During last week’s 2024 NCAA Outdoor National Championships in Eugene, Oregon, multiple NAU track and field athletes achieved career-best times, earned All-American honors and broke school, personal and U20 American records. In the end, NAU’s men’s team tied for 23rd, and the women’s team finished tied for 57th with team scores of 13 and 1, respectively. Here are some of the performance highlights from four days of grueling back-to-back competition.
- On June 5, Aaron Las Heras and Cael Grotenhuis earned second-team All-American honors in the 10,000-meter. Las Heras placed 11th after running a time of 28:19.14, while Grotenhuis finished 14th with a personal best time of 28:31.64.
- Colin Sahlman finished third in his heat of the 1,500-meter semifinals with a time of 3:37.43.
- On June 6, Madeline Wilson, LiNay Perry, Maggi Congdon and Kyairra Reigh broke the school and conference record for the women’s 4×400-meter relay, finishing with a combined time of 3:31.28. Each woman earned second-team All-American honors after finishing 14th in the event.
- Aliandrea Upshaw earned an honorable mention All-American after finishing 21st in the 10,000-meter with a time of 34:55.74.
- Congdon ran a school and conference record-breaking time of 4:07.81 in the preliminary round of the 1,500-meter, finishing fourth in her heat.
- Karrie Baloga finished third in her heat of the preliminary round of the 3,000-meter steeplechase, running a personal-best time of 9:49.33. Baloga’s time is the second fastest in NAU history.
- On June 7, Sahlman finished the 1,500-meter finals as a first-team All-American with a time of 3:39.92, placing fourth in the nation.
- Nico Young finished as the runner-up in the 5,000-meter, earning first-team All-American honors with a time of 13:54.65.
- Grotenhuis finished as a second-team All-American in the 5,000-meter, finishing ninth with a time of 13:59.63.
- Brodey Hasty completed the 5,000-meter with second-team All-American honors, placing 14th after running with a time of 14:04.07
- On June 8, Baloga finished the 3,000-meter steeplechase as a first-team All-American with a time of 9:42.22. Baloga broke both the U20 American and NAU school records in the event, placing eighth overall and earning the NAU women’s team’s single point.
- Congdon placed ninth in the 1,500-meter finals with a time of 4:10.41 to earn second-team All-American honors.
- Annika Reiss earned second-team All-American honors in the 5,000-meter after placing ninth with a personal best time of 15:30.64. Reiss set a new school and Big Sky Conference record in the event.
- Gracelyn Larkin also finished as a second-team All-American in the 5,000-meter, placing 10th with a time of 15:32.82.