NAU track and field indoor title aspirations abruptly stopped due to coronavirus cancellations – Arizona Daily Sun

The Lumberjacks were coming off a historic season for the program, earning the top rank in the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association — a mark they held for two weeks. The Lumberjacks finished the year at No. 2 in the nation as nationals were set to start this weekend in Albuquerque.

It was the program’s opportunity for a previously unreached level of success behind a dominant group of seven distance runners with the talent and drive to further cement their names in the history books of the sport.

Then came disappointment.

The news broke Thursday afternoon that the NCAA indoor championship meet, and the rest of the winter and spring NCAA championships, were to be canceled entirely due to concerns surrounding the new coronavirus outbreak, all while the team was halfway through a pre-meet workout.

“We were on the verge of a big weekend for our program and our program’s history,” said Mike Smith, director of cross country and track and field at Northern Arizona, on Thursday night. “ … No matter the case, it’s just disappointing. What I told our guys is, ‘It’s a privilege that just playing a game or not is a big deal in our lives right now. We are in a pretty good place in this world.’ They’re going to be just fine.

“It’s frustrating. It’s hard. But we know it’s in the best interests of our population,” Smith added.

Senior Tyler Day was set to continue his dominant year during which he set the American collegiate record in the 5K with a 13:16.95 mark in Boston, at the collegiate levels biggest stage.

Senior Geordie Beamish was in line to defend his indoor mile title, while Luis Grijalva, Blaise Ferro, Ryan Raff, Theo Quax and Abdihamid Nur were all set to make their own marks and continue in the distance program’s recent success.

The cancellation seemed almost inevitable, especially once the NBA announced Wednesday that its season was to be put on hold. The NBA’s decision caused a domino effect of sorts, as most major professional sports and NCAA conferences followed suit with cancellations or suspensions of tournaments and seasons. As each hour passed Wednesday, more and more cancellations were made.

The NCAA had originally announced early Thursday that the meet would go on as planned, just without any fans in attendance, despite the ACC and Big Ten not allowing respective member schools to compete.

Smith and his team left Flagstaff Wednesday afternoon — the same day most of the cancellations started to be announced — and got into Albuquerque the same night.

When Smith woke up Thursday morning, he said he was a bit surprised when the meet had yet to be canceled. The announcement finally came at about 2 p.m., Flagstaff time, and despite the almost expected nature of it all, the shock and disappointment was clear for the group.

“It’s really hard in the moment when you’re a committed athlete,” Smith said. “I tell them, the investment that’s required comes with a proportionate disappointment and things like that. So it’s pretty hard right now.”

In a video posted by FloTrack on Twitter, Smith was interviewed not long after the announcement was made and he gestured the reporter toward some of the Northern Arizona athletes who were consoling each other about the news.

Smith was most concerned about the well-being of his athletes, as he made it clear that his main goal Thursday night was to get his team back home to Flagstaff.

“My concern is our guys and I gotta get them back home,” Smith said. “I got some really upset and really disappointed guys. We had athletes just in tears and really disappointed they came ready to go. I haven’t thought much beyond just getting them back to campus tonight and back home.”

The Big Sky Conference announced late Thursday that all spring sports would be suspended until further notice, putting the Lumberjacks outdoor track and field season on hold for the time being.

The Big Sky’s announcement came not long after the NCAA announced that all spring sports championships were to be canceled — which includes the outdoor track and field nationals.

The NCAA later announced Friday in a statement that it would allow student athletes who participate in spring sports to be given an extra year of eligibility to make up for the potentially lost season.

The NCAA said that details of eligibility relief would be finalized at a later time and that eligibility relief for winter sports was still being discussed.