Lumberjacks Collect 13 Big Sky Qualifiers

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The Northern Arizona track and field team kicked off the indoor season when it competed in the inaugural Lumberjack Preview Thursday afternoon in the Walkup Skydome. The Lumberjacks had 13 athletes collect qualifying marks for the Big Sky Indoor Track and Field Championships.

Thursday’s meet was the first for sprints, jumps and hurdles coach Wiley King, and it proved to be a successful debut. King had seven athletes record qualifying marks in the Skydome yesterday.

Of those eight athletes to qualify, three were sprinters for NAU. Matt Holtfrerich qualified for the 200m dash when he crossed the line in 22.25 yesterday. Both Rashida McKinnon (57.99) and Annie Skordas (58.00) qualified for the 400m dash after they finished first and second respectively.

Thremaine Johnson was the only male qualifier yesterday in the long jump, collecting a mark of 7.08m (23-2). Three Lumberjacks from the women’s squad qualified in the long jump. Amber Anderson had the longest mark of 6.09m (19-11) in the event and was followed by Amber Yingling who jumped 5.68m (18-7) and Amanda Duarte whose mark was at 5.55m (18-2). Anderson (12.2m, 40-0) and Yingling (11.79m, 38-8) also qualified for the season-end championships in the triple jump.

Assistant coach Mohamad Saatara’s throwers had an excellent first meet as well. The Lumberjacks had six athletes qualify in the weight throw, and three in the shot put. Curtis Durocher (18.41m, 60-5), Ian Nunya (17.02m, 55-1), Karl Gehrke (16.68m, 54-8), Javier Villarreal (16.52m, 54-2) and Jacob Nicol (16.20m, 53-1) all qualified for the Big Sky Championships yesterday. Villarreal (16.75m, 54-11) and Gehrke (15.45m, 50.8) also set qualifying marks in the shot put. Nicole Elliot was the lone female thrower to qualify in both the weight throw (16.01m, 52-6) and the shot put (13.12m, 43-0).

The Lumberjacks have over a month off until they begin a six-meet two-month stretch in January and February here in Flagstaff. The first of those meets is on Jan. 16 when they host the Lumberjack Invitational.