At 21 minutes, 22 seconds into the NCAA Cross Country Championships at Furman University in Greenville, S.C., the coach called over his two-way radio to his assistant, "Count them -- we've got four in the top 30!"

From that moment on the NAU team would be making school history.

Five individuals earned All-American status, including four on the NAU men's team and one on the women's team, a feat that is unprecedented at NAU, as well as in Big Sky Conference history.

Sophomore Travis Laird was the top finisher for the Lumberjacks, finishing 10th overall (29 minutes, 31 seconds). He was followed by Bruno Mazzotta in 25th (30:01), Henrik Ahnstrom in 27th (30:03) and Juwan Nuvayokva in 40th (30:11). Ida Nilsson finished 12th overall for the women (20:58), solidifying the record.

The NAU men at fourth overall with 193 points behind No. 3 Arkansas (118 points), No. 2 Stanford (91 points) and No. 1 Colorado (90 points).

Boaz Chboiywo of Eastern Michigan won the men's race in 28:47, breaking a course record set earlier this season by UCLA's Mebrahtom Keflezighi (28:54).

The NAU women scored 367 points. BYU was the team champion with 62 points followed by North Carolina State (148 points). Tara Chaplin of Arizona (20:24) won the individual title.

For the Lumberjack seniors, this was a sensational way to close out their college careers.

"As a senior this is the best thing we could do," said NAU men's team captain Ryan Thomas. "We were able to uphold the NAU tradition on a day that really counted."

Nuvayokva added, "I don't know what to say. It was my last race as a senior and all I could think about was making the podium."

The NAU women's team finished a little lower than they wanted, but nevertheless were impressive. Senior Susie Rutherford finished second for the Lumberjacks (47th, 21:39), followed by Jinny Hanifan (63rd, 21:47), Erika Edwards (143rd, 22:30) and Jamie Herman (197th, 22:55).

Meanwhile, Mann will have plenty to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, reflecting on a season of impressive accomplishments.

"What a great day in South Carolina," Mann said. "Nobody will see me tomorrow because I will be relaxing at home with my legs kicked up. We came a very long way this year. At camp we set goals to win conference, qualify both teams to nationals and finish both teams in the top 10. We almost did it, actually, if you average the results, they did do it."

For the NAU program, it is the fifth top-5 national finish in school history, something that is becoming the norm.

Since 1988, the NAU men's program has recorded four top-5 national finishes and the women's team placed third in 1991. The men's team finished second overall in 1995, fourth in 1994, second again in 1988 and the fourth-place finish in 2001.

"We are finally being recognized as one of those teams," Mann said. "Nationally we have proved that we can hold our own with the big programs. It is a tremendous accomplishment what these athletes have done for our university and program."