ARCATA — Another trip to the Bay Area gives the Humboldt State men's and women's cross country teams a chance to measure themselves with several other NCAA Division II programs when they compete at the Gator Invitational.
One of the nation's most scenic urban green spaces, Golden Gate Park, serves as the venue for the men's 8K and women's 6K races. San Francisco State hosts the event, scheduled to start at 4 p.m. Friday.
Meet Notes
Other teams expected to compete include Division II schools Academy of Art, Sonoma State, Cal State Stanislaus, Cal State Monterey Bay, Notre Dame de Namur and Central Washington. Division I opponents include San Jose State and Santa Clara, and NAIA or Division III schools participating are UC Santa Cruz, Simpson College and Mills College. …The races start and finish in Speedway Meadow, with parking available along JFK Drive.
Course Notes
This meet's course is the same that hosted the 2009 NCAA Division II West Region Championships. From the meadow, the first 1.85K follows a loop around the polo field and up through the woods before returning to the meadow. Each course will then consist of 2K loops through Speedway Meadow, Lindley Meadow and the surrounding dirt trails. On the last lap runners head back down Speedway for the last 400 meters. …The course consists of rolling terrain along grass fields and dirt trails.
Men's Notes
Coach Scott Pesch will take a full contingent of 15 men on this road trip, one of the relatively shorter journeys the Jacks make to compete this fall. While the first-year mentor expects his front runners to be generally the same athletes who competed at the Stanford Invitational, he's looking for different results. "We're looking for a tighter group, which means more consistency from the group right behind our front-runners," Pesch said. "We've been working on our 4, 5 and 6 runners staying in contact with our 1, 2 and 3 runners for as long as they can." …HSU's top finisher at the Stanford meet was Eric Malain, who along with Austin Huff and Nico Arguelles form the Jacks' top three. The pack behind them includes Robert Gustas, Hunter Daniel, Roberto Quintero, Joe Ostini and Derek Lactaoen.
Women's Notes
As with the men's team, Pesch plans to take a complete squad of 15 women to San Francisco. …Friday's meet marks the 2010 debut of Lumberjack sophomore Bridget Berg, who has been maintaining her fitness through a variety of alternative exercises while nursing an injured foot and other maladies. While not fully recovered, Pesch wanted his top runner to get at least one race in before championship season arrives, and the soft terrain in Golden Gate Park presented an ideal opportunity. "If she were to have a setback from this race, we'd still have a month for her to recover in time for the big meets." …HSU's scoring pack should also include Irene Graham, Tess Dahlgren, Christina Perez, Alizah Rotman and Jeannie Castell. …Because of lingering injuries, a decision has been made to hold out sophomore Chelsea Schaefer this season.
Pesch's Comments
"For both the men and women, our strategy is go out hard and let the strength we've been building carry us through. All of the sand dunes and hills we've been running should allow us to hold on through the second half of the race."
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