FARMINGTON, Utah (Nov. 12, 2025) – Big Sky Conference men’s and women’s cross country teams will toe the line on Friday with hopes of moving on, as NCAA Cross Country Regional competition will take place in both Sacramento and Salt Lake City.
Meet Information
West Regional – Sacramento, California (Hosted by Sacramento State)
Friday, November 14
Women’s Race: 9:00 a.m. PT
Men’s Race: 10:00 a.m. PT
Mountain Regional – Salt Lake City, Utah (Hosted by the University of Utah)
Friday, November 14
Women’s Race: 10:30 a.m. MT
Men’s Race: 11:30 a.m. MT
Updated National Rankings
In the latest rankings provided by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, the Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona found both of their programs amongst the top-25.
On the men’s side, the Lumberjacks will enter NCAA Regional competition ranked No. 8 in the country after claiming a fifth-consecutive Big Sky Conference title.
The NAU women’s squad will enter the meet in Salt Lake City as the No. 21 team in the country after securing its seventh-consecutive league championship.
Updated Regional Rankings
Northern Arizona’s men sit at No. 3 in the NCAA Mountain Region, behind just New Mexico and Colorado.
Weber State is the next highest Big Sky squad, ranked No. 9, followed closely by Montana State at No. 10. Idaho State sits a No. 13 while Montana, who was unranked in the poll before, is no slotted at No. 14.
On the women’s side, Northern Arizona’s women are No. 5 in the NCAA Mountain Region, sitting behind BYU, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. They are joined in the rankings by No. 10 Weber State, No. 11 Montana State, No. 14 Idaho State and No. 15 Northern Colorado.
Big Sky Championship Recap
For the fifth-consecutive season, the Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona University completed a sweep of the Big Sky Conference Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships in Bozeman, Montana.
The Women’s Championship 5K was the first race of the day, where NAU’s Hayley Burns claimed the individual title with a time of 16:05.70. Burns did that in a homecoming of sorts, as she is from Bozeman.
Northern Arizona claimed the top four spots in the race, with Ava Mitchell, Keira Moore and Kiki Vaughn all finishing behind Burns. Vaughn was named Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year following the meet.
A year removed from qualifying for the NCAA National Championships as an individual, Northern Colorado’s Regina Mpigachai finished in fifth place in Bozeman.
Ultimately, the Lumberjacks scored just 16 points en route to their seventh-consecutive Big Sky Conference Women’s Cross Country title.
Weber State finished in second place with a team score of 80, followed by Montana State in third place with a final tally of 83.
On the men’s side, the Lumberjacks were paced by Colin Sahlman, who finished the 8K course in a time of 23:41.30.
Weber State’s Peter Visser finished as the individual runner-up, finishing just four seconds behind Sahlman.
Northern Arizona placed four runners in the top five and cruised to a team victory with 20 points.
Weber State finished as the runner-up with 58 points as a unit, while Montana State placed third with 76 points of their own.
Coach of the Year
After navigating Northern Arizona to its fifth-consecutive sweep of the Big Sky Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships, Lumberjack Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Jarred Cornfield was named the league’s Coach of the Year for both disciplines.
Assuming the role in June of 2025, this marks Cornfield’s first Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Coach of the Year titles from the Big Sky Conference. Cornfield previously served as Associate Head Coach since February 2024. His journey at NAU began in 2015, and over nearly a decade, he has risen through the coaching ranks to become the program’s director.
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