NAU men, Sac women withs leads entering final day of indoor championships

With four finals complete, Northern Arizona was nowhere to be found in the team standings on the second day of the Big Sky Indoor Championships. In typical Lumberjacks’ fashion, NAU let loose an avalanche to again assume control.

The Northern Arizona men are the five-time reigning Big Sky Conference indoor track and field champions. Much of the dominance has been built on a nationally elite distance corps a head above the rest of the league.

During the 5,000 meters, the second-to-last final of Friday’s competition, the Lumberjacks swept the podium as Nathan Weitz claimed gold, sophomore Cory Glines earned silver and junior Matthew Butler earned bronze.

“Coach gave us a plan and we were able to execute it,” Glines said, his arm around Weitz after their medal ceremony at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse in Bozeman. “Bax sat back early and then me and Nathan went up to the lead. (Southern Utah’s) Hayden (Hawks) was making some moves and we decided not to answer them and let him come back to us. Then right around 3K, Nathan made made a hard move around him and I went with him. We kept pressing him and Baxter kept grinding and we got the podium.”

In 2014, Weitz won the indoor title in the mile as a sophomore. Last season, he did not fair as well, finishing fifth in the 3,000 meters at the indoor and finishing 14^th in the 5K at the outdoor championships last spring. On Friday, he ran 14:42.01 to best Glines by 2.79 seconds and take the individual title.

“This is so much training and these guys beat me up in the workouts,” Weitz said. “This is hard work all coming together. The altitude really helped. That helps you get through races like the 5K. We finished together, strong, NAU strong.”

Southern Utah’s Hawks and Matthew Wright were part of a pack that also included Montana State’s Diego Leon and Matthew Gotta that stayed bunched for the first 15 laps. Hawks made the most aggressive move early before the NAU trio, Jason Kearns of Weber and Northern Arizona freshman Tyler Day created separation. By the last five laps, the four Lumberjacks and Wright were lapping the pack.

“It gives you so much confidence for championship races like these to run as a pack, run together,” Weitz said. “When you see each other running in the race and maybe you are feeling back, it helps you come together and push harder for the team.”

Day ended up finishing fifth, meaning the Lumberjacks scored 28 points in the 5,000 meters alone. NAU also earned eight points with a second-place finish in the men’s distance medley relay, the final event of the day, to finish with 47 points, 13 more than second-place Sacramento State. Idaho State is third with 33, host Montana State fourth with 29 and Weber fifth with 26.

During cross country last fall, NAU had its streak of league titles snapped as Southern Utah knocked off the perennial Big Sky and national power. On Friday, Weitz, Glines and Baxter did not forget that failure.

“In this one, we felt like the underdog losing cross country, holding some guys out,” Glines said. “Our goal coming into this one was to prove we are still the powerhouse of this conference.

“It’s just sticking to the plan overall and we trust our coach, Eric Hines. He’s not going to give us a plan except the perfect plan. We have such tradition, such a prestigious history, it’s hard not to buy into it.”

Although Northern Arizona took bragging rights in the 5,000 and ended the first full day of competition in the driver’s seat for another team crown, Southern Utah proved its mettle in the DMR.

The Thunderbirds saw solid legs for the 1,000 meters and the 400 before George Espino took the baton. Earlier in the day, Espino ran 1:55.71 in the 800 meters, the top qualifying mark of the day. Running the race for a second time — “It hurt way more than I thought it would”, he said — Espino opened up a sizeable gap leading into the mile.

Northern Arizona’s Futsum Zienasellassie elected to not run the 5,000 despite having the 8^th-best time in the nation in the race entering the Big Sky championship. Instead, he elected to run the mile leg of the DMR in preparation for making a run at the mile and 3,000-meter individual titles Saturday.

Southern Utah’s Mike Tate took the baton from Espino with a good lead but Zienasellassie closed quickly. By the sixth lap, Zienasellassie was on Tate’s hip. By the seventh, Zienasellassie had the lead.

“I was running against a guy who is a 3:56 miler this year but I didn’t want to let them down. I wanted to go out strong but not too fast. I wanted to stay smooth, consistent. Then I felt Futsum come up on my shoulder. I feel like he has more strength but I have more foot speed so I was ok when he passed me.”

Such confidence is bold considering Zienasellassie has run 3:56 in the mile this season, the third-fastest time in the nation. But Tate showed impressive fortitude, answering Zienasellassie’s burst with a sprint to the finish of his own. As he crossed the finish line, he let out a roar and pumped the baton in the air. SUU’s time of 10:07.75 earned the Thunderbirds a school record and a conference title.

“Going down the home stretch, I made a hard move to get by him, then pushed it hard around the corner to get by him. Then I kicked it in as hard as I could and held on to the victory,” Tate said as his teammates still embraced him.

The Sacramento State women burst out to a good start as the Hornets try to solidify their reputation as the powerhouse of the conference on the women’s side. Sac State swept the indoor and outdoor championships last year, barely outlasting Montana State in each meet. Sac also swept the titles in 2013.

On Friday, Candice Dominguez and Elizabeth Venzon took the top two spots in the high jump, Emilia Del Hoyo earned second in the long jump and the Hornets scored 44 points to take a nine-point lead over Montana into the final day. Weber State is third with 34 points, Eastern Washington is fourth with 32 points, NAU is fifth with 22 and host Montana State is far behind with 16.

Montana sophomore Erika McLeod continued her bid for Most Outstanding Performer with her second title of the weekend. A day after winning the pentathlon thanks in large part to personal-bests in the 800 and the long jump, the Butte native bested herself in the pit once again. With the crowd roaring as the men ripped through the suspenseful DMR, McLeod launched herself a personal-record 19 feet, 3.25 inches to claim the long jump. Her mark beat Del Hoyo by 4.5 inches.

EWU and North Dakota each picked up 10 points in the weight throw as Eastern’s Kaytlyn Coleman and UND’s Molli Detloff tied for gold. Each had a best throw of 65 feet, ½ inch. UND’s sizeable throwing crew could be heard throughout the Brick as the Big Sky’s two best throwers went toe to toe.

“I feed off the energy in here,” Detloff said. “That’s why it’s nice for indoor to be in a small place where all the teams are. This is different. Back home, our meets, no one is there. Our throws squad cheers for each other but this is way beyond that.”

In the women’s 5,000, EWU’s Sarah Reiter and Weber State’s Ellie Child set the pace for most of the race. But Idaho’s Kinsey Gomez, an Oregon State transfer who specializes in the 10,000 in outdoor, turned on the jets for the last five laps to sprint her way to a four-second victory to claim her first Big Sky crown.

“I’ve never raced on a 200 track so when I looked up and saw five laps to go, I thought, ‘ok, that’s not actually five,” Gomez said. “I knew I should start my kick then. It’s a bit different running on a 200-meter track. I liked it. It was fun. I’m a 10k runner so when I was at 25 laps, I was at home.”

In the men’s weight throw, NAU’s Adam Keenan threw 64 feet, 9.75 inches for the win. Weber’s Justin Herbert finished second at 62-03 and Montana State sophomore Calvin Root was third at 60-06.5. MSU senior Zach Sharp had a shot at the podium on his last throw but the weight slipped out of his hands and he collapsed in tears with a fourth-place finish.

Idaho State’s Deante Gaines, the overwhelming favorite in the long jump and the triple jump, scratched all three of his jumps and missed the finals in the long jump. Portland State’s Spenser Schmidt jumped 24-07 for gold. MSU sophomore Alex Lewis went 23-06.25 for fourth.

EWU’s Larry Still was the lone athlete to clear 17 feet as he took home the pole title as a true freshman. UND freshman Nolan Hovland also claimed a title as a rookie, winning the high jump in thrilling fashion by out-leaping Weber State’s Anthony Gregory and Montana’s Matt Quist. Hovland missed seven feet by 1/4 inch.

In the first final of the day, Idaho’s Drew Thompson watched a sizeable lead evaporate in the heptathlon thanks to Kyle Searle’s strong marks in the pole vault and the 1,000 meters. Searle, of Idaho State, rallied from an almost 200-point deficit to score 5,099 points and beat Thompson by 68 points.

The meet continues on Saturday with the women’s triple jump and the men’s shot put beginning at 10 am. The women’s pole vault begins at 12:15 p.m. Saturday also includes finals for the mile, the 60 hurdles, the men’s triple jump, the women’s shot, the 400, the 60, the 800, the 200, the 3K and the 4×400 relay.

BIG SKY INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS FRIDAY RESULTS

Women’s team scores: 1. Sacramento State, 44; 2. Montana, 35; 3. Weber State, 34; 4. Eastern Washington, 32; 5. Northern Arizona, 22; 6. Montana State, 16; 7. Idaho, 15; 8. North Dakota, 14; 9. Northern Colorado, 11; 10. Portland State, 9; 11. Idaho State, 2.

 WOMEN’S FINALS

 Weight throw

1. Kaytlyn Coleman EWU 65-00.50; 1. Molli Detloff UND 65-00.50; 3. Brook Anderson NAU 63-04.25.

High jump

1. Candice Dominguez, Sac State, 5-09.75; Elizabeth Venzon, Sac State, 5-07.75; Desirae Cruse, Weber State, 5-06.5.

 Long Jump

1. Erika McLeod, Montana, 19-03.25; 2. Emilia Del Hoyo, Sacramento State, 18-10.75; Ta’Mara Richey, Portland State, 18-09.75.

 5,000 meters

1. Kinsey Gomez, Idaho, 17:02.64; 2. Ellie Child, Weber State, 17:06.11; 3. Sarah Reiter, EWU, 17:06.99; 4. Paige Gilchrist, NAU, 17:15.46; 5. Melanie Townsend, NAU, 17:26.03; 6. Kayla Freeman, NAU, 17:35.01; 7. Hailey Whetten, Weber, 17:37.35; 8. Berenice Penaloza, EWU, 17:50.74.

 Distance Medley relay

1. Eastern Washington 11:51.19; 2. Weber State, 11:54.30; 3. Sacramento State 12:05.34; 4. Idaho, 12:11.93; 5. Northern Arizona, 12:14.66; 6. Montana State, 12:15.08.

 Women’s team scores

1. Sacramento State, 44; 2. Montana, 35; 3. Weber State, 34; 4. Eastern Washington, 32; 5. Northern Arizona, 22; 6. Montana State, 16; 7. Idaho, 15; 8. North Dakota, 14; 9. Northern Colorado, 11; 10. Portland State, 9; 11. Idaho State, 2.

 WOMEN’S QUALIFIERS

 60-meter hurdles

1. Tawnie Moore, Weber, 8.45; 2. Akayla Anderson, PSU, 8.55; 3. Nicole Stroot, UM, 8.73; 4. Stephanie Blumm, Sac State, 8.75; 5. Amber Solomon, UNC, 8.78; 6. Olivia Leavitt, Sac State, 8.78; 7. Emilia Del Hoyo, Sac State, 8.85; 8. Claire Harris, UNC, 8.85

400 meters

1. Whitney Diggs, PSU, 56.21; 2. Stephanie Clarke, UND, 56.52; 3. Tianna McKinney, UND 56.59; 4. Nicole Fotinos, NAU, 56.82; 5. Bria Edwards, NAU, 57.02; 6. Joy Weems, Sac, 57.48; 7. Aaliya Crawford, Weber, 57.50; 8. Rachel Vinjamur, PSU, 57.56; 9. Erika McLeod 57.66.

60 meters

1. Rebecca Tarbert EWU 7.47; 2. Genna Settle, PSU, 7.50; 3. Moriah Zachary, UNC, 7.51; 4. Alivia Ayres-Perry, UNC, 7.57; 5. Natasha brown, UND, 7.62; 6. Briana Pardner, UNC, 7.70; 7. Amari Jones, Sac State, 7.73; 8. Ashlynn Allred, Weber, 7.75          Daryan Box MSU 13^th 7.83

200 meters

1. Moriah Zachary UNC 24.53; 2. Stephanie Clarke UND 24.92; 3. Natasha Brown UND 24.93; 4. Rebecca Tarbert EWU 25.01; 5. Alivia Ayres-Perry UNC 25.01; 6. Tianna McKinney, UND 25.09; 7. Aaliyah Crawford Weber 25.22; 8Genna Settle PSU 25.22.

 

Men’s team scores

1. Northern Arizona, 47; 2. Sacramento State, 34; 3. Idaho State, 33; 4. Montana State, 29; 5. Weber State, 26; 6. Portland State, 20; 7. Southern Utah, 19; Eastern Washington, 19; Idaho, 19; 10. Montana, 14; 11. North Dakota, 11; 12. Northern Colorado, 2.

MEN’S FINALS

Heptathlon

1. Kyle Searle, Idaho State, 5,099; 2. Drew Thompson, Idaho, 5,099.

 Weight throw

1. Adam Keenan, NAU, 64-09.75; 2. Justin Herbert, Weber State, 62-03; 3. Calvin Root, Montana State 60-06.5; 4. Zach Sharp, Montana State, 59-07.75

High Jump

1. Nolan Hovland, UND, 6-11.75; 2. Anthony Gregory, Weber State, 6-10.75; 3. Matt Quist, Montana, 6-10.75.

 Long Jump

1. Spenser Schmidt, Portland State, 24-07; 2. Michael Turner, Sac State, 24-06.5; Cory Barger, Sac State, 23-11.75; 4. Alex Lewis, Montana State, 23-06.25.

 Pole vault

1. Larry Still, EWU, 17-00.75; 2. Matt Sullivan, Idaho, 16-04.75; 3. Nick Stearns EWU, 16-04.75.

5,000 meters

1. Nathan Weitz, NAU, 14:42.01; 2. Cory Glines, NAU, 14:44.80; 3. Matthew Baxter, NAU, 14:48.99; 4. Matthew Wright, Southern Utah, 14:54.82; 5. Tyler Day, NAU, 14:54.82; 6. Jason Kearns, Weer, 14:59.77; 7. Matthew Gotta, Montana State, 15:02.88; 8 Hayden Hawks, Southern Utah, 15:08.85

 Distance medley relay

1. Southern Utah, 10:07.75; 2. Northern Arizona, 10:08.46; 3. Weber State, 10:13.84; 4. Montana State, 10:22.40; 5. Idaho State, 10:28.23; Montana, 10:29.58.

MEN’S QUALIFIERS

60-meter hurdles

1. Jimmy Evers, UND 8.11; 2. Jonathan McUne, Weber, 8.13; 3. JaShawn Combs, NAU, 8.21; 4. Ryan Carlson, Weber, 8.25; 5. Aric Walden, Sac, 8.29; 6. Drew Thompson, Idaho, 8.31; 7. Taylor Trollope, UM 8.32; 8. Jesse Villines, Idaho, 8.36

400 meters

1. Ben Ayesu-Attah, Idaho, 49.22; 2. Austin Upmeyer, EWU, 49.24; 3. Sterling Reneau, UM, 49.25; 4. Jadin Casey, MSU, 49.30; 5. Robert Counts, ISU, 49.32; 6. Jordan Medina, UNC, 49.34; 7. Tyler Olson, UND, 49.79; 8. Alex Wesley, UNC, 4979

800 meters

1. George Espino SUU 1:55.71; 2. Daniel Garz ISU 1;55.89; 3. Ben Richardson PSU 1:55.99; 4. Sam Bloom MSU 1:56.17; 5. Peter Lomong NAU 1:56.75; 6. Geordi Beamish NAU 1:56.91; 7. Michael Chin, NAU, 1:57.10; 8. Andy Trouard NAU 1:57.22

200 meters

1. Justin Lewis, Southern Utah, 21.84; James Fisher, NAU, 21.96; Dominique Bobo, Montana, 22.03; Ben Ayesu-Attah, Idaho, 22.05; Isiah Kennedy, NAU, 22.05; Alex Mead, Northern Colorado, 22.08; Mitchell Hornig, Montana State, 22.08; Robert Counts, ISU, 22.02.

Photos by Brooks Nuanez or noted. All Rights Reserved.