Northern Arizona, Sacramento State Top #BigSkyTF Indoor Coaches Poll
FARMINGTON, Utah (January 6, 2020) – In the 2020 Big Sky Indoor Track and Field Coaches Poll last year’s champions, the Northern Arizona men and the Sacramento State women, were picked to finish at the top of the conference again.
On the men’s side, Northern Arizona is the heavy favorite after receiving nine first-place votes and totaled 119 points. The Lumberjacks return four Big Sky Conference Champions from last year’s team.
Headlining the returners for Northern Arizona is senior Geordie Beamish who was a 2019 NCAA Indoor Track & Field National Champion in the mile. He also won the same title at the Big Sky Indoor Championships.
The Lumberjacks will also be returning Luis Grijalva and Blaise Ferro who each won an individual title at last year's indoor championship. Grijalva was the 5,000-meter champion and Ferro was crowned the 3,000-meter champion.
Montana State was voted second in the coaches poll and received one first-place vote and totaled 96 points. The final first-place vote was given to Weber State who finished tied for fifth in the poll.
On the women’s side, Sacramento State was picked to repeat after receiving seven first-place votes and a total of 116 points. The Hornets return four athletes that were instrumental in their success last season.
Brittany Patterson returns for the Hornets as the reigning Big Sky Indoor Champion in the triple jump after winning that event at last year’s championship. Patterson is the only returning athlete for the Hornets that won her event last year.
Joining Patterson on this season’s team is Shilah Bedingfield, Amy Quinones, and Morgan Jones. Each athlete finished second in their respective events. Quinones was second in the mile while fellow track teammate Shilah Bedingfield placed second in the 200-meter dash. On the field side, Morgan Jones returns for her senior season in the weight throw after a second-place finish last season.
Northern Arizona placed second in the poll with four first-place votes and finished with 108 points.
The remaining projected finish of teams for the men’s and women’s indoor season is below.
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Men’s Indoor Track & Field
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|
1.
|
Northern Arizona (9)
|
119
|
|
2.
|
Montana State (1)
|
96
|
|
3.
|
Southern Utah
|
86
|
|
4.
|
Idaho
|
74
|
|
5.
|
Eastern Washington
|
72
|
|
5.
|
Weber State (1)
|
72
|
|
7.
|
Idaho State
|
69
|
|
8.
|
Montana
|
47
|
|
9.
|
Sacramento State
|
45
|
|
10.
|
Northern Colorado
|
32
|
|
11.
|
Portland State
|
14
|
|
Women’s Indoor Track & Field
|
|
1.
|
Sacramento State (7)
|
116
|
|
2.
|
Northern Arizona (4)
|
108
|
|
3.
|
Montana State
|
92
|
|
4.
|
Weber State
|
83
|
|
5.
|
Southern Utah
|
76
|
|
6.
|
Montana
|
64
|
|
7.
|
Idaho
|
51
|
|
8.
|
Idaho State
|
49
|
|
9.
|
Eastern Washington
|
46
|
|
10.
|
Northern Colorado
|
27
|
|
11.
|
Portland State
|
14
|