SPOKANE, Wash. -- On Saturday, December 9th, the Cal Poly Humboldt Lumberjacks opened up their first ever indoor season in Spokane Washington at The Podium. With 25 teams in total competing at the meet, there was competition across all divisions. The meet was also attended by D-I schools such as Washington, Washington State, Gonzaga, Boise State, Oregon State, Grand Canyon University and Fresno State. From the CCAA, women's programs from Cal Poly Pomona, San Francisco State, and Stanislaus State were in attendance. Cal Poly Humboldt was the only team from the CCAA to have a men's team represented and both teams competing. The team rose to the occasion bringing home personal records, and NCAA D-II Championship provisional marks.
"I am so proud of this team, and we are all so grateful for this incredible opportunity," said head coach Sarah Ingram. "Our athletes were primed and ready, and showed up to make an immediate impact in our program's debut in indoor track and field. This was the first time ever being in an indoor facility for 95% of our team, but they didn't show any hesitation to compete as veterans. We all learned so much, and enjoyed every minute of being in this incredible facility and with such great competition."
Joy Hano and Isabel Perez-Zoghbi proved that their skills on the outdoor track follows them indoors. Both athletes secured NCAA DII Championships provisional marks, creating an opportunity for them to potentially compete at nationals in Pittsburgh, Kansas in March. Hano ran an incredible 8.84s 60m hurdles final to open her season placing her 8th overall. In the preliminaries, Hano ran an even faster 8.81s that ranks her 17th in the nation for Division II. Joy also took her talents to the open track racing in the 60m flat and 200m, placing top 20 in both events. Perez-Zoghbi, last year's NCAA DII Outdoor Championships competitor for the 400 hurdles, tested her skill in the open 400, subtracting her usual obstacle. Isabel's performance was enough to place her 6th in the competition, with an impressive time of 56.60s making her 12th in DII competition nationally. Isabel was also 1 of the 3 female heat winners in the 200m followed by Ginny Brooks and Cadence Peery, setting new lifetime bests.
Joy Hano and Isabel Perez-Zoghbi also played a key role in a successful women's 4x400m team; the second half of the relay team was filled by heptathletes, Grace Kasberger and Cocome Mckamey. The team managed a 5th place finish with a time of 4 flat. The ladies raced a strong 4 legs, each teammate pulling their weight for a great team win.
Winning their heat in the 4x400 was a great way to end Cocome Mckamey's day, Mckamey had a competitive day all around placing 6th (9.20s) in the 60m hurdles qualifying round, 12th (1.56m) in high jump, 11th (5.40m) in long jump, and a lifetime best in shot put (10.59m).
The men had three top 25 finishers for the 60m qualifying round, Harry Singh (7.11s, 19th), Cristian Megas (7.16s, 22nd) and Connor Pratt (7.17s, 24th). These times will create a great base to build on for the rest of their season. Megas continued his successful day by placing 9th overall for the 200m with a time of 22.22s.
Harry Singh and Connor Pratt won their heats in the 200m and the male sprinters took 9th (Cristian Megas), 11th (Joey Bowser), 13th (Harry Singh), 17th (Connor Pratt), and 20th (Zach Blood) places overall, as the only D-II runners in a very competitive field.
The men's 4x400 team matched the women's, as they placed 5th overall as well, with a time of 3.24.68. The team was made up of Harry Singh, Cristian Megas, Zach Blood, and Joey Bowser. Running in a heat made up of competitive Division I schools such as Washington State and Grand Canyon University, the men stepped up to the occasion and the result shows that.
Julian Jensen took 6th in 600m, with a respectable 1:22 time, in an exhibition event representing our men's mid distance side of the team.
Freshman, Derek Ray, showed up big at the meet. Coming in 5th place with a throw of 14.16m, fully adapting to the change of weight from a high school shot put to a collegiate shot. This throw is his first official mark, but creates a great base for him to build off of.
Pole Vaulter, Justin Vigna opened his indoor season, vaulting 4.15m earning him a 5th place finish in the open division.
Ingram stated, "The level of motivation this indoor competition has brought our team all Fall throughout training is something that has and will continue to push us to better performances earlier in the training year and into outdoor season. As a team, we are so far ahead of where we've ever been at this point in the year, and it's a really positive and contagious excitement that is so fun to be around."
To see all the results click here.
Up Next
The Jacks will resume their indoor season after winter break, on January 27th at the Inland NW Invite back in Spokane, Washington.
