Two weeks or so ago, David Mullarkey had not even stepped foot in Flagstaff. He spent most of the summer in Europe, with a week in Florida to pack clothes and other items.
So you might not have expected much from the newest NAU runner, a highly-touted fifth-year transfer from Florida State. But the Brit showed that altitude doesn’t really bother him much.
In his first race as a Lumberjack, the George Kyte Classic, Mullarkey put on a surge late to pull away with the victory in 22 minutes flat along the 4.5-mile course at Buffalo Park. Junior Colin Sahlman, coming off a tremendous track season in the 1,500 meters, showed he’s up to longer distances, too. Sahlman finished second, just 10 seconds behind Mullarkey. In all, NAU’s men, ranked fourth in the nation in a coaches poll, went 1-2-4-5-6, with Justin Keyes, Kang Nyoak and Erik Le Roux completing the scoring.
And that third-place finisher?
It was none other than Hoka NAZ Elite’s Tyler Day, competing for the first time in more than three years after three surgeries on his right Achilles tendon. Day shook off the rust by running 22:15, outkicking Keyes for third.
It’s hard to put too much emphasis on NAU’s season opener. Traditionally, it’s something of a “hard workout” for the women and men. But it opened some eyes just how at ease Mullarkey felt running at 7,000 feet.
“It’s nice to go out in the NAU jersey,” said Mullarkey, hardly out of breath, afterward. “It was two weeks last Wednesday since I got here, so I’m still kind of adjusting a little. I’m handling the mileage. I felt good today and pushed the last mile, so I’m ready.”
But what about the 7,000-foot Flagstaff elevation, bane to many a newcomer?
“No, it didn’t (bother him) too much,” he said. “But I’ve been in Tallahassee (Florida State, where heat and humidity substitute for altitude), where they call it the poor man’s altitude, so maybe that helps. But, yeah, you can definitely feel it here in the hills, but things have gone smoothly so far.”
Mullarkey said he chose NAU, simply, because it’s NAU, an NCAA powerhouse.
“As you know, NAU is such a historic program, great coaches and the running community is great, so that’s why I’m here,” he said.
NAU Coach Mike Smith, no doubt, is happy to have Mullarkey, after losing four top runners last year, including Nico Young and Drew Bosley.
“We look at four weeks as being the mark to make that (altitude) adaptation, so if he’s running that fast right now, we’re in a really good place,” Smith said. “He’s only going to get better and better. We’re so fortunate to have him with us this year. He’s already fit in so well with the team. You can tell right off. It feels like he’s been with us a lot longer than two weeks.”
For the men, there were some non-NAU notables. NAU signee Manny Perez ran unattached and finished seventh in 22:42, and Team Run Flagstaff pro Hosava Kretzmann placed 10th in 22:51. High School sophomore Yohanes Van Meerten, who has just transferred from NPA to Flagstaff High and is ineligible to run until spring, ran unattached and finished 12th in 22:54.
As he normally does, Smith held out several notable runners — among them the top woman, Elise Stearns. Stearns was at the meet in street clothes.
“”We just don’t race people here, at altitude, unless they’re full-on ready to go,” Smith said. “(Stearns) ran this morning, and we expect her to be back in the lineup. I know she’s a big impact in our lineup.”
The women’s race was an NAU clinic — or, more accurately, a workout. Although Arizona State’s Judy Chepkoech won in 14:09, and McKirdy Trained’s Julia Paternain placed third, other than that it was all NAU. Nikita Moore finished second, Ava Mitchell fourth, Karrie Baloga fifth, Maggi Congdon sixth and transfer Alex Carlson (from Rutgers) seventh to roundout the scoring.
Aliandrea Upshaw and Alyson Churchill, both expected to play major roles for the top-ranked (nationally) women, placed eighth and ninth.
Smith said he doesn’t worry much about placing in the season opener.
“We get a chance to practice the template we apply throughout the year,” he said. “It’s not so much about the results. It’s about what we do the night before, how we warmup, all those things. You got to do a dress rehearsal and do all that. We get a chance to race together at home, which is the one time we get to do that and have some fun.”
Smith was noncommittal when asked about possible lineups for two big October races, the Notre Dame Invite and Pre-Nationals.
“We really try to carve out the month of September for training,” he said. “This is about timing, peaking. We built summer training around coming around late in the season, so we’ll lay down a big month here in Flagstaff, and after that we’ll have a better idea of the lineups going forward (Notre Dame and Pre-Nationals in Wisconsin).”
Meanwhile, it was a homecoming of sorts and definitely a comeback for Day, the former Lumberjack All-American racing for the first time in nearly four years after a nightmarish Achilles injury. He was all smiles afterward.
“At the end, all the coaches were telling me I need to go and in my mind I was like, ‘Maybe I just want to soak it in,’” he said, laughing. “But then I was, ‘OK,’ and I pushed and caught a few of the newer Jacks. It feels good to be running again. I’m glad to be in pain running instead of in pain with my ankle. “Workouts have ben going well. These NAU guys have been dropping 4:40s and I’ve been keeping up, fast as I’ve run in a while.”
Day had quite a rooting section on the course Saturday.
“I heard my family yelling,” he said, “and I’d hear, ‘Go Jacks — and welcome back, Tyler.’ It’s very surreal, but I’m super appreciative of the community and everything. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the good running community.”
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