Northern Arizona, Sacramento State Top #BigSkyTF Outdoor Preseason Coaches’ Poll
OGDEN, Utah – As the 2019 outdoor season gets underway, Northern Arizona and Sacramento State were picked as the favorites to win the conference this season.
In a vote of the league’s coaches the Northern Arizona men were the unanimous choice to win the 2019 Big Sky Outdoor Track and Field Championship. However, on the women’s side, it was Sacramento State and Northern Arizona that received an equal number of points in the preseason poll. NAU received six place votes in the poll while Sacramento State received four.
On the men’s side, NAU returns a stable of distance runners that helped elevate the Lumberjacks to the Big Sky Championship a season ago. Senior Tyler Day, last season’s champion in the 5,000-meter, returns to help the Lumberjacks defend their title.
For the women, Sacramento State looks to dethrone the champions from last season in Northern Arizona who is trying to make it four straight years at the top of the conference. Under the direction of new head coach Kenny McDaniel, the Hornets are in search of their ninth outdoor championships. The Sacramento State women return sophomore Shilah Bedingfield and senior Emilia Del Hoyo who had outstanding indoor seasons this year.
Both Sacramento State and Northern Arizona women teams received 113 points in the poll.
The rest of the coaches’ poll is as follows.
Men
Northern Arizona (11) 121
Southern Utah 106
Montana State 99
Eastern Washington 87
Weber State 67
Idaho 65
Idaho State 54
Northern Colorado 42
Montana 41
Sacramento State 29
Portland State 15
Women
Northern Arizona (6) 113
Sacramento State (4) 113
Montana State 94
Montana (1) 79
Weber State 79
Southern Utah 76
Idaho State 46
Eastern Washington 44
Idaho 38
Northern Colorado 32
Portland State 12
First place votes in parenthesis