Lumberjacks win Big Sky Conference title in Pocatello

FINAL RESULTS

Champions, times two.

The Northern Arizona cross country teams will bring some hardware back to Flagstaff as both programs defended their Big Sky Conference titles at the conference championships today in Pocatello, Idaho. The Lumberjacks also won the individual titles David Mullarkey Winning the men's championship and Ali Upshaw bring it home to the women.

For the second straight season, the Lumberjack women set a Big Sky championship record by finishing first with a perfect 15 points to secure their sixth straight championship. The NAU men won their fourth title in a row with 25 points.

It's the fourth straight year both programs have won, with the men picking up their 33rd victory^approx team title and their 16th^Th in the last 20 seasons. The women won their 26th^Th Team title and eighth in the last nine seasons.

“Today feels great. Consistent performance at these championships is a big hallmark of our program and I am very proud of our men and women today,” said Head Coach Michael Smithwho coached in his final Big Sky Cross Country Championships after announcing in August that he will retire in June 2025. “I give it to our athletes. When you're successful, it's easy to not be ambitious or not as committed and to think.” It will be easy for you, but that's not the case for our athletes. We recruit the very best and they come to NAU wanting to be part of great teams and that is a testament to our kids.

Mullarkey, a transfer from Florida State who has led NAU in all five races this season, took command of the men's race early and never looked back. He clocked a time of 23:06.6 on the men's 8km course, followed by his teammate Colin Sahlman who took second place in 23:14.2.

The Leeds, England native is the ninth consecutive singles champion for the Lumberjacks and the 33rd^approx Overall, NAU has won an individual title in 19 of the last 20 seasons.

Northern Arizona placed six runners in the top 10, all of whom earned All-Conference honors. According to Mullarkey and Sahlman Santiago Prosser finished fifth in 23:29.6. The Lumberjacks then finished eighth through tenth, led by them Ford Washburn (8^Th23:43.5), Manny Perez (9^Th23:48.4), Justin Keyes (10^Th23:50.2).

Zack Munson (23:56.4) and Kang Nyoak (24:13.3) placed 12th^Th and 13^Thto help NAU place all eight participants in the top 13.

Similar to the men, Upshaw was also successful and held the lead for almost the entire race. The senior, a New Mexico transfer in her second season at NAU, crossed the finish line in the women's 5K race in 16:10.4.

Upshaw is the fifth consecutive individual champion for NAU and the third different Lumberjack to capture the title in the last five years, marking Northern Arizona's 21st^st Single title.

Elise StearnsThe two-time defending Big Sky champion, who won in 2022 and 2023, finished second to Upshaw in 16:27.4 in her first race of the season.

NAU took the top six spots and placed all eight runners in the top ten. Anna Fenske finished third in 16:46.1 Ava Mitchell who finished fourth in 16:46.3. Alex Kebbe was the team's final scorer, placing fifth with a time of 16:53.2.

The top ten was rounded out by: Emma Stützmann who took sixth place with a time of 16:59.0, Keira Moore who came eighth with a time of 17:01.0 and Hayley Burns who finished ninth in 17:01.0.

“That’s pretty rare in cross country. When you get a perfect result like that in cross country, it's not common for us,” Smith said of his team's perfect result for the second year in a row. “It just means that our athletes hold themselves accountable in the race and obviously want to be pushed by their competitors, but will push themselves when they need to.”

Montana State placed second in both the men's (49 points) and women's (54 points) categories, followed by Weber State, Eastern Washington and Idaho State, which also placed third through fifth on both sides.

The 2024 cross-country skiing season is far from over. Northern Arizona will now turn its attention to the NCAA Mountain Regionals, which take place on November 15 in Reno, Nevada.