Big Sky Championships Preview: Distance
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The Northern Arizona track and field team is set to compete at the Big Sky Outdoor Championships in Ogden, Utah on the campus of Weber State Wednesday through Saturday after a successful regular season. The men's team is seeking its fourth consecutive championship, with the women's squad looking for its first title since 2006.
This is how the NAU distance squad looks heading into the weekend...
800-Meter Run
The Lumberjacks feature three men in this mid-distance race, including sophomore Darius Terry who holds the top time on the team (1:51.29). He ranks sixth heading into the conference meet, and looks to score for the first time in the event in his career.
Senior Reese Byerrum and junior Kam Holbrook will join Terry in the race. Holbrook has scored each time he has run in the event, including a fifth-place finish at the 2007 outdoor championships. For Byerrum, this will be his first Big Sky Championship after he transferred in from Purdue. He is the former 800m Arizona high school state champion.
1,500-Meter Run
Heading into the 1,500m, NAU features three top-ten times in the event. Terry leads the Lumberjacks with personal-best mark of 3:49.25 that he recorded at the Double Dual.
Senior All-American David McNeill will be on the hunt for his third-consecutive Big Sky title in the event as he comes in ranked fourth in the conference (3:49.61). The Australia native has scored 28 points in both outdoor championships that he has competed heading into this year.
Holbrook (3:51.51) and sophomore Joe Withers (3:57.18) look to add more points for the men's team as well.
5,000-Meter Run
The men's 5K looks to be one of the most exciting events for the Lumberjacks as seven members of the men's squad will hit the track. Leading the pack once again will be McNeill, who comes into the event with the top time in the nation (13:25.63). He is also the conference and school record holder with the career-best time that he recorded at the Stanford Invitational earlier this season.
Sophomores Diego Estrada and Ahmed Osman rank right behind McNeill at second and third, respectively. Estrada recorded his time of 13:49.35 at the Mt. SAC Relays in his season debut, with Osman collecting a new personal-best mark of 13:58.20 at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational earlier this month.
Junior Ben Ashkettle, sophomore Andrew Belus (sixth), freshman Tim Freriks (seventh) and junior Eric Lynch (10th) all add to the depth the Lumberjacks feature in the race.
In the women's 5K, senior Nell Rojas, sophomores Kortnee Burton and Lisette Michaels and freshman Torin Shriver will all be vying for the top spot. Rojas looks to improve upon her fourth place finish from last year's championship race. Making her second-straight appearance is Burton who recorded her top time of the season (17:38.89) at the ASU Invitational.
It will be the first outdoor championships for both Michaels and Shriver who come into the event ranked ninth and 16th, respectively.
10,000-Meter Run
The 10K may be one of the deepest events for the Lumberjacks this season as Estrada, Osman and Ashkettle all rank in the top 15 of the region. Both Estrada (28:40.19) and Ashkettle (28:52.72) recorded personal-best times in the event earlier this month at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invite.
Both Osman (28:52.57) and Estrada have moved up in the Big Sky record books as well. Estrada ranks No. 6, and Osman is ninth on the Big Sky all-time 10K list.
Belus and Lynch will both appear in the 10K as well, with Belus holding a sub-30 minute mark at 29:58.31. The career-best time places the Chandler, Ariz., native at 45th in the region.
The women's 10K features Burton who ranks second in the conference heading into the event. The Brea, Calif., native won the second section of the 10K at the Mt. SAC Relays in a time of 35:18.67. She also sits at No. 34 in the West Region.
Both Shriver and freshman Lyndsey Rakestraw will also give it a go in the race as they qualified via their 5K times.
3,000-Meter Steeplechase
Before competing in the 5K, Rojas will take part in the steeplechase, looking to successful defend her crown from last year. In a successful four-year career at NAU, Rojas has placed fifth (2007), second (2008) and first (2009) in the event. She enters her final conference steeplechase ranked second with a season-best time of 10:30.56, which is good enough for 20th in the region.
The men's race will feature Withers and junior Will Porter. This will be the second-straight year Porter has taken part in the event. For Withers, this is the first trip to the conference championships for the Santa Rosa, Calif., native.
