Northern Arizona University Women's Track

McDaniel works with the mens and womens sprinters and hurdlers, bringing his energetic and passionate approach to the Lumberjack student-athletes. He joined the NAU program after five seasons as an assistant at Arizona State. During his time with NAU, McDaniel has coached his sprinters and hurdlers to a combined 13 gold medals in the indoor and outdoor seasons, with seven alone coming in 2016. He guided James Fisher to his fourth consecutive Big Sky title in the men's 200m event while also coaching the men's 4x400m (indoor) and the women's 4x400m (indoor and outdoor) relay teams to gold medals at conference championships. The men's 4x100m also secured a first-place victory at outdoor conference championships, where they went onto qualify for nationals with a time of 40.00 at NCAA West Prelims. It marked only the second time in the conference's 52 year history a men's 4x1 team made it to NCAA Championships.   One of the most impressive accomplishments during McDaniel's tenure came during the 2016 outdoor season. Under his guidance, the NAU women's 4x400m relay team went onto break a 17-year old school record one week  bested that record-breaking time  Jasmine Malone, Clarissa Maxey, Ashley Taylor and Nicole Fotinos combined to break the old record at the Jim Click Shootout with a 3:43.49 time, while Malone, Taylor and Fotinos teamed up with Bria Edwards the next weekend to set an even better record with a time of 3:41.30. Additionally, McDaniel has helped sprinter Vernon Jamison win both indoor conference hurdle titles, while cutting his times in both events. McDaniel has led Darriel Banks to an indoor conference title and career-best time in the 60m hurdle, while directing Shamelle Pless to a career- and school-record time in the 200m dash. The 4x400m relay squad has improved dramatically with McDaniel coaching as well, securing the gold medal at indoor conference and the bronze medal at outdoor conference with an excellent 3:09 mark last spring.  McDaniel has continued his career as a Lumberjack in impressive fashion. McDaniel coached sprinter Miles di Sabella to an outdoor conference title in the 200m, while guiding Banks to the first round of NCAA Championships with her times in the 100m and 200m. Isatu Fofanah and Pless have also significantly bettered their times in 100m and 200m during their time as Lumberjacks. In his five years with the Sun Devil program, McDaniels womens sprint, hurdle and relay student-athletes improved under his direction while consistently challenging for conference and national titles. Overall, he coached 12 women to a combined 43 All-American honors, including two-time NCAA Champion Jacquelyn Johnson. She won the NCAA title in the pentathlon and heptathlon in 2008 before competing in the Beijing Olympics. McDaniel also coached athletes like Jasmine Chaney and Charonda Williams while at ASU. Under McDaniel, Chaney recorded a personal best in the 400m indoor hurdles and a berth in the 2012 Olympic Trials. Chaney eventually earned a spot on Team USA for the IAAF World Championships in the 400m hurdles while breaking a 16 year-old school record in the process. She is now a professional athlete. Williams had similar success, earning a spot on Team USA for the IAAF World Championships in Berlin after breaking numerous school records during the collegiate season before. With McDaniel, Williams lowered her time in the 100m from 11.61 to 11.14 and also dropped her 200m time from 23.62 to a windy 22.39 to reset the school records that had stood for over 13 years. She now runs professionally for Adidas.  Prior to his arrival in Tempe, McDaniel spent three seasons coaching the mens and womens sprints, hurdles and relays at Cal State Fullerton and guided six individuals, three men and three women, and one womens relay to Big West titles. His athletes also set 14 total school records. McDaniels first coaching job came in 2000 when he was hired to coach the mens and womens sprints, hurdles and relays at San Francisco State. While with the Gators, his student-athletes accounted for three school records while a pair of sprinters qualified in the 100m and 200m dash at the NCAA Division II Championships. His student-athletes also garnered 10 total All-CCAA honors. Before taking his position at SFSU, McDaniel served as a student assistant coach at his alma mater, Pittsburgh State University, in Pittsburgh, Kan. A 1999 graduate with a degree in general studies with an emphasis in kinesiology and nutrition, McDaniel ran for the Gorillas for two years. There, he earned All-MIAA accolades in the indoor 55m hurdles, the outdoor 110m high-hurdles and the outdoor 400m hurdles. A native of Longview, Texas, and graduate of Longview High School, McDaniel attained his USATF Level II Sprints and Hurdles certification in the summer of 2006.   2016 Men's 4x100m Relay Team 2016 Women's 4x400m Relay Team Vernon Jamison NAU James Fisher NAU Cameron Coleman NAU Miles Disabella NAU Darriel Banks NAU Shamelle Pless NAU Ashley Taylor NAU Nicole Fotinos NAU Kayla Sanchez ASU Jasmine Chaney ASU Charonda Williams ASU Dominique Maloy ASU

Rosenfeld enters her fourth year at Northern Arizona as an assistant coach with the Lumberjacks. Rosenfeld focuses primarily on the womens distance program, while also assisting in the recruiting process and coordinating team travel. In her third season at NAU, Rosenfeld helped coach both cross country teams to Big Sky Conference titles as the women secured a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Mountain Regionals. Under her leadership, Rosenfeld saw Melanie Townsend and Kayla Freeman emerge as Big Sky All-Conference runners, while guiding the Lumberjack women to their first conference title in five seasons. Rosenfeld also coached Townsend to NCAA Nationals in Terre Haute, Ind., last season, where she placed 56th overall.  Rosenfeld was instrumental in developing both the womens and mens teams during the 2012-13 season. The womens team improved dramatically and the mens team won the Big Sky Conference championship, finishing the season ranked fourth in the nation. Rosenfeld also guided women's distance runner Rolonda Jumbo to NCAA Nationals in 2013.  Before arriving at NAU, Rosenfeld worked as an assistant coach at Lodi High School in Lodi, Calif. During the 2010 cross country season, Rosenfeld coached the womens team to their eighth-straight League Championship and individual champion in Cassidy Daley. In February 2011, Rosenfeld helped Daley to run at the USA Cross Country Championships and Junior Olympics, where she placed 11th and earned All-American honors. Prior to her coaching stint at Lodi High School, Rosenfeld worked with the cross country and track and field teams at Syracuse University as a volunteer assistant coach. In 2011, both the Syracuse mens and womens cross country teams won the Northeast Region Championship and competed in the NCAA Championships, where they finished 15th and 17th, respectively.  Rosenfeld, a Ridgefield, Conn. native, was a member of the cross country and indoor and outdoor track teams at Penn State University (PSU) from 2006-10. During her collegiate career as a Nittany Lion, Leah received All-Region cross country honors; scored points in both the one mile race at the Indoor Big Ten Championships and the 5,000 meter run at the Outdoor Big Ten Championships; earned medalist honors at the Iona Meet of Champions and led her team to a first-place finish her junior year; and nabbed a regional qualifier spot in the 1,500 meter run with a personal-best time of 4:24.62 in the prelims her junior year. That mark placed Rosenfeld on PSUs Top-10 all-time 1,500 meter record board. Rosenfeld was also a member of the 4x1500 meter relay at Penn Relays, setting a school record time of 17:57.28. In addition to running, Rosenfeld was heavily involved in the student-athlete services at PSU. She was the Student-Athlete Advisory Board (SAAB) representative for the cross country and track and field teams her junior and senior years and demonstrated great leadership as the Fundraising Chair for SAAB, managing 800 PSU varsity student-athletes. Rosenfeld graduated from PSU in 2010 with a bachelors degree in communication with a concentration in media studies and kinesiology. She completed her masters degree in educational leadership at NAU this past December.

Townsend enters his first season with the Northern Arizona mens and womens track & field program as a graduate assistant. He will be working primarily with the jumpers. Prior to his arrival at NAU, Roderick coached multis and jumpers for one year at San Joaquin Delta Junior College. He also coached at Jim Elliott Christian High School for one season. Roderick also served as a sports performance coach at The Performance Project in Stockton, Calif. Roderick is a member of the United States Paralympic team, and has spent time training at the United States Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif. On the national scene, Roderick has represented USA in the World Championships in the high jump, long Jump, and triple jump. Roderick is the United States Paralympics high jump world record holder with a height of 2.17 meters. Hes also the Americas Continent record holder in the long jump (7.21m). Roderick still competes and is the reigning 2015 ParaPanAm champion in the long jump and high jump. Roderick competed for Boise State for two years as a decathlete. He is a five-time All-Mountain West honoree with crowns in the high jump and indoor heptathlon. Prior to Boise State, Roderick spent two years at San Joaquin Delta College, earning All-American honors in the high jump and decathlon. Roderick graduated from Boise State in 2014 with a degree in communications.

Ott joins the Northern Arizona track and field coaching staff as an assistant coach for throws. Ott joins the Lumberjacks after a season as the throws coach for Texas State and six seasons at his alma mater, Southern Utah. At Texas State, Ott coached one national qualifier, four west preliminary qualifiers and eight Sunbelt Conference Champions. He also had athletes break records in the mens indoor and outdoor shot put, weight throw and hammer throw which was set and reset by two different athletes and the womens weight throw. At Southern Utah, Ott coached 19 conference champions, 11 NCAA Regional qualifiers and one All-American. Under his tenure, the Thunderbird throwers broke 13 school records, posted 142 top 10 marks and boasted three team MVPs. In 2013, Ott coached Kayla Kovar to an indoor Big Sky Championship in the shot put and a Most Outstanding Performer honor. In total, Kovar notched six conference championships under Otts coaching. She also holds school records in the indoor and outdoor shot put, weight throw, discus and is second all-time in the hammer throw. As a student-athlete at Southern Utah, Ott set the school record in the hammer throw with a distance of 201-05. He won the Mid-Continent Conference Championship for the hammer throw in 2007 and was the teams leading scorer in 2006. He was also a two-time NCAA West Regional qualifier.

Heins enters his tenth season as the Director of Cross Country at Northern Arizona University. He has won 26 Big Sky Championships between XC and track & field, and he has produced eight top-10 national finishes in his first nine seasons at NAU. In his nine years since returning to Flagstaff, Heins has been named Coach of the Year by the Big Sky Conference 25 times, including four such titles during last seasons cross country and track and field campaigns. In 2014, Heins guided the mens cross country team to its eighth-straight Big Sky Conference Championship, while also helping the womens squad secure its second conference title in the last six seasons. The mens team went on to compete at the NCAA Championships, where they earned a fourth-place finish thanks in part to junior Futsum Zienasellassies individual performance. Zienasellassies third-place finish in 2014 was the third time in the Heins era that a cross country member placed in the top-three at nationals. That momentum carried over into the 2015 track and field season, where Heins led the Lumberjack men to indoor and outdoor conference titles, marking the fifth-straight triple crown for the NAU men and the seventh overall in school history. Under his direction, Heins also saw the womens team notch a third place finish at the indoor championships and a fourth place finish at the outdoor championships. The 2014 track and field season was also one to remember, as Heins watched both squads win the Big Sky Indoor and Outdoor Conference Championships under his leadership. The outdoor championship was won in Flagstaff, marking the first time the Lumberjack women have won the outdoor championship since 2006. The 2013 cross county teams continued to flourish during the Heins era, as the mens team secured its seventh-consecutive Big Sky Championship, and ninth-consecutive individual title. The Lumberjack men also finished the season ranked second in the country, thanks in part to All-American performances by Brian Shrader, Matt McElroy and Zienasellassie. The track and field teams experienced much of the same success in 2013 with Heins at the helm. During that season, the NAU mens team secured another conference title, cranking out 143.5 mark at the indoor championship and recording a 143 score at the outdoor meet. Heins mens mid-distance group also took home a total of six individual Big Sky titles during the 2013 track and field campaign. The womens track and field teams finished third at the Big Sky Outdoor Championships and sixth at the indoor meet during the 2013 season. Under Heins, the cross country program has finished in the top-10 eight times at the NCAA Championships with 11 athletes earning cross country All-American accolades Academically, the cross country teams have received the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team award five times under Heins direction, while his student-athletes from both cross country and track and field have earned a combined 463 Big Sky All-Academic honors since 2007. Former NAU cross country and track and field star David McNeill was named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America team in 2009 and 2010, while also being named the 2010 Track and Field Division I Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Heins has also had two student-athletes earn academic All-American honors, while Lopez Lomong became Heins first athlete to be inducted into the NAU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013. Before Being Named NAUs Head Coach From 2001-03, Heins served as an assistant for the Lumberjacks under then-Head Coach Ron Mann. During his first tenure, the mens team finished as high as fourth place at the NCAA Championships, while the women took home a 10th place finish. From there, Heins went to Southeast Missouri State, where he spent three years coaching the Redhawks to six different Ohio Valley Conference Championships. Heins returned to NAU as a head coach after serving as an assistant during the 2006-07 season at Texas Christian University. In his only season with the TCU Horned Frogs, he guided both the mens and womens teams to top-10 finishes at the NCAA South Central Regional. He also saw five of his runners honored as Mountain West Conference Scholar-Athletes. Heins began his coaching career as an assistant in 2000 at Indiana and ran for Cincinnati from 1995-99. He earned his bachelors degree in health promotion and education. At the 1997 Indoor Conference USA Championships, he achieved his highest individual accomplishment by placing third in the 3,000m. He also notched top-10 finishes in both the indoor and outdoor 5,000m, as well as the outdoor 10,000m. In 2001, Heins earned a masters in kinesiology from Indiana University. In November 2007, he competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials in the marathon in New York, N.Y. Other accolades include winning the St. Louis Marathon in 2004 and placing first in his age group, and fifth overall, in the 2000 Marine Corps Marathon. Northern Arizonas Cross Country and Track and Field Programs (With Heins as Head Coach) 2016 Track & Field Indoor & Outdoor Big Sky Champions (Men) 2016 Track & Field Outdoor Big Sky Champions (Women) 2016 - David McNeill and Jordan Chipangama represent their respective countries at the Rio Olympic Games 2015 Track & Field Indoor & Outdoor Big Sky Champions (Men) 2014 NCAA National Championship Podium Finish (Men - 4th) 2014 Cross Country Big Sky Conference Champions (Men and Women) 2014 Track & Field Indoor & Outdoor Big Sky Champions (Men & Women) 2013 NCAA National Championship Podium Finish (Men - 2nd) 2013 Cross Country Big Sky Conference Champions (Men) 2013 Track & Field Indoor & Outdoor Big Sky Champions (Men) 2013 Six individual Track & Field Indoor & Outdoor Big Sky titles 2012 NCAA National Championship Podium Finish (Men - 4th) 2012 Cross Country Big Sky Conference Champions (Men) 2012 Track & Field Indoor & Outdoor Big Sky Champions (Men) 2012 Six individual Track & Field Indoor & Outdoor Big Sky titles 2012 Diego Estrada, David McNeill & Lopez Lomong represent their respective countries in the London Olympics 2011 Cross Country Big Sky Conference Champions (Men) 2010 Cross Country Big Sky Conference Champions (Men) 2010 Track & Field Indoor Big Sky Champions (Men) 2010 David McNeill named national champion in indoor & outdoor 5,000m 2009 NCAA National Championship Podium Finish (Men - 4th) 2009 Cross Country Big Sky Conference Champions (Men and Women) 2009 Track & Field Indoor & Outdoor Big Sky Champions (Men) 2009 Track & Field Indoor Big Sky Champions (Women) 2008 Cross Country Big Sky Conference Champions (Men and Women) 2008 Track & Field Outdoor Big Sky Champions (Men) 2008 Lomong represents the US at the 2008 Beijing Olympics 2007 NCAA National Championship Podium Finish (Men - 4th) 2007 Cross Country Big Sky Conference Champions (Men and Women)

Jarred Cornfield officially assumed the role of Director of Cross Country and Track & Field at Northern Arizona University in June 2025. Cornfield previously served as Associate Head Coach since February 2024. His journey at NAU began in 2015, and over nearly a decade, he has risen through the coaching ranks to become the program’s director. Background & Education Cornfield started at NAU as a Graduate Assistant Coach under Eric Heins while pursuing a Master’s in Educational Leadership. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sports Management from Liberty University, where he competed in cross country and track & field, laying the foundation for his coaching philosophy centered on athlete development, discipline, and innovation. Recruiting & Athlete Development Cornfield has earned a reputation as one of collegiate distance running’s top recruiters, attracting elite national and international talent. His eye for identifying athletes with both competitive ability and cultural fit continued NAU’s tradition of excellence while expanding its global reach. Many of his recruits have achieved All-American status, NCAA titles, and post-collegiate success, including Olympians and professional athletes. Mentorship & Development Cornfield attributes much of his success to the guidance and mentorship of two of NAU’s most influential figures in distance running: Mike Smith – Director of Cross Country and Track & Field from 2016–2025, whose leadership built NAU into a national powerhouse and established a culture of championship excellence. Cornfield learned program-building, athlete management, and national-level competition strategies directly from Smith, preparing him to sustain and grow the Lumberjack legacy. Eric Heins – Under whom Cornfield began his coaching career as a Graduate Assistant. Heins instilled the fundamentals of coaching, recruiting, and technical expertise, providing Cornfield with an early blueprint for developing elite athletes and fostering team cohesion. Recent Seasons & Athlete Achievements Under Coach Cornfield’s leadership, Northern Arizona’s distance program has cemented itself among the nation’s most dominant forces. His athletes have produced multiple NCAA records, Big Sky titles, and All-American performances across both cross country and track. In 2024, Nico Young delivered one of the most memorable performances in collegiate distance history, breaking the NCAA 10,000-meter record with a time of 26:52.72 — also an NAU and Big Sky record. Colin Sahlman added to the historic season by clocking 3:33.96 in the 1,500m, the second-fastest mark in NCAA history, and setting school and conference records in the 800m (1:45.63). Cornfield’s squads consistently produce dozens of All-Americans each year, with multiple athletes qualifying for the NCAA Championships annually. NAU distance runners have won individual NCAA titles, conference sweeps in both indoor and outdoor track, and numerous Big Sky crowns in cross country. The combination of record-setting individual brilliance and deep team success continues to reinforce NAU as the premier destination for collegiate distance running. Legacy & Leadership Cornfield’s coaching is rooted in the lessons of his mentors, blending championship vision with technical mastery. He is deeply committed to developing both elite athletes and well-rounded individuals, emphasizing mental toughness, academic success, and personal growth. Off the track, Cornfield is a family-oriented leader who values balance, drawing inspiration from his spouse and children, and often credits their support as key to his dedication and longevity in the sport.