The event begins Friday evening and continues throughout the day on Saturday. San Francisco State hosts the annual meet, named in honor of alumni and famous crooner Johnny Mathis. HSU’s multi-event athletes will tune up at home this week, battling alongside a group of track and field stars representing Southwest Oregon Community College. The Jacks host a decathlon and heptathlon, starting Thursday and continuing through Friday.
Meet Notes: Friday evening’s action is limited to the men’s and women’s hammer. The remaining schedule of field events begins at 9:30 a.m. Saturday with the women’s discus. Track races start at 10 a.m. with the women’s 3,000 meters. HSU’s Multi-Event meet provides an opportunity for certain HSU athletes to prepare for the California Collegiate Athletic Association. The meet will be conducted as a standard decathlon and heptathlon, but the marks and point totals won’t qualify for any other meets or nationals because of the absence of athletes representing another four-year school.
Lumberjack Notes: Humboldt State’s total of athletes with either provisional or automatic national qualifying marks now stands at five. Jesus Solis added his name to that group with a provisional time of 9:17.94 at the Stanford Invitational. Solis’ time has earned him the No. 4 spot on this week’s list of qualifiers. …After first establishing himself as the HSU record-holder in the men’s javelin last year as a junior, Nick Bawden went on to break his mark twice. He’s done that again this year, pushing the mark all the way to the 219-9 he achieved at last week’s Stanford Invitational. His previous best of 217-0 led the nation a week ago, but two North Dakota athletes have since surpassed that mark. For his achievement at Stanford, Bawden was selected CCAA Athlete of the Week. …On the women’s side, Megan Rolland gained a national provisional qualifying mark in the women’s 3,000 meter steeplechase last week with a time of 11:23.36. That time, an HSU school record, places Rolland No. 19 on the Division II list, but will most likely have to improve if the sophomore hopes to advance to the championships. …Audrey Oswald continues to lead the nation in the women’s hammer with her toss of 182 feet, 5 1/2 inches. Beth Kreiger is No. 14 among provisional qualifiers in that same event. …Competing in the home multi-events this week will be HSU’s Helena Silva in the heptathlon, and Pat Fox and Brian Valle will represent the Jacks in the decathlon. Also competing will be unattached athletes Brian Belue and Dean Freitas, and SWOCC’s Pat Fennimore and Jimmy Billstine. In the heptathlon, SWOCC participants will be Kasey Orr and Arianne Smith.