Seattle, Wash. -- The Cal Poly Humboldt Track & Field team sent five athletes to the Ken Shannon Last Chance Invite on February 23rd and 24th that was hosted by the University of Washington. This meet allowed athletes, Joy Hano, Isabel Perez-Zoghbi, Grace Kasberger, Cocome McKamey, and Cristian Megas an opportunity to better their marks in order to either earn or better a National Provisional Mark. The meet hosted a variety of schools, however most competition came from Division I schools such as: University of Oregon, USC, UCLA, Stanford, and University of Colorado Boulder.
Joy Hano ran in the 60m hurdles earning herself a 13th place finish, with a time of 8.80. Isabel Perez-Zoghbi competed in the 800m, giving the race a second chance. Perez-Zoghbi ran a blazing time of 2:09.47, bettering her National Provisional Mark and running the 12th fastest time in the country for Division II.
Grace Kasberger and Cocome McKamey both competed in the women's pentathlon. Grace Kasberger finished the meet in 13th place with a score of 3397. Kasberger ran a personal record of 9.20 in the 60m hurdles along the way. Cocome McKamey earned herself a personal record in the pentathlon with a score of 3692, earning her a 9th place finish. Mckamey also ran a personal record in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.89. She is currently on the cusp of being a national qualifier, as she is ranked 17th in the nation for Division II.
The women closed out their day with the 4x400m relay, earning themselves a 7th place finish with a time of 3:54.02.
Cristian Megas ran a 22.32 in his 200m race, a time good enough to earn himself a 6th place finish, beating a majority of the competition.
"Friday, Coco and Gracie set new lifetime PR's in the 60m hurdles in their first event of the pentathlon. Joy also ran the second fastest 60 hurdle race of her life, and Cristian had a very solid effort in the 200m. It can get emotional being so close, and not quite finishing with a high enough rank to go to NCAA's, but we are all extremely proud of these athletes, and our program's successes in our inaugural indoor season. We set a lot of new school records, individual PR's, and 6 NCAA provisional qualifying marks. We come away with a lot to celebrate, and a ton of momentum going into our outdoor season."
Lumberjack Isabel Perez-Zoghbi has nearly punched a ticket to the indoor national championships in Pittsburg, Kansas for the 800m race. The championships will take place March 8th and 9th.
"We are thrilled with Isabel's performance in the 800m, which moves her significantly up the national rankings," stated Ingram. "Her range is incredible! We feel pretty confidently she's earned a ticket to indoor nationals with that time"
The next stop for the Cal Poly Humboldt track team is Turlock, California where they will compete in the Kim Duyst Invitational and officially open their outdoor season.
