TRANSFERS: Karrie Baloga & Alyson Churchill (Grad) to Join Northern Arizona This Winter

Photo Assistance via John Nepolitan & Evan Soucy

Earlier today, Northern Arizona announced that they have landed two top-tier distance talents from the transfer portal.

The first is Karrie Baloga, a current true freshman who previously spent time at Colorado. She has four full years of eligibility between indoor and outdoor track as well as three years of eligibility on the grass.

Alyson Churchill, a veteran standout from Florida State, is joining the Lumberjacks as a graduate transfer. She is expected to hold one season of cross country eligibility and one season of outdoor track eligibility as well as two seasons of indoor track eligibility.

Baloga, a former high school superstar, joined Colorado with personal bests of 4:37 (mile), 9:20 (3k), 10:27 (3k steeple), 10:07 (two miles) and 16:49 (5k XC). She also won the 2022 Champs Sports XC National Championships and earned a fantastic 13th place finish at the 2023 U20 World XC Championships.

However, maybe more importantly, the former Buffalo was able to offer highly valuable upfront scoring potency to her Boulder-based cross country team in her first-ever season of competition. This past fall, she placed 21st at the Virginia Invite, 39th at the Nuttycombe Invite, 8th at the PAC-12 XC Championships and just recently, 82nd at the NCAA XC Championships.

On paper, Baloga is a perfect for NAU. She is an aerobic-centric stud who fits the long distance ethos that the ladies from Flagstaff, Arizona have established. Not only that, but she also holds tons of eligibility, making her a long-term talent who can positively impact this team for years to come.

In terms of overall value, Baloga was one of the biggest and best transfer targets out there.

We then come to Alyson Churchill, a veteran who has been excellent throughout her career, but has bene arguably at her best over the last year.

The now-former Seminole holds personal bests of 4:13.98 (1500), 4:37 (mile), 9:01 (3k) and 15:33 (5k). On the grass, Churchill narrowly finished 3rd at the Joe Piane Invite this past fall, just a half step behind Kelsey Chmiel. She later placed 31st at Nuttycombe, 6th at the ACC XC Championships and 22nd at the NCAA XC Championships.

Much like Baloga, Churchill's strength-based talent is an ideal fit for a program that has predominantely aimed to procure top-tier cross country and long distance runners. And while Baloga certainly has much more eligibility, Churchill is seemingly ready to be a lethal low-stick ace in 2024 for a team that is currently in "win now" mode.

With TFRRS suggesting that both Gracelyn Larkin and Annika Reiss are out of cross country eligibility, NAU has a clear need for more potent firepower. In theory, that is something that Baloga could realistically offer as soon as next fall, but more likely in 2025. For Churchill, however, that's a role that she could instantly fill nine to 11 months from now.

Despite falling short of the national team title by one point back in late November, Coach Mike Smith and the Lumberjacks' coaching staff have been smart to continue attacking the transfer portal for star-caliber names much like they did in the summer.

With fellow 2023 podium teams such as NC State, Oklahoma State and Notre Dame all expected to lose high-impact veterans for next fall, the women of NAU should still have enough pieces to remain in the national title conversation.

That's why another round of recruiting top-transfer stars seemingly makes sense for this program, especially since they were also able to land a long-term talent like Baloga in the process.