"This has been an exhausting, but very rewarding season," HSU head coach Sandy Moran said. "I'm looking forward to these athletes taking the momentum of what they've already achieved into the national championships."
Audrey Oswald and Beth Krieger, in the hammer, and Jodi Symonds in the javelin, will represent the HSU women's team at the national meet, scheduled for May 22-24 in Walnut. Nick Bawden, in the javelin, along with Jasper Peach and Jesus Solis in the men's 3,000 meter steeplechase, will carry the hopes for the HSU men's squad.
A total of nine Lumberjacks posted either provisional or automatic qualifying marks during the season. Missing the cutoff for nationals despite their outstanding performances were Lumberjacks Kelsey Lemke, in the women's javelin, Brittany Peterson, in the women's pole vault, and Megan Rolland, in the women's 3,000 meter steeplechase.
Oswald heads to the competition as the highest ranked Lumberjack ann individual event. Her best throw of 190 feet, 3 inches lists her second in the hammer, the position she placed to earn All-American honors in 2007. Ahead of her by less than a meter is Jessica Selby-Tallman of Missouri Southern.
Bawden is seeded third in the javelin with a best mark of 219-9, which like Oswald's achiivement, is the Humboldt State school record. Matt Fick and Matt Litzinger, both of North Dakota, rank ahead of Bawden.
Krieger made the women's hammer field with a career-best of 175-2 that ranks her 11th in the field, and Symonds' javelin throw of 144-9 ranks her ninth heading into nationals. Peach's late-season surge ranks him seventh in the steeplechase with a best time of 9 minutes. 8.61 seconds, and Solis qualifies in the 16th position at 9:16.08.
The Lumberjacks will be looking for a fast finish to the season, which peaked two weeks ago with one of the program's best conference championships ever. At the California Collegiate Athletic Association meet, a total of six Lumberjacks earned individual championships and 13 claimed all-conference honors.
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