Mike Tate showed the rest of the Big Sky Conference that Futsum Zienasellassie was in fact mortal on Friday night. On Saturday, Zienasellassie did not forget.
Zienasellassie, a Northern Arizona senior who is one of the Big Sky’s most decorated distance runners, took the baton trailing Tate in the distance medley relay on Friday night. Tate kept a constant eye looking over his shoulder and laid it all on the line, sprinting the final lap of the finishing mile leg as Southern Utah outlasted Northern Arizona. NAU entered the Big Sky Indoor Track & Field Championships in Bozeman as the heavy favorite in the DMR. Zienasellassie elected to forgo the 5,000 meters to run the final leg of the DMR only to see Southern Utah steal the gold medal.
NAU distance runner Futsum Zienasellassie and SUU distance runner Mike Tate
On Saturday, Zienasellassie earned redemption. In the mile, he hung on Tate’s hip for quite some time before out-kicking him to earn the championship. In the 3,000 meters, Zienasellassie toyed with the pack before turning on the jets for his second gold medal of the day. His 20 points earned him the Big Sky Most Valuable Athlete award for the second straight indoor season.
“I talked to myself and told myself I wanted to come in today and get these wins,” Zienasellassie said. “This is a 200-meter track so you think you have a lot of time by the end but it’s so short, it was really tough and (Tate) ran a lot smarter than I did in the DMR. In the mile, I didn’t run faster. My strategy was just better than his.
“We were frustrated about cross country. After all of that, to come here and put up 80 points just the distance, we are trying to make a statement that we are back.”
Zienasellassie started toward the back of the pack in the 15-lap 3,000 meters. He hung back for a good portion of the race before moving to the middle, then to the front, then back to right off Southern Utah’s Hayden Hawks’ hip. And once again, Zienasellassie was able to use tremendous strength to kick his way to gold.
“They had me at No. 13 so they had to put me in the back so I had a really slow start,” Zienasellassie said. “We were very comfortable with the team title so coach just told me to go out there and have fun. I just hung back, felt the pace and when the time was right, I decided maybe I should just give everyone a hard time. Then I took over with two laps to go.”
Zienasellassie ‘s performance was also part of an NAU distance corps that scored more than 80 points, a total that would have won the team title in itself. NAU also earned championships in the shot put, the 200 meters and the 4×400 to earn a sixth Big Sky indoor championship in seven years in a landslide. The Lumberjacks piled up 151 points, more than twice Southern Utah’s 72. Idaho State was third with 69, Sacramento State fourth with 67 and host Montana State fifth with 58 points.
Men’s 3,000m
“Our distance team is on another level right now,” NAU head coach Eric Heins said. “We are really excited about everything we have in that distance group. They are running for each other. Nobody cares if they get the win or somebody else gets the win.”
Tate paced the Thunderbirds by having a hand in scoring 18 points. George Espino ran a strong 800 to get SUU the DMR lead and then won the individual championship in the event on Saturday. Jayson Kovar finished second in the shot put, Justin Lewis was second in the 200 and Hawks finished second in the 3,000 as the Thunderbirds earned second place as a team.
“Futsum, you can’t say enough about him, second at cross country nationals, a 3:56 mile, I mean he’s got range, he has strength and he has speed,” Tate said. “I went to the lead before I wanted to. I was forced out wide so Futsum could get in on the inside. Along the back stretch, I tried to push it hard and Futsum flew by me totally. Coming off the bend, I tried to kick it in as hard as I could but the straight wasn’t long enough.
Zienasellassie, the Gatorade National Boys’ Cross Country Runner of the Year at North Central High in Indianapolis, is a three-time podium finisher in cross country and a two-time Big Sky champion. He earned MVP of the indoor championships last winter by winning the 3,000, the 5,000 and earned second in the mile. He added two more gold medals to his resume on Saturday.
“He’s a special athlete,” Heins said. “Over the last 12 or 15 months, he’s been really determined to become a better runner and a really big part of this team. He is really someone we can count on every year.
“He was extremely motivated coming into today. He knew he didn’t run the smartest race when he got the baton last night. He was determined not to run that same style of race.”
ISU jumper Deante Gaines
Northern Arizona avalanched the competition thanks to the distance consistency and a few other individual champions. James Fisher ran 21.65 seconds in the 200 to just get past Lewis (21.78) and Montana’s Dominique Bobo (21.98). Fisher teamed with Chris Oestmann, Michael Lyles and DeShon Norris to run 3;17.23 in the 4×400 to earn 10 more points.
NAU senior Shawn Collins saved his best for last, popping a throw of 55 feet, nine inches on the final throw of his indoor career to claim the shot put.
“This is my senior year and I had to go out with a bang,” Collins said. “Last throw, I was a little nervous but I went in and thought, ‘get this or die.’ As soon as it left my hand, I knew it was the winner.
“I’m so happy to score 10 points for my team, contribute to the team title.”
Idaho State’s Deante Gaines entered the meet as the favorite in the long jump and the triple jump. Competing with a torn abductor in his right leg, Gaines scratched all three of his qualifying jumps and did not advance to the finals on Friday. On Saturday, he scratched his first jump by a hair, negating a lofty leap that would’ve broken his school record of 51 feet, three inches. On his next jump, he surpassed 50 feet again, soaring 50-06, a mark that would stand up for gold.
“I was upset but I tried to not think about it too much,” Gaines said. “But it did play a big factor. I wouldn’t have been as aggressive with my jumps. And it did gave me a little boost on my legs because I didn’t have to jump six jumps.
“Back to back feels good. I’m glad I bounced back so well this weekend.
SUU thrower Jayson Kovar
Weber State’s Jonathan McUne barely won the 60-meter hurdles, leaning his way across the finish line in 8.10 seconds to beat UND’s Jimmy Evers, who ran 8.11 and NAU’s JaShawn Combs, who ran 8.17. Idaho’s Ben Ayesu-Attah entered the meet as the favorite in the 400 and left the champion, running 48.33 to outlast Northern Colorado’s Alex Wesley by 0.06 seconds. EWU’s Jeremy VanAssche powered through the 60 meters with explosive thrust, running 6.77 seconds to win by 0.13 seconds.
Montana State sophomore Kyle Douglass entered the meet as the favorite in the shot put. He threw nearly four feet less than his season best, notching a best of 53-08.75 to finish sixth. MSU sophomore Mitch Hornig qualified for the finals in the 60 and the 200, running 6.92 for fourth in the former and 22.24 for seventh in the latter. MSU freshmen Jadin Casey and Samuel Bloom earned their first conference points. Casey ran 48.77 to finish fifth in the 400. Bloom ran 1:56.12 to finish sixth in the 800. Martin Ponce ran 4:20.79 to finish eighth and pick up a point in the mile.
But the story of the championships was again NAU. Despite losing national-level runners like David McNeil, Lopez Lomong Diego Estrada, Jordan Chipangama and Brian Shrader and star high jumper Deante Kemper just this decade, the Lumberjacks continue to reload.
“When we realize we are going to be graduating certain athletes, our great coaching staff is looking for other athletes to come in and replace them,” Heins said. “We’ve been very fortunate to find another group of very good young men to come in and continue the tradition.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
MEN’S TEAM SCORES
- Northern Arizona, 151; 2. Southern Utah, 72; 3. Idaho State, 69; 4. Sacramento State, 67; 5. Montana State, 58; 6. Weber State, 49; 7. Idaho, 43; 8. Eastern Washington, 40; 9. Montana, 33; 10. Portland State, 32; 11. Northern Colorado, 26; 12. North Dakota, 23.
Saturday men’s finals
Shot Put
- Shawn Collins, NAU, 55-09; 2. Jayson Kovar, Southern Utah, 55-04.25; 3. Aaron Cunningham, Eastern Washington, 54-04.75; Justin Franz, Idaho State, 54-01.75; 5. Richard Casas, Sac State, 53-08.25; 6. Kyle Douglass, Montana State, 53-08.25; 7. Michael Quesenberry, UND, 53-01.00; 8. Ian Collins, UND, 52-09.50.
Mile
- Futsum Zienasellassie, NAU, 4:13.92; 2. Mike Tate, Southern Utah, 4:13.96; 3. Andy Trouard, NAU, 4:14.57; 4. Geordie Beamish, NAU, 4:16.48; 5. Josh Collins, Southern Utah, 4:16.53; 6. Joe Maloney, Weber State, 4:17.94; 7. Cory Glines, NAU, 4:18.86; 8. Martin Ponce, Montana State, 4:20.79.
60-meter hurdles
- Jonathan McUne, Weber State, 8.10; 2. Jimmy Evers, North Dakota, 8.11; 3. JaShawn Combs, Northern Arizona, 8.17; 4. Aric Walden, Sac State, 8l.18; 5. Jesse Villines, Idaho, 8.23; 6. Taylor Trollope, Montana, 8.24; 7. Ryan Carlson, Weber State, 8.34; Drew Thompson, Idaho, 8.58.
400
- Ben Ayesu-Attah, Idaho, 48.33; 2. Alex Wesley, Northern Colorado, 48.39; 3. Robert Counts, Idaho State, 48.58; 4. Austin Upmeyer, Eastern Washington, 48.64; 5. Jadin Casey, Montana State, 48.77; 6. Jordan Medina, Northern Colorado, 49.11; 7. Sterling Reneau, Montana, 49.27; 8. Tyler Olson, North Dakota, 49.76.
60
- Jeremy VanAssche, EWU, 6.77; 2. Isiah Kennedy, NAU, 6.90; 3. Michael Turner, Sac State, 6.92; 4. Mitchell Hornig, Montana State, 6.92; 5. Kossi Tchenowou, Northern Arizona, 6.93; 6. Bryan Cuellar, Sac State, 6.96; 7. Ian Mack, Southern Utah, 6.96; 8. Eric Odorno, Sac Stte, 7.00.
800
- George Espino, Southern Utah, 1:53.15; 2. Daniel Garz, Idaho State, 1:53.90; 3. Ben Richardson, Portland State, 1:53.95; 4. Peter Lomong, Northern Arizona, 1:54.90; 5. Michael Chin, Northern Arizona, 1:54.42; 6. Samuel Bloom, Montana State, 1:56.12; 7. George Beamish, Northern Arizona, 1:59.80; 8. Andy Trouard, Northern Arizona, 2:00.64.
200
- James Fisher, Northern Arizona, 21.65; 2. Justin Lewis, Southern Utah, 21.78; 3. Dominique Bobo, Montana, 21.98; 4. Ben Ayesu-Attah, Idaho, 22.17; 5. Isiah Kennedy, Northern Arizona, 22.18; 6. Alex Mead, Northern Colorado, 22.19; 7. Mitchell Hornig, Montana State, 22.24; 8. Robert Counts, Idaho State.
3,000
- Futsum Zienasellassie, Northern Arizona, 8:31.07; 2. Hayden Hawks, Southern Utah, 8:31.64; 3. Nathan Weitz, Northern Arizona, 8:32.37; 4. Matthew Gotta, Montana State, 8:35.48; 5. Matthew Wright, Southern Utah, 8:39.14; Alejandro Cisneros, Portland State, 8:39.29; 7. Jason Kearns, Weber State, 8:40.20; 8. Matthew Baxter, Northern Arizona, 8:40.82.
4×400 relay
- Northern Arizona, 3:17.23; 2. Montana, 3:17.90; 3. Weber State, 3:18.22; 4. Northern Colorado, 3:18.48; 5. Idaho, 3:18.54; 6. Montana State, 3:18.64; 7. Idaho State, 3:19.91; 8. Southern Utah, 3:20.11.
