n
\n2. Melanie Loff 2:09.63
\n7. Bryn Morley 2:15.83<\/p>\n
\n1. Mikayla Malaspina 9:47.05
\n6. Jesselyn Bries 9:59.69
\n7. Delaney Rasmussen 10:00.37
\n8. Pipi Eitel 10:00.96<\/p>\n