RENO — Like two championship prize fighters feinting and jabbing, the NCAA Mountain Regional Cross Country showdown between the NAU and BYU women on Friday did not disappoint, as the two highly-ranked teams battled it out in what became a clinic on pack running.
But, as the rankings showed, No. 1 BYU came out slightly ahead, winning the mountain region over the No. 4 Lumberjacks, 52-65. The Cougars rested top runner Lexy Halladay-Lowery, but they still had enough to pull away.
The NAU women. though, did not back down, as Elise Stearns returned to form and finished fourth overall in 19:55 and Ali Upshaw placed sixth in 19:56.4, getting outkicked in the finish by BYU’s top runner, Riley Chamberlain. Where BYU was able to gain an advantage was in a tighter pack effort. After Chamberlain, BYU took eighth (Carmen Alder), ninth (Taylor Rohatinsky) and 10th (Taylor Lovell). The Cougars’ fifth runner, Carlee Hansen, placed 20th, ahead of NAU’s fifth, Karrie Baloga.
Will the same scenario play out a week from Saturday at the NCAA nationals in Madison, Wisc.?
NAU Coach Mike Smith is not so sure. While praising BYU’s effort, especially with out Halladay, Smith still likes his women’s team’s chances.
“We need to not worry about BYU and just execute our team race,” Smith said. “In my experience, these (regionals) don’t have a direct correlation (on outcomes at the nationals). There are some things that are going to change in the big moment, and we just have to be sure we’re on the positive end of those changes.
“There are things to improve. We can dial in more with our four, five, sixth and seven. That’ll make a big difference.”
True, NAU’s vaunted depth was not on display on a cold, windy and lightly snowy day in the Washoe County Golf Course in Reno. Keira Moore, NAU’s fourth runner, held her own to finish 17th, but Baloga dropped 13 spots in the final mile to fall to 23rd place. Rounding out the team, Nikita Moore was 26th and Maggi Congdon 31st.
Both Smith and Stearns, nonetheless, were by the effort.
“It was mostly about just getting to nationals and running a good team race today,” Stearns said. “We went in to it just thinking of really creating a solid team race, not being cheeky and going out slow or running in flats. Just compete and get ready (for nationals).”
Perhaps the most positive development for NAU was the return of Stearns, who missed all of outdoor track season last spring, didn’t train much during the summer and didn’t start doing workouts until October.
Stearns said she has been dealing with a sacrum injury since last spring, but also a form issue similar to that of male teammate Drew Bosley.
“It’s kind of complicated to be honest,” Stearns said of her time off. “I had an issue with my sacrum in the spring, but I also had something similar to my teammate Drew. I had a lot of (stride and form) restriction in my running and I was not able to train over the summer. October was a big shift in things and I have been feeling a lot more like myself. It’s been an exponential trajectory.”
Smith said he expected Stearns to bounce back quickly despite missing nearly the entire cross country season. Two weeks ago, she finished second on the team to Upshaw in what Stearns called a rust-buster.
“I give her a lot of credit, because he teammates were on different timelines and she did a really good job of following her own timeline,” Smith said of Stearns. “When the time was right, she got it rolling, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. She has experience in this meet and that’s huge to have her in the lineup. I think she’ll be even better next week.”
Stearns was encouraged as well.
“Big Sky was a good opener for me, but today I felt a lot more controlled,” she said. “I’m getting a lot back (to form) with every week and every session I’ve done since I started in October.”
The NAU men (71 points) are a certainty to get an at-large spot in next week’s nationals after a strong third place finish on Friday behind BYU (52 points) and New Mexico (61). The Lumberjacks hovered around fifth place at the 10K’s halfway point, but moved up to third at 6K and held that spot the rest of the way.
Senior David Mullarkey was NAU’s top finisher in fifth place in 29:26, leading a pack that trailed the two-man duel between Texas Tech’s Solomon Kipchoge and New Mexico’s Habtom Samuel, who placed first and second, respectively. Mullarkey battled BYU’s top runner, Casey Clinger, throughout, leading Clinger until the last kilometer.
Behind Mullarkey was senior Corey Gorgas in 11th, senior Santiago Prosser in 12th and junior Colin Sahlman in 13th. Redshirt Freshman Ford Washburn was NAU’s final scorer in 30th place — an impressive showing in his first 10K — but still finishing five places behind BYU’s fifth runner, Luke Grundig, who moved up 11 places in the final kilometer.
The Lumberjack men are ranked eighth in the nation, but Smith said not to count out his team’s bid to make the podium next week.
“I was really pleased,” Smith said. “This is a brutal region (highly competitive). When you have a team (like NAU) that, barring a disaster is going to advance. You can underestimate this meet nut our guys came to race and ran really hard, which is what they’ll need to do (at nationals). I was excited to see where our front four were. Ford Washburn had a really good one for his first 10K. We’re going to be there.”
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