CHICO, Calif. — Rain and wind did nothing to dampen the competitive spirit of the Cal Poly Humboldt Track & Field team this past weekend as multiple athletes put up competitive finishes at the Wildcat Invitational, hosted by Chico State, on Friday and Saturday at University Stadium.
Joy Hano took home two individual event wins, finishing first in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.67 seconds and then doubling back to win the 100-meter hurdles with a finals time of 14.77 seconds. Grace Kasberger placed third in the hurdles with a finals time of 16.13 seconds. Kasberger also finished second in the high jump with a mark of 1.55 meters (5' 1"). Following close behind in third was teammate Cocome McKamey who jumped 1.45 meters (4' 9"). Isabel Perez-Zoghbi took home two second place finishes in the 400-meter hurdles (1:01.81) and the 200-meter dash (26.6 seconds). Chris Roberds brought home a pair of sixth place finishes in the 100-meter dash and 100-meter hurdles. The Lumberjacks 4x100 relay squad, composed of Roberds, Perez-Zoghbi, Kasberger and Hano, also took second place with a time of 49.95 seconds.
In the 800-meter run. Mariska Kessler finished second with a time of 2:24.65. She was followed closely by Saedy Williamson (third, 2:25.18) and Amelia Jackson (fourth, 2:27.62). Rosa Granados finished seventh in the 800 (2:28.91) after a fourth place performance in the 1500-meter run (4:52.37). In the shot put, Nizhoni Kears placed second with a toss of 10.51 meters (34' 5.75"), while McKamey finished third (9.87 meters/ 32' 4.75").
On the men's side, Aris Valerio came back after a sixth place performance in the 1500-meter run to take the win in the 800-meter event with a time of 1:54.85. He was followed by Ricardo Torres (fourth, 1:58.82), Julian Jensen (fifth, 1:58.88) and James Woolery (seventh, 1:59.42). Nine men hit conference qualifying times in the 1500, led by Carson Smith in fourth place with a 3:57.49. Torres (3:58.18) Valerio (3:58.26) followed close behind in fifth and sixth place respectively.
In the 100-meter dash, Ryan Castro and Grant Van-Emmerik qualified for the finals, where Castro would place fifth with a time of 11.3 seconds. Van-Emmerik also finished fourth in the 200 (22.54 seconds) while teammate Harry Singh finished eighth (23.07 seconds). Three Lumberjacks finished in the top 8 in the 400-meter dash, spearheaded by Zach Blood (sixth, 52.04 seconds). Joe Rosenquist (52.45 seconds) and Isaac Arthur (52.72 seconds) placed seventh and eighth respectively. The Green & Gold's 4x100 meter squad of Singh, Van-Emmerik,Connor Pratt and Castro finished second behind Chico State with a time of 42.95 seconds.
In the throws, Robert Cardenas finished eighth in the discus with a mark of 34.44 meters (113') while in the hammer throw, Terrence Allen placed fifth (45.95 meters/150' 9") and Jason Trent placed seventh (43.56 meters/142' 11"). Allen also placed third in the javelin with a throw of 45.12 meters/148'.
UP NEXT:
The North Coast squad will be back in action this upcoming weekend when they travel north to compete at the Oregon Preview, hosted by the University of Oregon, at Hayward Field in Eugene on Friday, March 17 and Saturday March 18.
