Olympic Montage 2012 Indoor/Outdoor Men’s Big Sky Champions Quick Facts/Table of Contents University Information Season Outlook Location Flagstaff, Ariz. Distance 4-5 Elevation 7,000 feet Throws 5-6 Enrollment 25,364 Sprints 6-7 Founded 1899 Jumps/Hurdles/Multis 7-8 Nickname Lumberjacks Staff Profiles Colors Blue, Gold, Sage Eric Heins 10-12 Mascot Louie the Lumberjack Oscar Duncan 13 President Dr. John Haeger Kenny McDaniel 14-15 VP for Intercollegiate Athletics Dr. Lisa Campos Ed Jacoby 16 Faculty Athletic Rep Dr. Tom DeStefano Troy Kemp 17 University Website www.nau.edu Leah Rosenfeld 18 Athletics Website www.nauathletics.com John Yatsko 19 Matthew Sewell 19 Coaches John D. Haeger 90 Dir. of Track & Field and Eric Heins (Cincinnati ‘99) Lisa Campos 91 Cross Country Team Information Associate Head Coach - Oscar Duncan (Idaho ‘97) Men’s Returning Athletes 22-35 Throws/Multis Women’s Returning Athletes 36-51 Assistant Coach - Hurdles/Jumps Ed Jacoby Men & Women Newcomer Profiles 52-65 Assistant Coach - Sprints Kenny McDaniel (Pitt. St. ‘99) Graduate Assistant - Jumps Troy Kemp NAU Facilities 66-67 Graduate Assistant - Distance Leah Rosenfeld (Penn St. ‘10) Big Sky Standards 68 Volunteer Assistant - Distance John Yatsko Archives David McNeill 69 2012 Finishes Lopez Lomong 70 Big Sky Indoors (Men) 1st Ida & Johanna Nilsson 71 Big Sky Indoors (Women) 4th All-Americans 72 Big Sky Outdoors (Men) 1st NAU History Big Sky Outdoors (Women) 3rd Big Sky Indoor Champions 74-75 NCAA Indoors (Men) T-35th Big Sky Indoor Records 76-77 Indoor All-Time Top-Three 78-79 Media Relations Indoor Champions By Event 80-81 Track & Field Contact Matthew Sewell (Carroll ‘11) Big Sky Outdoor Champions 82-83 Email [email protected] Big Sky Outdoor Records 84-85 Office Phone (928) 523-1017 Outdoor All-Time Top-Three 86-87 Office Fax (928) 523-6793 Outdoor Champions By Event 88-89 Cell Phone (406) 559-0091 Big Sky Conference 92 Assistant AD: Media Relations Steve Shaff (Arizona ‘92) Assistant Dir.: Media Relations Andrew Tomsky (UC Davis ‘07) Mailing Address P.O. Box 15400 Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5400 About the Covers Credits Featured on the cover are (from left to right) sophomore sprinter The 2013 Northern Arizona Track & Field Media Guide was Darriel Banks, senior distance runner Diego Estrada, and sopho- written and designed by Matthew Sewell with editorial assis- more jumper Deante Kemper. Featured on the back cover are junior tance from Steve Shaff, Andrew Tomsky, Stayson Isobe, and the sprinter Adel al Nasser, junior jumper Lauren Laszczak, senior dis- NAU Track & Field coaching staff. Photography courtesy of tance runner Rochelle Kanuho, junior thrower Lauren Stuart, and Matt Beaty, Eric DeSalvo, Preston Trauscht, Kirby Lee, Randy junior jumper Edgar Panford. Both covers designed by Matthew Miyazaki, Alejandro Montano, Matthew Sewell, Erik Pedersen, Sewell of NAU Media Relations. and Rick Johnson. 2013 Lumberjack Track & Field Media Guide 3 Season Outlooks Season Outlooks (By Event Group) Men’s Distance The 2013 easons brings a healthy dose of old and new talent back into the mix for the Northern Arizona men’s distance squad, led by five-time All-American and 2012 Olympian Diego Estrada, who returns for his final year of both indoor and out- door eligibility with the Lumberjacks. Estrada enters the indoor season looking to garner a pair of All-America honors for the third straight year, after capturing first team honors in the 5,000 meters (2011, 2012) and 3,000 meters (2012) and second team honors in the 3,000 meters (2011) in the past two indoor campaigns. Other notable returners for the Lumberjacks include sophomores Caleb Hoover, Chris Ganem, and Cody Reed, who all bring valuable Big Sky Conference championship experience into 2013. Hoover came out of nowhere in his inaugural outdoor season and snagged the Big Sky Outdoor Championship in the men’s 5,000 meters, while Ganem notched a pair of scoring finishes in the men’s 800 meters in- doors and outdoors, and Reed gutted out a bronze-medal performance in the 10,000 meters outdoors. Sophomore Alejandro Montano also should contribute in the longer distances, following a pair of scoring efforts at the Big Sky Outdoor Championships in the 5,000 and 10,000-meter runs. The incoming Lumberjack distance runners, however, quickly became the heart and soul of the team throughout the 2012 cross country season, and look to Diego Estrada do the same in contributing to the squad’s success on the track as well. The Lum- berjacks add transfers Brian Shrader (Oregon), Matt McElroy (Oklahoma State), and Roman Acosta (Syracuse) into the mix in 2013, and will also feature the top two freshman cross country runners in the country in Futsum Zienasellassie and Nathan Weitz. Shrader and Zienasellassie led the men’s cross country team to a fourth-place team finish at November’s NCAA Championships, so count on them, in addition to Estrada, to lead the NAU distance cause on the track in 2013. The umberjacksL will use their heavy home indoor schedule as a benefit in preparing both for their trip north to Bozeman, Mont. and the Big Sky Indoor Championships, and for the upcoming outdoor season, which will see the Lum- berjacks on the road nearly every weekend. Competing in the middle distances (800m, Mile) for the Lumberjack men in 2013 will be Shrader, Weitz, Ganem, sophomore Caleb Potts, senior Myles Kloer and redshirt freshman Ian Cable. Estrada, Hoover, McElroy, Acosta, Reed, junior Tim Freriks, and Montano headline the group of 3,000 and 5,000-meter runners indoors and 10,000 meters outdoors that should largely dominate the Big Sky Conference once again come championship time. Women’s Distance The NAU women’s distance squad enters the 2013 track and field seasons relatively young, yet still experienced following solid seasons both on the track and in cross country throughout the 2012 calendar year. Returning, most notably, for the Lumberjack women are seniors Rochelle Kanuho and Agnes Laurent, and Brian Shrader 4 2012 Indoor/Outdoor Men’s Big Sky Champions Season Outlooks sophomore Caroline Hogardh. Kanuho, a former walk-on, is fresh off a top-50 finish at November’s NCAA Cross Country Championships, priming her for increased success on the track in 2013. Kanuho made her first trip to the NCAA West Pre- liminary Round during the 2012 outdoor season as well, finishing 34th regionally in the 10,000 meters and 19th in the 5,000 meters. Laurent looks to make a splash in her second-and-final season with NAU as the Lumberjacks’ leader in the middle distances. The Belgium-native looks to be fully healthy this season after having her 2012 campaign shortened by injury, and hopes to build on a scoring finish in the 800 meters at Big Sky Outdoors last season. Hogardh, who hopes to debut during the outdoor season, has a lot to look forward to in 2013 after an All-American effort in the steeplechase as a freshman. Other notable returners for the NAU women include sophomores Kylee Kieser, a point-scorer in the women’s 10,000 meters last year at Big Sky Outdoors and key contributor on the 2012 women’s cross country squad, and Kerri Lenihan, another consistent presence during this past cross country season and already a vet- eran competitor in just her second year. Sisters Kayla and Shayla Freeman, both of whom made waves at different points in the season across the distance events throughout 2012, also will provide valuable contributions. NAU’s women will rely heavily on its newcomers in 2013, however. Four- time Arizona high school cross country champion Rolonda Jumbo headlines the incoming class of freshmen, especially after accumulating some momentum from an all-conference performance at the Big Sky Cross Country Championships in Octo- Rochelle Kanuho ber. Australian standout Melanie Townsend, also in her first year, should contrib- ute more and more as the season goes on as well. Focusing on the middle distance events (800m, Mile, 1,500m) for the Lumberjacks will be Laurent, Hogardh, Shayla Freeman, Sarah Raber, and Emily Bartz. Kanuho and Jumbo lead those focusing on the longer distances, which will also feature Townsend, Kieser, Lenihan, Kayla Freeman, and Sarah Baker. Men’s Throws After losing two Big Sky champions to graduation in Pascal Tang and Karl Gehrke, the NAU men’s throws crew is currently on the lookout for its next leader. Among returners throughout the entirety of the Lumberjack track and field squad, this particular group is the thinnest, returning only one athlete with competitive experience in 2012 All-Big Sky shot put honoree Gus Margiotta. Brian Thompson enters the mix, however, after redshirting last season, and should begin to fill the void left by Tang in the weight throw indoors and hammer throw outdoors. The focus in 2013, rather, will be on the talented class of incoming fresh- men to the program. NAU returned to its roots and rekindled its relationship with Swedish-born athletes by signing Micael Ljungberg, a discus specialist who will also dabble in the shot put, javelin, and hammer throw come outdoor season. Ad- ditionally, Chandler High School products Travis Colby and Shawn Collins will tag team in an effort to reestablish Big Sky Conference dominance experienced in Gus Margiotta years past through their versatility. Collins may well become the best Lumberjack (continued on next page) 2013 Lumberjack Track & Field Media Guide 5 Season Outlooks shot putter, while Colby will focus in the javelin and discus outdoors. With only one All-Big Sky winner on the men’s side in the throws, there will be a steep learning curve when the Big Sky Conference Championships arrive, but with an indoor facility in which to train throughout the indoor season, the slew of home meets NAU is gifted with, and the tutelage of Oscar Duncan directing them, there exists no greater opportunity to succeed for the young group of men’s throwers in 2013.