Former Mesquite High School stand-out and multiple time All-American Tyler Day returned to the valley for the Nike Desert Twilight Community Race on Friday evening. Clocking in at 14:03 over the 5k course, Day says it was a hard bargain convincing NAU'S Coach Smith to let him race.
"He said 'Hey man, you can do it, just as long as you work for it. You better get out hard, then that second to third part is going to get super difficult,'" says Day.
While he's out of NCAA cross country eligibility, he's been training hard with the distance team for his final track season as a Lumberjack, "I'm doing a road 10k in Phoenix and a half-marathon in Vegas, so right now I'm just kind of getting into my peak mileage, maybe give me a few weeks and I'll get under 14."
Day has been a member of all three NAU Cross Country Championship Teams between 2016-2018. The three-peat team is looking to win their 4th NCAA Crown this coming November.
"I might be biased, but I'm going all the way for the dubs," says Day, "They've just got to keep their heads straight and keep doing what they're doing and they'll kick butt. Don't sleep on the Women's Team all you out there, they're ranked 25th and waiting for that number to go down. Chop wood and carry water, Jack's out!"