NAU Repeats as  #BigSkyXC Men's and Women's Champions

NAU Repeats as #BigSkyXC Men's and Women's Champions

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Women's Championship Highlights
Men's Championship Highlights

OGDEN, Utah
– For the second year in a row Northern Arizona swept the #BigSkyXC Men’s and Women’s Championships. The Lumberjacks also finished with the top finishers in each race with Paige Gilchrist running the 5k course in 17:12.1 while Tyler Day completed the 8k in 23:21.0.
 
Northern Arizona and first year head coach Mike Smith totaled 52 points on the women’s side taking three of the first six spots. Gilchrist finished 11 seconds faster than second place Jenica Dodge of Idaho State who crossed the line with a time of 17:23.0. Mikayla Malaspina placed third (17:32.1) and Miranda Myers finished in sixth place (17:42.6) to lead the charge and earn All-Conference for NAU. The Lumberjacks were rounded out with Emily Roughan (18th) and Pipi Eitel (23rd).
 
Montana State finished runner-up to NAU in the women’s race placing four runners in the top-25 with Kelsi Lasota and Caroline Hardin earning All-Conference. Lasota placed fourth running 17:32.7 while Hardin earned a tenth-place finish with a time of 17:51.1. Patricia Carlson earned Big Sky Freshman of the Year finishing in 17:54.5 for 12th place.
 
Idaho placed four runners in the top-20 with the Story sisters leading the way. Krista earned All-Conference honors with a seventh-place finish recording a time of 17:44.2 while Kara finished right on the outside of All-Conference finishing 11th. Andrea Condie (17th) and Maizy Brewer (20th) rounded out the top-four Vandals.
 
NAU paced the men’s race with the top-three finishers in Tyler Day (23:21.0), Matt Baxter (23:22.0) and Andy Trouard (23:58.7). The Lumberjacks had two additional runners place in the top-10 with Luis Grijalva finishing in eighth place with a time of 24:28.0 while Cory Glines capped off his final Big Sky Championship race crossing the line in 24:32.9 for tenth place. Grijalva was the top freshman of the meet and picked up the Freshman of the Year award.
 
Southern Utah earned a second-place as a team with four runners earning All-Conference. Mike Tate and Matthew Wright placed fourth and fifth with seven tenths of a second separating the two runners. Josh Collins (seventh place) and Kasey Knevelbaard (ninth place were the other two SUU runners to earn All-Conference.
 
Weber State was the only other team to have an All-Conference honoree in the men’s race as the team came in third place. Junior Jordan Cross completed the 8k in 24:23.2 to lead the Wildcats.

Full results of the #BigSkyXC Championships can be found here
 
NCAA Regionals will take place on Friday, Nov. 10 with the West Regional taking place in Seattle, Wash., while the Mountain Regional will be held in Logan, Utah. North Dakota will be in the running in the Midwest Regional in Ames, Iowa. The NCAA Championships will be ran in Louisville, Ky., the following Saturday on Nov. 18.

Women's All-Conference
Place Athlete Class School Time
1 Paige Gilchrist Sr Northern Arizona University 17:12.1
2 Jenica Dodge Sr Idaho State University 17:23.0
3 Mikayla Malaspina Jr Northern Arizona University 17:32.1
4 Kelsi Lasota Jr Montana State University 17:32.7
5 Maddy Kauffman So Southern Utah University 17:37.4
6 Miranda Myers Jr Northern Arizona University 17:42.6
7 Krista Story Jr University of Idaho 17:44.2
8 Candace Sharp Sr Weber State University 17:44.5
9 Emily Pittis Jr Montana 17:45.4
10 Caroline Hardin Jr Montana State University 17:51.1

Women's Team Results
Place Team Score
1 Northern Arizona University 51
2 Montana State University 83
3 University of Idaho 95
4 Southern Utah University 100
5 Weber State University 131
6 Montana 133
7 Idaho State University 142
8 Eastern Washington University 218
9 University of Northern Colorado 264
10 Sacramento State 265
11 Portland State University 290
12 University of North Dakota 295

Men's All-Conference
Place Athlete Class School Time
1 Tyler Day Jr Northern Arizona University 23:21.0
2 Matthew Baxter Jr Northern Arizona University 23:22.0
3 Andy Trouard Sr Northern Arizona University 23:58.7
4 Mike Tate Sr Southern Utah University 24:08.0
5 Matthew Wright Sr Southern Utah University 24:08.7
6 Jordan Cross Jr Weber State University 24:23.2
7 Josh Collins Jr Southern Utah University 24:26.6
8 Luis Grijalva Fr Northern Arizona University 24:28.0
9 Kasey Knevelbaard Jr Southern Utah University 24:31.4
10 Cory Glines Sr Northern Arizona University 24:32.9

Men's Team Results
Place Team Score
1 Northern Arizona University 24
2 Southern Utah University 36
3 Weber State University 82
4 University of Idaho 123
5 Montana State University 145
6 Idaho State University 159
7 University of Northern Colorado 238
8 Sacramento State 239
9 Eastern Washington University 251
10 Montana 252
11 Portland State University 298
12 University of North Dakota 315