Northern Arizona junior Nico Young became the first NCAA athlete to break 13:00 for 5,000m with his stunning 12:57.14 performance on Friday in Boston.

In the wake of his record-breaking run, Young has taken over the top spot in the FloTrack NCAA men’s 5,000m rankings, a spot previously held by Harvard’s Graham Blanks. Blanks’ 13:03.78 collegiate record stood for just 8 weeks before Young smashed it on Friday.

🗣️: "I knew I could break 13:00 on my best day."

Nico Young of @NAUTrackFieldXC certainly had a great day as he clocked a new NCAA indoor 5k record of 12:57.14 at BU.

Full interview: https://t.co/K8jxQsbfPW#BUTerrierClassic pic.twitter.com/kE3M6XXnE7

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) January 27, 2024

Young’s performance in Boston was the headliner for a monster weekend for his Northern Arizona squad. The Lumberjacks moved up from eighth to fourth in this week’s team rankings thanks to Young and his teammates Colin Sahlman and Aaron Las Heras.

🤯 Making it look easy! Colin Sahlman rolls to a 3:53.17 mile, beating a stacked field at the John Thomas Terrier Classic pic.twitter.com/RZj5QtUqyU

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) January 26, 2024

Sahlman broke out in a big way with his 3:53.17 mile victory at BU, a school record and the third-fastest mark in the NCAA this season. (Young holds the top spot with his converted 3:48.71 mark, but he is unlikely to run the mile at NCAAs.) Sahlman, just a sophomore, slots into fifth in the FloTrack mile rankings after previously being unranked.

Las Heras, a Wake Forest transfer, led a 1-2 punch in his 5,000m heat with teammate Theo Quax as the pair ran 13:16.68 and 13:16.83, respectively. Those times are currently sixth and seventh in the NCAA this season, and alongside Young’s collegiate record, that makes three NAU 5,000m runners with top 10 times in 2024. And that’s not even counting Drew Bosley, who was third in the NCAA indoor 5,000m in 2023.

Aaron Las Heras wins the unseeded men's 5K at the John Thomas Terrier Classic!

🥇 Aaron Las Heras - 13:16.68 (3rd all-time NAU)
🥈 Theo Quax - 13:16.83 (4th all-time NAU)
2⃣5⃣ Erik Le Roux - 14:14.01#RaiseTheFlag | #BigSkyTF

— NAU Track & Field/XC (@NAUTrackFieldXC) January 27, 2024

Las Heras is currently ranked eighth in our 5,000m rankings to join Young (first) and Bosley (sixth) as projected scorers at NCAAs. The Lumberjacks will look to ride their distance stars to an NCAA podium spot come March.

The Arkansas women were the big winners of the weekend on the women’s side, as the Razorbacks have jumped to the No. 1 spot thanks to stand out performances by transfers Sanu Jallow (800m, 4x400m) and Nia Robinson (long jump). 

Jallow, a Texas A&M transfer, lowered her 800m PB over three seconds in running 2:20.60 at the Razorback Invitational, currently No. 4 in the NCAA this season. Robinson, who previously competed for South Florida, leapt to an indoor best of 6.56m at the meet to slot in at No. 3 so far in 2024.

2024 Razorback Invitational

W 800m
1) 2:02.29 Shafiqua Maloney (Alum)
2) 2:02.60 Sanu Jallow (Ark) [AL, CL, PR, No. 4 UA]
3) 2:02.82 Gabija Galvydyte (OkSt)

10) 2:05.17 Ainsley Erzen [PR, No. 11 UA]
17) 2:06.43 Tiana LoStracco
22) 2:07.60 Chachi Gonzales pic.twitter.com/0Ykg6lHPQX

— Arkansas Track & Field (@RazorbackTF) January 27, 2024

Jallow and Robinson add point-scoring potential to a defending champion squad that is loaded in the 400m (top three in our rankings are all Razorbacks) and of course, the 4x400m. Arkansas dominated the 4x400m at the Razorback Invitational in running an NCAA-leading 3:25.59, and that was without star freshman Shawnti Jackson.

Jackson currently owns top three marks in the 60m (7.18) and 200m (22.77) and has also posted the eighth-fastest 400m in 2024 (52.10).