ARCATA — Debuting on their own home course, the 2012 HSU men's and women's teams served notice Saturday of what could be the most outstanding season in several years for both squads. The Jacks took major strides towards returning to the dominant programs they were throughout the 80s and 90s, finishing second in the men's race behind the No. 1 ranked NAIA Southern Oregon Raiders and winning the women's race in solid fashion.
"We got the great races we expected out of our returning athletes, and some nice surprises from newcomers," Humboldt State third-year head coach
Scott Pesch said. "What we know about both our men and women is that we're deeper than the past two seasons."
Humboldt State's men, ranked No. 22 nationally in the NCAA Division II preseason poll, waged a tight battle against the SOU Raiders, falling by a 23-33 margin. Fresno Pacific placed third with 98 points, followed by Simpson University (107) and College of the Redwoods (132).
In the women's competition, the Lumberjacks scored 29 points, far ahead of runner-up Southern Oregon's 65-point total. Third went to Sonoma State, with 70 points, followed by Pacific University (81, Fresno Pacific (138), and Simpson University (151).
With returning All-American Bridget Berg and top freshman Caroline Kaufman held out of the race to hold off minor injuries, a trio of newcomers stepped up to lead the way. Katie Sanger, a junior transfer from Palomar JC, finished second overall with a time of 22 minutes, 27.49 seconds on the 6K course, and teammate Devon Kelsey, a junior transfer from Cuesta Community College, was fourth in 22:48.34. Right behind her was HSU freshman Raven Harrison, who made the tour in 22:58.08.
Sophomore Amanda Reynolds, the Jacks' top finisher at last year's Humboldt Invitational, was eighth in 23:16.39, and senior Nina Carson completed the scoring pack, timing 23:23.27.
"That was a great race that sets us up for a October," Pesch said."Raven Harrison, who is a true freshman, ran a phenomenal race."
Summer Cano claimed first place, timing 22:00.04 on the Patrick's Point State Park course.
In the men's event, HSU senior
Austin Huff and Southern Oregon's Eric Avila moved out front in the early stages of the men's 8K, and kept each other company for the bulk of the distance. Huff forged ahead with less than a half mile to go, but Avila outkicked him in the final stretch, timing 24:48.24 to Huff's 24:52.36..
Southern Oregon claimed the next two positions before HSU's
Joe Ostini, a returning all-region runner, came in fourth with a time of 25:25.24. Freshman
Jantzen Oshier was seventh in 25:44.97, followed by
Edgar Lopez (25:57.94) and
Max Bell (25:54.54).
"Joe and Jantzen have minor injuries, but they wanted to test it today," Pesch said. "We wanted to beat Southern Oregon, but it's no shame finishing behind the No. 1 NAIA ranked team."
Trailing the top two teams were Fresno Pacific, with 98 points, Simpson University, with 119, and College of the Redwoods, with 127.
Humboldt State will take a week off from racing before going on the road for the first time on Sept. 22. The Jacks will send a split squad to compete at the Sonoma State Invitational in Rohnert Park
