Andrew Sylvester and Eric Malain were HSU's top runners.
McKINLEYVILLE — Senior Megan Rolland raced away from the field, leading the Humboldt State women to an easy win at their own Humboldt Invitational cross country meet Saturday at Beau Bre Golf Course.
Humboldt State finished with 22 points, ahead of Southern Oregon's 35. Also participating without sufficient numbers to score were teams representing Fresno Pacific and College of the Redwoods.
In the men's competition, the No. 10 NAIA ranked Southern Oregon Raiders claimed a 21-34 win over the host Lumberjacks. Fresno Pacific placed third with 92 points and College of the Redwoods scored 103 to complete the field.
Rolland moved out to a quick lead in the women's event, putting distance between herself and the rest of the runners almost immediately. She eventually eased away to a 7-second win, timing 23 minutes, 32 seconds on the 6-kilometer course.
Placing second was Southern Oregon's Seena Frantz, but Lumberjacks took the next two slots to stack the score in their favor. HSU's Bridget Berg was third in 23:47, followed by Irene Graham with a time of 24:27. Rounding out Humboldt State's scoring pack were Amanda Garcia, sixth in 25:05, and Chelsea Schaefer, eighth in 25:07.
"Out plan was to run in a pack for the first two miles, but Megan felt good so she pulled away," HSU head coach Sandy Moran said. "It's encouraging to see how our women are improving every meet."
Humboldt State employed a similar strategy in the men's race, trying to keep a pack together as long as possible and slow the pace. But the Raiders forced the issue, putting together their own pack at the front, and only HSU's Andrew Sylvester and Eric Malain were able to track them down.
SOU's David Laney finished first with a time of 25:23 on the 8K course, followed by teammate Chris Paterson with a time of 25:32. Sylvester and Malain closed the gap significantly, placing third and fourth with times of 25:40 and 25:42, respectively.
The Jacks' third finisher was Luis Galicia, ninth in 26:17. Also scoring for HSU were Nick LaPlant, 10th in 26:30, and Alex Caballero, 11th in 26:32.
"We stuck to a plan, and it achieved what we wanted to practice in this meet," Moran said. "Our runners did what we had decided to do, but that wasn't going to be the best tactic against a talented team like Southern Oregon."
College of the Redwoods' fledgling program, brought back this year after a seven-year hiatus, received a boost from top runner Jonathan O'Connell, who finished 27th in 28:24. Jacob Culver was the next Corsair to finish, taking 36th with a time of 29:56.
The event also served as a trial run over the course that will be used for the Oct. 24 California Collegiate Athletic Association Championships. Designed by former Lumberjack runner Jason Lewis, the venue received praise from athletes and coaches.
"I had a lot of comments from coaches that they enjoyed the course," Moran said. "We have a little fine-tuning to do before the league meet, but it's a great course that runs very fair."