Track and Field Prepares for Last Home Meet
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – Friday
afternoon marks the last time the Northern Arizona track and field
time will compete on campus this season. The NAU Tune Up is
scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. MST inside the Walkup Skydome. This
will be the last regular season meet that the Lumberjacks take part
in before heading to Bozeman, Mont., for the Big Sky Indoor
Championships next Friday and Saturday.
Friday’s meet will be the last chance for members of the
squad to qualify for the conference championships. Each Big Sky
team can bring 22 members from each side to the meet, and the
Lumberjacks have filled out all but one spot on the men’s
team.
With this being the last chance to qualify for the conference
championships, Interim Director of Track and Field & Cross
Country Eric Heins expects great competition Friday afternoon.
“Historically this meet in numbers has been down, but in
terms of performance, it is that last chance for our athletes to
qualify for Big Skys,” Heins said. “We do get some good
marks out of this weekend, and there should be some good
competition with the in-state schools sending their athletes up. It
always raises our bar.”
Making the trek to Flagstaff one more time this season are
in-state rivals Arizona and Arizona State. Those two teams will
also be using this meet as a last chance to pick up anymore
Mountain Pacific Sports Federation qualifiers.
The Lumberjacks currently have 14 women and 17 men ranked in the
top 10 of their respective events in the Big Sky, with seven of the
combined 31 ranked No. 1.
NAU also has seven athletes that have recorded NCAA provisional
marks thus far this season.
