Tyler Day Leading NAU Toward A Possible Third Straight NCAA Title

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Tyler Day, the Northern Arizona All-American distance runner and journalism student, appreciates the value of a good story.

His own rise from the desert floor of Gilbert, Ariz. to the pinnacle of NCAA cross country at NAU in Flagstaff has a rags-to-riches ring to it.

Day and the rest of the top-ranked Lumberjacks will run Friday at the NCAA Division 1 Mountain Regional Championships in Provo, Utah. At stake is an opportunity for the two-time national champions to move into position to defend their title next week in Madison, Wisc.

Day grew up a baseball fan and dreamed of being part of a great team in his home state. Early on, the fantasy involved playing catcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

By junior high, Day’s focus had turned to running and eventually he made steady progress as the best distance runner in a low-mileage program at Mesquite High.

He ran 25-30 miles a week, but knew he had some ability. On hour-long runs, he could cover 10 miles.

He qualified for state four years in a row and finished second at the AIA Championships his senior year.

Just about four years ago, he finished eighth at the Nike Cross Regional Southwest meet. Two runners ahead of him were from American Fork UT, a qualifying team, and another runner declined his invitation to NXN so he could go to Foot Locker West.

That last spot for nationals fell to Day.

“That made me feel like I was worthy,” Day said. “If I didn’t make it (to nationals), I don’t know if I’d be here right now.”

In Portland, the opportunity to show what he could do was obscured by a fall in the first 200 meters. He rallied from dead last and finished 43rd.

Day thought he had squandered his big chance.

“On paper, I thought I had totally just failed,” he said. “No one’s going to want a guy who got 43rd at nationals.”

Day did get some attention, though. He picked Northern Arizona and coach Eric Heins over lukewarm interest from Iowa State and Boise State.

“I really initially thought I wasn't good enough for NAU,” Day said.

He graduated from Mesquite with a 3,200 PR of 9:28.

Day might say that he barely latched on at NAU and then began “grinding” to hold his spot on the team. The first time he reached an NCAA track meet, during the indoor season of his sophomore year, he got into the 5,000 meters when another runner above him on the list scratched.  

He also got a lot better, in a hurry, after going to Flagstaff’s 7,000 feet of elevation and adjusting to college training, first under Heins and then coach Mike Smith.

“I adapted quickly to elevation for some reason,” Day said. “For me, or for any high school kid, once you hop into college training it’s a big ’ol slap in the face. Those long, slow grinds, that was difficult to adjust to. I think it went well.”

For Day, it’s gone better than well. He has become one of the best collegiate runners in the country.

He has run 28:04.44 for 10,000 meters on the track.

Last year, he was third in the NCAA Cross Country Championships, behind only winner Justyn Knight of Syracuse and his own teammate, Matthew Baxter. This fall, he was second at NCAA Pre-Nationals and second at the Big Sky Conference Championships.

The transformation from 9:28 high school guy to one of the best college runners in the U.S. was no accident, Smith said.

Training at altitude jump-started a process that revealed what had been previously hidden by Day’s 30-mile weeks in high school.

“With me, training is prioritized on developing that engine, and it was a good match for what his skill set required,” Smith said.

Altitude affects runners in different ways, and not always positively.

For Day, it worked.

“He’s a high responder to altitude,” Smith explained. “Certain people can recover quicker and handle the training. With Tyler, he has the physiology, had the gifts, could handle it and not get hurt, and also had a really high will. That’s the ultimate combination.”

Smith thinks it’s time to retire the storyline that Day is an underdog.

“Tyler has as much talent as anybody in the NCAA,” the coach said. “I've allowed him a couple of years to take on that (role) as the humble guy. But that time is up. You evolve physically and you have to also evolve psychologically.”

Smith said that for Day, that transition to a new outlook is the final piece of the puzzle.

Day’s engine is strong. His mechanics are fluid. He’s got closing speed.

“He’s got the skill set,” Smith said. “The next piece for him is to grow into that place of confidence and shed that (modest) image.”

Day’s progress is also connected to daily workouts with Baxter, a New Zealander, and other talented members of the Lumberjacks’ loaded roster.

As the resident Arizonan at the hub of a national championship program, Day occupies an important role at the school and on the team.

“Tyler is so proud,” Smith said. “And it really connects us to place, and that’s a challenge in our sport. You can assemble kids who are the best people from all over the world, but we never want to lose sight that we’re an Arizona public institution, and in-state kids are part of our program.”

In some ways, Day is the face of the franchise because of his proximity and his candor.

“He’s an incredible guy with a unique personality and he brings a lot of humor and a lot of respect,” Smith said. “He’s entirely team-focused. He would do whatever we need him to do, and that’s contagious when others see that.”

Day’s loose, laid-back personality is the essence of the overall team ethos.

“These guys have a lot of expectations, but if you can keep the mood relaxed and loose, that’s really the thing about NAU cross country,” Smith said. “And Tyler is central to that energy.”

Day feels fortunate to be part of it, that fate worked things out in his favor.

“I pinch myself sometimes, like is this really real?” he said. “I run for the guys. They are the first to help me on an off day. I can’t say I did it all alone in college. It’s definitely the team that helped me in all of this. I would never be in this situation without those guys.”

That streak of humility, of being the 9:28 guy, the underdog, is an identity that is not easy to put away.

But Smith said it’s time for Day to adopt a new narrative, one that matches the status he occupies today. There is no reason to hold onto any excuses, subconcious or otherwise, that could prevent him from feeling like he's worthy of winning a championship race.

“My job as a coach, as much as moving their threshold or mileage forward, is moving (the athlete) forward,” Smith said. “If we’re not evolving in our view of our self, then my job’s not finished.”