Men’s Profiles Northern Arizona University Quick Facts Quick Facts Table of Contents University Information Season Outlook Location Flagstaff, Ariz. Men’s 2,4,6 Elevation 7,000 feet Women’s 3,5,7 Enrollment 23,600 Staff Profiles Founded 1899 Eric Heins 8-9 Nickname Lumberjacks Ed Jacoby 10 Colors Blue, Gold and Sage Oscar Duncan 11 Affiliation NCAA Division I Troy Kemp 12 Conference Big Sky Mo Huber 13 President Dr. John D. Haeger Jason Pedersen 13 Athletic Director Jim Fallis Martin Nevarez 14 Faculty Athletic Representative Tom DeStefano Crystal Fix 14 University Web Site www.nau.edu Daniel Darcy 15 Matthew Sewell 15 Track & Field Information John D. Haeger 96 Director of Track & Field Jim Fallis 97 and Cross Country Eric Heins Men’s Team Information Assistant Coaches: Ed Jacoby Team Roster 17 Oscar Duncan Returning Athlete Profiles 18-35 Troy Kemp Newcomer Athlete Profiles 36-44 Mo Huber Women’s Team Information Jason Pedersen Team Roster 46 2011 Men’s NCAA Indoor Finish T-39th Returning Athlete Profiles 47-59 2011 Men’s NCAA Outdoor Finish T-46th Newcomer Athlete Profiles 60-71 2011 Men’s Indoor Big Sky Finish 2nd NAU Facilities 72-73 2011 Women’s Indoor Big Sky Finish 5th National Champions 74-76 2011 Men’s Outdoor Big Sky Finish 2nd All-Americans 77 2011 Women’s Big Sky Outdoor Finish 8th Big Sky & NCAA Standards 78-79 NAU History Media Relations Big Sky Indoor Champions 80-81 Track and Field Contact Matthew Sewell Big Sky Indoor Records 82-83 E-Mail [email protected] Indoor All-Time Top-Three 84-85 Office Phone (928) 523-1017 Indoor Champions By Event 86-87 Office Fax (928) 523-6793 Big Sky Outdoor Champions 88-89 Cell Phone (406) 559-0091 Big Sky Outdoor Records 90-91 Media Relations Director Steve Shaff Outdoor All-Time Top-Three 92-93 Assistant Director Andrew Tomsky Outdoor Champions By Event 94-95 Mailing Address P.O. Box 15400 Big Sky Conference 98 (Overnight: 1 Skydome Drive) Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5400 Athletics Web Site www.nauathletics.com Facebook NAU Athletics Twitter @NAUAthletics On The Cover In order from top to bottom: Junior distance runner Diego Estrada, sophomore thrower Lauren Stuart, senior thrower Pascal Tang, sophomore sprinter and hurdler Adel al Nasser, and senior distance runner Kortnee Burton. Credits The 2012 Northern Arizona track and field media guide was written and designed by Matthew Sewell with editorial as- sistance from Steve Shaff, Andrew Tomsky, Stayson Isobe, and Eric Heins. Photography courtesy of Matt Beaty, Eric DeSalvo, Rick Johnson, Kirby Lee, Erik Pedersen and Cheryl Treworgy. 2012 Track and Field Media Guide 1 Season Outlooks Men’s Distance The 2011 track and field season was a great one for the Northern Arizona distance crew. Diego Estrada was the lone Lumberjack to compete at the NCAA Na- tional Championships in both the indoor and outdoor campaigns, and he came away with All-American honors from both meets. Estrada closed out 2011 with two first-team All-America awards after finish- ing fourth in the indoor 5,000-meter run and fifth in the same race outdoors. He also earned second-team honors in the 3,000-meter run indoors after finishing 14th. Estrada’s efforts helped the Lumberjacks make up for the loss of two-time national champion David McNeill the previous season, and he, along with a few oth- ers, look to continue that progress into 2012. “Diego has the capability to run virtually any of the distance races, from the 800-meters to the 10,000-meter run,” said Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Eric Heins. “To have him running three or four events, and to have guys like Jordan Chipangama and others back should help us try to win the conference title Diego Estrada this year.” Chipangama, a senior who missed all of last season with an injury, was the 2010 Big Sky Indoor Champion in the 800-meter run, and also contributed to the con- ference-champion distance medley team the same season. Estrada and Chipangama headline the largest group of seniors out of any event group for the Lumberjacks in 2012. Returning to the distance events from 2011 are seven upperclassmen, five of whom scored points for NAU in one or both Big Sky Championships last season. “[Seniors] John Yatsko and Matt Coloe both scored for us last year in the conference meets, and both of them showed improvement in the cross country sea- son,” said Heins. Andrew Belus, a fellow senior, also hopes to improve upon his impressive finish at last year’s Big Sky indoors, where he finished fourth in the 3,000-meter run and fifth in the 5,000-meters. Junior Tim Freriks also saw success in 2011, having earned all-conference bids three times and making his first trip to the NCAA West Preliminary Round Champion- ships. The experience from the Lumberjack seniors will greatly benefit NAU’s un- derclassmen, many of whom have promising careers ahead of them in a Lumberjack Tim Freriks uniform. “Our goal is always to win the Big Sky title and hopefully have enough guys returning to show our younger guys the way.” The Lumberjack men, who open the season ranked 25th in the nation, look to win their third Big Sky indoor title in four years, and hope to return to the podium a year after finishing second to Sacramento State by a half point. The Big Sky Indoor Championships return to Flagstaff for the first time since 2009.e Th Lumberjacks have won three of the last four conference meets that have been held in the Walkup Skydome, dating back to 2000. Heins’ philosophy is similar to last year, especially with new talent coming in to compete and hopefully make an impact in 2012. The Lumberjacks will seek to qualify as many athletes as possible for the preliminary rounds during the outdoor season. “Making the first round of the NCAA Championships is a great experience for our athletes to take away and learn from,” said Heins. The men’s distance crew sent four runners to the NCAA West Preliminary Round in 2011. Estrada and Freriks are the lone returners from that meet, but hope- fully the Lumberjacks can place some new faces in the 2012 edition of the race. Jordan Chipangama With solid senior leadership paired with promising freshmen and transfers, the 2012 campaign should shape up to be successful and exciting for NAU. 2 Northern Arizona University Season Outlooks Women’s Distance The 2012 track campaigns for the Northern Arizona women’s distance team look very promising. The Lumberjack women hope to build upon their successes from 2011 behind the leadership of returning upperclassmen Kortnee Burton and Ro- chelle Kanuho. The long-distance tandem combined for eight all-conference honors at the indoord an outdoor Big Sky meets in 2011 and contributed a large percentage of the Lumberjack women’s team points at each meet. The return of Kanuho and Burton in the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter runs fore th Lumberjacks will provide a solid foundation and great leadership for a dis- tance squad made up of mostly newcomers and underclassmen. “The goal for our women is to get to the conference meet and try to help the team have a shot to win the conference meet,” said Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Eric Heins. Kanuho continued her success on the track after a breakout 2010 sophomore Kortnee Burton campaign, so a three-season stretch as one of the primary leaders of the Lumberjack distance crew seems extremely likely. “Rochelle has continued to improve since the 2010 cross country season,” said Heins. “She wants to improve her 5,000-meter race time, and the 10,000-meter run is her best event. Kanuho’s potential to venture into the shorter distance races relies heavily on increased foot speed, but working more on that can jeopardize times in her pri- mary races. Thankfully, the NAU women’s distance crew has a fair amount of depth heading into this season, so additional assistance in the shorter distance races may not even be needed. NAU’s women enter the 2012 season trying to win the indoor conference title fore th first time since 2009, and end a six-year outdoor conference title drought. The last outdoor win for the women came in Cheney, Wash. in 2006. The Lumberjack women’s distance crew added some international talent in the offseason, as Sweden’s Caroline Hogardh and Belgium’s Agnes Laurent ventured to Flagstaff to compete in their first collegiate season. The outlook on the two ath- letes is bright, and after solid cross country seasons for both, the track season looks to be no different. Hogardh, a freshman, and Laurent, a junior, are both primarily middle-dis- Rochelle Kanuho tance runners. With the 800-meter run as their main events, both should be able to branch out to other races and hopefully score points in those events. “Caroline has the ability to compete in the 1,500-meters and potentially evene th 3,000-meter run,” said Heins. “Agnes should have the most success in the 800-meter run, but she is definitely capable of moving down into the long sprints and long relay for us.” NAU has had a long-standing relationship with international athletes, par- ticularly ones from Sweden, so with the addition of Hogardh and Laurent, the Lum- berjacks hope to continue the tradition of great international competitors. The Lumberjack women’s distance squad returns a total of six competitors from last year’s conference meets.