CHICO — Megan Rolland dominated the women’s 3,000 meter steeplechase, taking home one of three first place finishes earned by Humboldt State athletes at the California Collegiate Athletic Association Track and Field Championships.
Rolland raced to a season-best time of 10 minutes, 42.03 seconds, in winning her specialty, the steeplechase. Already holding an automatic qualifying spot in the NCAA Division II Championships in that event, Rolland’s performance Saturday would rank third in the nation on last week’s list of qualifiers.
The Lumberjack junior also boosted HSU’s team standings, coming back a short time later to race the 5,000 meters. In that event, Rolland placed fourth in the field of 24 with a time of 17:41.06.
Also taking home first place for Humboldt State was Thomas Wilhelm, who out-distanced the next closest rival in the men’s discus field by seven feet with a throw of 153 feet, 9 inches. Kelsey Lemke won the women’s hammer with a hurl of 127-7, four feet further than runner-up and teammate Jodi Symonds.
In the women’s team totals, Humboldt State finished fourth with 62 points. UC San Diego won the women's conference championship with 247.5 total points, followed by Cal State L.A. (164) and Chico State (142.5. Following the Lumberjacks were Cal Poly Pomona (61.5), San Francisco State (57.5), Cal State Stanislaus (49) and Cal State Dominguez Hills (34).
The Lumberjack men placed sixth with 84 points. Chico State won the men's track & field conference championship with 257 total points, followed by UC San Diego (164), Cal Poly Pomona (130), Cal State Stanislaus (115), the Lumberjacks and Cal State L.A. (63).
Also contributing to Humboldt State’s standings was Andrew Sylvester, who placed third in the men’s 10,000 meters with a time of 31:59.06. Bryan WIlkomm added points in the men’s javelin, finishing sixth with a throw of 152-1, and men’s shot put, where he placed fifth at 44-8 ¾.
Bryan Belue bounced back from a grueling two days of competition in the decathlon to help out his team with a eighth-place finish in the javelin, throwing the rod 148-11. He also raced to fifth place in the 200 meters, clocking 22.42 seconds, and placed fourth in the triple jump with a distance of 45-2 ¼.
Eric Malain scored in the men’s 1,500 meters, placing third in 3:57.49, and put together a strong effort in the 5,000 meters, timing 15:07.05 to take fifth.
William Burgess was fifth in the men’s 110-meter hurdles, placing fifth in 15.68 seconds, and Tim Bishop placed fifth in the men’s 400 hurdles with a time of 55.84.
In other the women’s finals, Ashley Hodge contributed to the team effort with a third-place clearance of 10-6 ¾ in the pole vault, and Tori McCombs scored in the javelin with a seventh-place mark of 110-0.