by FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Hayley Burns placed second in 15:55.0, a personal best, in the women’s 5K at the Big Sky Conference Cross Country Championships on Friday at Buffalo Park.
Burns did not repeat as individual champion — that went to her Northern Arizona teammate Ava Mitchell, who won in 15:35.1, also a personal best — but her runner-up finish led the Lumberjacks’ scoring.
Northern Arizona won the women’s team title with 16 points, its scoring five finishing 1-2-3-4-6: Mitchell, Burns, Addy Ritzenhein (15:58.4), Emma Stutzman (15:59.7), and Payton Godsey (16:14.7). The Lumberjacks packed seven runners in the top eight, with Makenzie McRae seventh and Jordan Banta eighth as non-scorers.
The win extends NAU’s streak to eight straight Big Sky women’s team titles, this one coming on the Lumberjacks’ home course in front of their own crowd.
Burns entered the meet as the defending individual champion, having won last year’s conference race in 16:05.8, and today’s 15:55.0 bettered that mark by more than ten seconds even in second place.
NAU now moves on to the NCAA regional championships in November, the next step toward the NCAA Championships on Nov. 21 in Terre Haute, Ind.
