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FARMINGTON, Utah (August 16, 2021) – Just over a handful of months removed from claiming their fourth NCAA National Championship in the past five seasons, the Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona have been voted the preseason favorites in the Big Sky Conference ahead of the fall 2021 season for men’s cross country.
Voted on by the league’s head coaches, Northern Arizona received the most total points (120) and 10 of the 11 available first-place votes.
Throughout their history in the Big Sky, the squad from Flagstaff has claimed 29 conference titles. Since the year 2000, they’ve claimed 17 of the available Big Sky trophies for men’s cross country.
NAU’s Abdihamid Nur returns as the league’s defending individual champion after running a 23:55.6 back in February.
“We don’t want to get caught up in the rankings, but it’s an honor to be ranked first and to be going into the season as the top team,” Nur said. “We just want to focus on working hard, getting the job done in practice and show up to meets without thinking about any rankings to just racing as a team and focus on being the best team out there on that day.”
Despite claiming the National Championship, the Lumberjacks will not enter the fall campaign as the reigning Big Sky Conference champions, as Southern Utah claimed that title during the spring season. The Thunderbirds received the single first place vote that NAU did not.
The T-Birds finished ninth at the most recent NCAA National Championship, marking the best finish in the history of the program.
Since 2007, no other team aside from Northern Arizona or Southern Utah have claimed a Big Sky title with SUU taking titles in 2015 and Spring 2021, while NAU has claimed the rest.
Selected third by the league’s head coaches is Weber State, receiving 97 points. That is the slot the Wildcats finished in at the spring championships.
Montana State was picked fourth, following a team finish in that same position at the most recent championship. The Bobcats were led in that race by eventual All-American, Duncan Hamilton, who finished in second place.
The top four teams selected in the preseason poll make up the only four teams that have won a Big Sky men’s cross country title since 1986.
The Vikings of Portland State round out the preseason top-five in the Big Sky, following that same placement in the spring.
Idaho and Idaho State have been selected sixth and seventh respectively, followed by Montana, Sacramento State, Eastern Washington and Northern Colorado to round out the listing.
2021 Big Sky Men’s Cross Country Preseason Coaches’ Poll
| Place |
Team |
Total Points (First Place Votes) |
1 |
Northern Arizona |
120 (10) |
| 2 |
Southern Utah |
110 (1) |
| 3 |
Weber State |
97 |
| 4 |
Montana State |
91 |
| 5 |
Portland State |
65 |
| 6 |
Idaho |
64 |
| 7 |
Idaho State |
59 |
| 8 |
Montana |
46 |
| 9 |
Sacramento State |
29 |
| 10 |
Eastern Washington |
28 |
| 11 |
Northern Colorado |
17 |