SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Cal Poly Humboldt Rowing opened the 2026 racing season this weekend at the Hornet Invitational, hosted by Sacramento State on Lake Natoma. The Lumberjacks faced a challenging field made up entirely of NCAA Division I programs, including Sacramento State, Kansas State, Saint Mary's and UC San Diego, giving Humboldt an early opportunity to test speed and lineups against top competition.
Racing featured a full schedule with two waves on Saturday morning and afternoon for the Varsity 8 (V8), Second Varsity 8 (2V8) and Varsity 4 (V4), followed by a single morning wave on Sunday.
Head coach Matt Weise was pleased with the team's development across the weekend.
"We had a really good weekend of racing," said Weise. "I feel like our crews made progressions in each race. We are motivated by the results and are looking forward to racing Seattle Pacific and Western Washington next weekend in Seattle."
Competing against Division I programs early in the season has become a tradition for Humboldt, allowing the Lumberjacks to gauge their progress before entering Division II competition where they will look to make another run at both the GNAC Championship and the NCAA Division II National Championship later this spring.
Saturday Morning Racing
The Humboldt Varsity 8 opened the weekend with a fourth-place finish in a tightly contested race, clocking a 6:57.1. The Lumberjacks finished just behind Saint Mary's (6:54.9) and Kansas State (6:54.1), with Sacramento State winning in 6:47.4, while Humboldt finished ahead of UC San Diego (7:01.1).
The Second Varsity 8 posted a strong start to the season, placing second in its heat with a time of 7:26.6, finishing behind Sacramento State (7:04.3) but ahead of Kansas State (7:30.4) and the Kansas State novice crew (7:32.9).
Humboldt's Varsity 4 also turned in an impressive morning performance, placing second in its heat and third overall with a 7:54.9. The Lumberjacks finished behind Kansas State (7:43.7) and Saint Mary's (7:51.3) while edging UC San Diego (7:55.0) and Sacramento State (7:56.6).
Saturday Afternoon Racing
In the afternoon wave, the Varsity 8 improved its pace and finished fourth with a time of 7:16.1, again finishing ahead of Kansas State (7:26.5) while trailing Sacramento State (6:57.1), Saint Mary's (7:10.4) and UC San Diego (7:10.9).
The Second Varsity 8 placed third in its heat and fourth overall, posting a 7:55.7. Humboldt again finished ahead of Kansas State (8:03.5), while Sacramento State (7:20.5), UC San Diego (7:25.2) and Saint Mary's (7:29.9) took the top three spots.
The Varsity 4 closed out Saturday with a fifth-place overall finish, recording a time of 8:28.8 in a competitive field led by Saint Mary's (8:09.4), UC San Diego (8:14.2), Kansas State (8:16.0) and Sacramento State (8:25.1).
Sunday Morning Racing
Humboldt's progress throughout the weekend showed on Sunday morning as the Varsity 8 captured a race win, finishing first with a time of 6:51.1. The Lumberjacks held off Kansas State (6:54.1) and UC San Diego (6:56.5) to close the regatta on a high note.
The Varsity 4 placed third with a time of 7:53.9, finishing behind Kansas State (7:39.9) and UC San Diego (7:46.4) while finishing ahead of the Kansas State Novice 4 (8:06.5).
The Second Varsity 8 wrapped up the weekend with a second-place finish in 7:31.2, narrowly behind UC San Diego (7:28.3) and ahead of Kansas State (7:32.8).
Lineups
Varsity 8
Coxswain – Giania Bogacki
8 – Lily Storseth
7 – Leah Dunn
6 – Elsie Stevens
5 – River Walkington
4 – Royce Ankel
3 – Dayanara Anaya
2 – Adelaide Toll
1 – Ellie Walters
Varsity 4
Coxswain – Olivia Huynh
4 – Laurel Calhoun
3 – Rowan White
2 – Keziah Rutschow
1 – Emma Wilson
Second Varsity 8
Coxswain – Mia Kelm
8 – Lea Lankston
7 – Maguire Casey
6 – Johanna Riffel
5 – Linea Vizenor
4 – Gabriella Griffin
3 – Emily O'Keefe
2 – Clementine Buehler
1 – Danika Harper
Up Next
The Lumberjacks will continue their early-season slate next weekend when they travel to Seattle, Washington, to face Seattle Pacific and Western Washington in another key test before the start of Division II championship racing.
