BOZEMAN — For the fifth-consecutive season, the Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona University completed a sweep of the Big Sky Conference Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Bridger Creek Golf Course.
This time, the ‘Jacks were under the direction of first-year head coach Jarred Cornfield.
The women’s championship 5K was the first race of the day, where NAU’s Hayley Burns claimed the individual title with a time of 16:05.70. Burns did that in a homecoming of sorts, as she is from Bozeman.
“Hayley really had a tremendous track season that provided a lot of momentum this summer heading into cross country season,” Cornfield said. “She hasn’t performed at this high of a level before in cross country, so I was thrilled to see how she used that track season to build the confidence and prove she belonged at this level.”
Northern Arizona claimed the top four spots in the race, with Ava Mitchell, Keira Moore and Kiki Vaughn all finishing behind Burns. Vaughn was named Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year following the meet.
A year removed from qualifying for the NCAA National Championships as an individual, Northern Colorado’s Regina Mpigachai finished in fifth place in Bozeman.
Ultimately, the Lumberjacks scored just 16 points en route to their seventh-consecutive Big Sky Conference Women’s Cross Country title.
Weber State finished in second place with a team score of 80, followed by Montana State in third place with a final tally of 83.
On the men’s side, the Lumberjacks were paced by Colin Sahlman, who finished the 8K course in a time of 23:41.30.
“He’s been just a tremendous leader,” Cornfield said. “He cares about his team, and he cares so deeply about cross country. He made the U.S. final in the 800-meter in the beginning of August and was still immediately engaged in getting ready for this cross country season. He’s one of the most phenomenal athletes in our sport, period, and that comes from having a big heart for his team.”
Weber State’s Peter Visser finished as the individual runner-up, finishing just four seconds behind Sahlman.
Northern Arizona placed four runners in the top five and cruised to a team victory with 20 points.
Weber State finished as the runner-up with 58 points as a unit, while Montana State placed third with 76 points of their own.
Big Sky Conference teams will now turn their collective attention to NCAA Regional action that will take place in Sacramento or Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 14.
2025 Big Sky Cross Country Championship
WOMEN
Team scores
1, Northern Arizona, 16
2, Weber State, 80
3, Montana State, 83
4, Idaho State, 120
5, Idaho, 140
6, Sacramento State, 186 (won tiebreaker)
7, Northern Colorado, 186
8. Eastern Washington, 224
9, Montana, 235
10, Portland State, 243
All-Conference team
1, Hayley Burns, Northern Arizona, 16:05.70
2, Ava Mitchell, Northern Arizona, 16:14.30
3, Keira Moore, Northern Arizona, 16:22.10
4, Kiki Vaughn, Northern Arizona, 16:28.90
5, Regina Mpigachai, Northern Colorado, 16:33.60
6, Payton Godsey, Northern Arizona, 16:42.30
7, Hailey Low, Weber State, 16:45.80
8, Anna Fenske, Northern Arizona, 16:56.50
9, Emma Stolte, Portland State, 16:56.90
10, Audrey Camp Cazier, Weber State, 17:08.30
Individual champion: Hayley Burns, Northern Arizona
Freshman of the year: Kiki Vaughn, Northern Arizona
MEN
Team scores
1, Northern Arizona, 20
2, Weber State, 58
3, Montana State, 76
4, Idaho State, 128
5, Montana, 146
6, Idaho, 170
7, Eastern Washington, 204
8, Portland State, 244
9, Northern Colorado, 247
10, Sacramento State, 255
All-Conference team
1, Colin Sahlman, Northern Arizona, 23:41.30
2, Peter Visser, Weber State, 23:45.50
3, Manny Perez, Northern Arizona, 23:58.40
4, Erik Le Roux, Northern Arizona, 23:59.50
5, Cael Grotenhuis, Northern Arizona, 24:01.40
6, Owen Smith, Montana State, 24:08.50
7, Ethan Godsey, Northern Arizona, 24:15.00
8, Jacob Peterson, Weber State, 24:22.20
9, Justin Keyes, Northern Arizona, 24:27.40
10, Sam Ells, Montana State, 24:28.00
Individual champion: Colin Sahlman, Northern Arizona
Freshman of the year: Ryan Harrington, Montana State
