Northern Arizona Tops Both the Men’s and Women’s Preseason Coaches’ Polls
FARMINGTON, Utah (January 8, 2021) – The Northern Arizona men and women topped the 2021 Indoor Track and Field Coaches poll. The men were the unanimous favorites to win the conference this season while the women received eight first-place votes to receive the top spot in the poll.
On the men’s side, NAU tallied 121 points and all 11 first-place votes as the Lumberjacks return last year’s Freshman of the Year and the champion in the 3000-meters and 5000-meters, Abdihamid Nur. NAU also returns Luis Grijalva for his final season and will look to repeat as the champion in the mile.
Montana State was picked to finish in second place this season after receiving 102 votes in the poll and Idaho is projected to have a top-three finish this season with 84 votes.
Weber State (82), Idaho State (76), Montana (62), Southern Utah (62), Eastern Washington (56), Sacramento State (41), Northern Colorado (25), and Portland State (15) round out the remainder of the men’s poll.
For the Lumberjack women, they received eight first-place votes and tallied 117 points in the poll. NAU is returning distance runner Mikayla Malaspina, who won the 3000-meters and 5000-meters at last year’s championship. Also returning for the Lumberjacks is sprinter Miracle Onyemaobi who had a strong showing last season by placing in the top four of every event she competed in.
Two first-place votes went to Sacramento State who was picked second and received 100 points in the poll. Weber State picked up the final first-place vote in the women’s coaches’ poll and is picked third with 91 points.
Idaho State (87), Montana State (71), Idaho (69), Southern Utah (66), Eastern Washington (45), Montana (42), Northern Colorado (26), and Portland State (12) round out the remainder of the women’s poll.
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Big Sky Indoor Track & Field Preseason Coaches’ Poll
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Men’s Results
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1
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Northern Arizona (11)
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121
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2
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Montana State
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102
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3
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Idaho
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84
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4
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Weber State
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82
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5
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Idaho State
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76
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6
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Montana
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62
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6
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Southern Utah
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62
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8
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Eastern Washington
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56
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9
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Sacramento State
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41
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10
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Northern Colorado
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25
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11
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Portland State
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15
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Women’s Results
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1
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Northern Arizona (8)
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117
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2
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Sacramento State (2)
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100
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3
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Weber State (1)
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91
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4
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Idaho State
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87
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5
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Montana State
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71
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6
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Idaho
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69
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7
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Southern Utah
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66
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8
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Eastern Washington
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45
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9
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Montana
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42
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10
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Northern Colorado
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26
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11
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Portland State
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12
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