ARCATA — Just 20 minutes up the coast lies one of the most scenic settings for any sporting event. Patrick's Point State Park and its trails offer runners a diversion from their pain during the Humboldt Invitational, hosted by the HSU men's and women's cross country teams on Saturday. The women's 5K race is scheduled to start at 9 a.m., followed by the men's 8K at 9:30 a.m.
Meet Notes: Patrick's Point has served as the location for Humboldt State's home meets for several years, giving way to Beau Pre Golf Course in McKinleyville when a wider, more open course was needed for conference, regional and national events. The exact course has been altered several times, which has also meant a change in what can be counted as course records. The current set-up will be used for the third straight year. Jimmy Elam holds the men's course record with a time of 26 minutes, 06.87 seconds achieved last year for the 8K distance. Fresno Pacific's Ashley Nelson also set the women's 5K course record last year with a time of 19:04.7.
Results: Results will be available on hsujacks.com shortly after the race's completion. They can be accessed through the following link: http://hsujacks.com/schedule.aspx?schedule=33
Lumberjack Notes: An impressive debut saw the Jacks claim a pair of men's dual meet wins over Alaska Fairbanks last week. Sophomore
Eric Malain led the way both times, helping his team to 22-35 and 17-42 wins over the host Nanooks on Thursday and Saturday, respectively. …In last week's women's races junior
Megan Rolland was HSU's top runner on both occasions, finishing fourth Thursday and third Saturday. The pack behind her included Clare Nowell,
Irene Graham,
Tess Dahlgren and
Sylvia Nicovich both days, with Nowell and Graham trading the No. 2 and No. 3 spots. …Traveling positions for the opening roadtrip were determined by a time trial ran the following week, but positions in the Jacks' top seven remain up for grabs among the men and women. Racing at home this week means all eligible athletes will be able to compete, allowing several Jacks a chance to claim a scoring position.
Opponent Notes: One member of the OIT squad advanced to the NAIA National meet in 2007, but the team expects to send more this year. Saturday's meet is the Owls' season-opener. Twelve women and 15 men populate the OIT roster this fall. …Senior Benny Madrigal returns for Fresno Pacific after finishing 63rd at last year's national meet. Madrigal won the HSU meet as a sophomore and placed third last year as a junior. …Top returner for the Falcons' women is Kaili Zink, who finished fourth at last year's HSU meet.
Moran's Musings: "Being at home gives everybody a chance to run, and will allow us to see who is ready to move up." … "Oregon Tech and Fresno Pacific have been coming up here for years, and they always have competitive teams. We're grateful to get some quality competition early in the season."
