Humboldt State University Athletics

ARCATA — One final chance to illustrate program progress comes Saturday when the Humboldt State cross country teams compete at the NCAA Division II West Region Championships in San Francisco. Runners from throughout the west will race in the meet, hosted by San Francisco State in Golden Gate Park.

Meet Information
Three men's teams and four women's teams will move on from the NCAA Division II West Region Championships into the field at the National Championships, scheduled for Nov. 21 on the campus of Southern Indiana. In addition to teams qualifying for the championships, two individuals not affiliated with those schools will move on to the national meet.

The Course
Hosted in one of the United State's most scenic and famous metropolitan greenbelts, San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, the course begins and ends in Speedway Meadow. It features a series of 2,000-meter loops, run twice for the women's 6K and four times for the men's 10K. "Our runners all liked it when we ran it (at the San Francisco State Invitational," HSU head coach Sandy Moran said. "They have a comfortable feeling with it, which is important."

Competition
Based on the most recent NCAA West Region rankings, Chico State is the favored team in both the men's and women's races. The Wildcats hold down the top spot in the regional poll in both divisions. Filling out the women's rankings are Alaska Anchorage, Seattle Pacific, Western Washington, UC San Diego, Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State Los Angeles, Northwest Nazarene, BYU Hawaii, and Cal State Stanislaus. …Following Chico State on the men's side are Western Washington, Cal Poly Pomona, Alaska Anchorage, Western Oregon, Humboldt State, Northwest Nazarene, BYU Hawaii, Cal State Stanislaus and UC San Diego.

Lumberjack Women's Notes
Humboldt State's women seek a higher spot than the 10th place among 24 schools that they earned at the 2008 meet, which in turn was eight spots higher than the Jacks finished in 2007. However, they come into the meet unranked among the region's top 10. "We definitely are hoping to finish eighth or higher," Moran said. "We'll beat our non-ranking. And we want Megan to get in there and have a chance to qualify as an individual."…HSU senior Megan Rolland was the Jacks' top finisher at the CCAA Championships two weeks ago, earning all-conference honors with a seventh-place finish. She'll vie for a spot in the top 15 and all-region honors this week, with a chance of moving on to nationals as an individual. …Redshirt freshman Bridget Berg, who has been the Jacks' No. 2 runner this fall, was held out of the CCAA meet because of a lingering injury. She's planning to compete this weekend, however. "Bridget feels a lot better, but her training has suffered," Moran said. "She'll do the best she can. We're happy to have her back." . …Filling out the Jacks' pack will be Irene Graham, Chelsea Schaefer, Tess Dahlgren and Amanda Garcia. 

Lumberjack Men's Notes
Humboldt State placed eighth in the 2008 West Region meet, the spot they were ranked at heading in. A total of 18 schools were represented. This year, the Jacks have held steady at No. 6 most of the season, and will enter the championships with that ranking. …Drew Sylvester was the Jacks' top finisher at last year's region meet, placing 22nd in his first fall as a collegiate runner. Back as a sophomore, Sylvester suffered a side stitch and was the Jacks' No. 4 runner at the CCAA meet two weeks ago. …Also making their marks this fall have been Nick LaPlant, Eric Malain, Luis Galicia, Alex Caballero, and Austin Huff. Nicolas Arguelles finally made his debut at the CCAA meet, holding down the No. 7 position. "The guys could really pack it in and challenge people," Moran said. "We definitely peak at the right time. We'll see their best race at regionals."They can move up. We'll see. We'll have to put it all out there and see what happens." …The Jacks have remained relatively healthy throughout the seaosn, though Alex Caballero has experienced shin problems as of late. "He's a little beat up," Moran said. "But he's just tough, so I know he'll run great."