Ranked No. 1 in the nation, the Lumberjack men’s cross country team is headed to the NCAA Championship this Saturday, Nov. 19, in Terre Haute, Ind., in hopes of earning NAU’s first national championship win.
NAU secured their spot in finals by winning the NCAA Mountain Region on Nov. 11. It was the third regional championship victory in the last five seasons for the NAU men, as three top-10 and five top-25 performances guided the Lumberjacks to their sixth team victory of the 2016 season. In fact, it was only the sixth time in the history of the program the Lumberjacks had three top-10 finishers at regionals.
This week, Coach Eric Heins was honored as the Regional Coach of the Year in the Mountain Region by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. NAU Senior Futsum Zienasellassie received the Regional Athlete of the Year for winning the Mountain Region Individual title with a time of 30:54.1.