ARCATA —Brian Belue, Megan Rolland and Kelsey Lemke will represent Humboldt State at this week’s NCAA Division II Track and Field Championships in San Angelo, Texas. Hosted by Angelo State University, the meet begins Thursday with the first five events of the decathlon and continues through Saturday.
Meet Information
Angelo State University is hosting the event for the fifth time. ASU has previously hosted the event in 1988, 1991, 1992 and 2002. More than 600 student-athletes, along with coaches, administrators, fans and media are expected for the meet, held at LeGrand Sports Complex. …HSU’s athletes will be trying to achieve a position in the top eight of each of their respective events, which would earn them All-America status.
Lumberjack Links
Official information on the championships, including a complete list of competitors in each event, can be found at http://www.angelosports.com/d2track. Results will be posted at www.angelosports.com.
Lumberjack Notes
First up for the Lumberjacks will be Belue, who will compete in the decathlon after posting a qualifying total of 6,610 points earlier this spring. Belue’s mark ranks him No. 12 among the field of 13 competitors. …The first day’s events in the decathlon are the 100 meters, long jump, shot put, high jump and 400 meters. The competition concludes Friday with the 110 hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1,500 meters. …Belue, a senior from Palmdale, moved into third on the HSU all-time list, trailing only Justin Miller, who scored 6,721 in 2002, and Bill Martinez, who put up 6,646 points in 1990. … Rolland, a junior from Emmet, Idaho, broke her own school record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase three times this season. Her best time of 10 minutes, 42.03 seconds ranks her third in the field of 19 athletes seeded in that event. Southern Indiana’s Mary Ballinger leads the list of entrants with a best time of 10:26.73. Rolland will compete in the preliminaries at 7:10 p.m. Thursday, hoping to advance to Saturday’s 5:10 p.m. final. …Lemke ranks 14th in the field of 16 throwers in the women’s javelin with a best mark of 42.21 meters, or 138 feet, 6 inches. Leading the nation this season is Abilene Christian’s Linda Brivule, who has posted an impressive throw of 184-6. …Lemke, a senior from Paradise, improved her personal best by six inches over last year’s top throw, moving her into fifth place on the all-time HSU list in the javelin. …The javelin finals are scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Saturday. …Humboldt State’s travel plans included a flight into Abilene, Texas on Tuesday, followed by a 100-mile drive to San Angelo. Wednesday’s activities will include a visit to the competition venue, packet pickup, coaches’ meeting and the pre-tournament banquet.
Moran’s Mantra
Head Coach Sandy Moran sayd, “Megan (Rolland) has had amazing workouts, and she actually trained through the conference meet with a goal of peaking at nationals. She can stay with anybody in that race. She can also close very fast, so I expect her to be right there at the front.” … “If Kelsey (Lemke) can throw close to her PR, she’ll have a shot at being All-American. She’s had good practices late in the season. It’s just all about being consistent with each throw.” … “Belue has a great chance at being All-American. He has a good chance to have his best efforts in several events. How he starts the first day is important and will set a tone for his performance. He can’t worry about it if he should have one bad event, and instead should just keep the confidence rolling.”