Four Lumberjacks Head to Eugene for NCAA Championships
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The Northern Arizona track and field team will send four athletes to compete at the NCAA Outdoor Championships at Historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., this week. It will be the last collegiate meet of the season for the Lumberjacks, and final track meets for seniors David McNeill and Javier Villarreal. The action takes place from the campus of Oregon from Wednesday through Saturday.
Among the Nation's Best
Heading into the NCAA Outdoor Championships, the NAU men's team ranks second (13.5) in the John McDonnell Program of the Year Award standings. The award honors the institution that has achieved the most success in each academic year (spanning the cross country, indoor track & field, and outdoor track & field seasons) based on the institution's finish at the NCAA Division I Championships. The Lumberjacks secured four points from the cross country championships after juniors David McNeill and Jordan Chipangama scored top-five finishes to lead the team to a fourth-place finish. During the indoor season, McNeill won his first career national title in the men's 5,000-meter run, and finished runner-up the following evening in the 3,000-meter run to score 18 points for the team and a tie for eighth place overall. The top-10 finish was the highest of any NAU track team at a national championship event.
Lights, Camera, Action!
CBS and CBS College Sports will be providing live coverage of the NCAA Outdoor Championships on both Friday evening and Saturday morning from Eugene. CBS College sports will air live events from 8-10 p.m. EDT (5-7 p.m. Arizona time) on Friday. McNeill's 5K championships race will be televised live on CBS at 2:21 p.m. EDT (11:21 a.m. Arizona time). Calling Saturday's action will be Larry Rawson, Carol Lewis, Dwight Stones and Dan O'Brien. Wednesday and Thursday's events will be streamed live on NCAA.com.
Leader of the Pack
For the second time this year, senior David McNeill holds the nation's fastest 5,000-meter run time heading into the national championships. McNeill achieved the school-record time at the Stanford Invitational when kept up a blistering pace to finish in 13:25.63. The sub-13:30 time allowed McNeill to compete for his home country of Australia in the Commonwealth Games qualifier in which he secured a third-place finish to represent his country at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India, this October.
Fifth Time is a Charm
Javier Villarreal, who will be competing Saturday at 9:40 a.m. PDT, concluded his storied Big Sky-career with his fifth shot put title at the Big Sky Outdoor Championships in Odgen, Utah on May 14. The five conference titles are the most by a Lumberjack thrower in the history of the program. He won the event with a season-best hurl of 60 feet, 2.75 inches, over four-and-a-half feet better then the second-place finisher. The Eloy, Ariz., native captured his fourth Big Sky shot put title at the indoor championships this past February.
He's Going the Distance
Looking to improve upon a ninth-place finish in the 10,000-meter run at the outdoor championships last year, sophomore Ahmed Osman has finished second-place, or higher, in all three 10Ks that he has participated in this season. At the Mt. SAC Relays, Osman finished second with a career-best time of 28:52.57. He went on to win his second straight Big Sky 10K title, after holding off teammate Ben Ashkettle. Osman made a move to take the lead on the final lap of the 10K at the NCAA West Prelims, but fell just short of the victory after Oklahoma State's John Kosgei passed the San Diego native with 20 meters left. The 10K championship race is set for Thursday evening at 7:25 p.m. PDT.
International Champion
To open up his outdoor season, junior Andres Rossini travelled to Medellín, Colombia to represent his home country of Argentina in the discus competition at the South American U-23 Championships. Rossini came up with a then career-best throw of 184 feet, 6.5 inches to capture the international title. He followed up the South American title with victory at the Big Sky Outdoor Championships, where he threw 185 feet, 6.5 inches. It was the first Big Sky discus title for NAU since Nick Pertucci accomplished the feat in 2000. Rossini looks to improve upon his eighth-place finish from the West Prelims when he takes to the ring Wednesday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. PDT.
Schedule of Events for NAU
Discus – Wednesday, 2:00 p.m. PDT
10,000-Meter Run – Thursday, 7:25 p.m. PDT
Shot Put – Saturday, 9:40 a.m. PDT
5,000-Meter Run – Saturday, 11:21 a.m. PDT
