In the latest United States Track & Field Cross County Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) West Region TFYI Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Team Summary, the Humboldt State Lumberjacks are ninth. Fresno Pacific currently holds the top spot followed by Concordia (Calif.), Academy of Art, Central Washington and Biola. Rounding out the top ten are Northwest Nazarene, Montana State Billings, Alaska Anchorage, Humboldt State and Seattle Pacific.

 “The success of these individuals and our programs as a whole is a great accomplishment, to be ranked with the strong competition in the Western region,” said head coach Sarah Ingram. “This year has tested us all in regards to commitment perseverance and patience, and it’s truly a blessing to see these young student-athletes come together to overcome all the challenges and rise up.”

 Humboldt State also has ten athletes that are in the top twenty in eleven events in the region in Aris Valerio, Julian Jensen, Henry Hagen, Paul Domingue, Jackson Miller, Kegan Richards, Travis Allen, Terrence Allen, Ben Lindsey and Michael Gengo.

 HSU has three throwers ranked in the top 20 in the javelin in both Allen brothers along with Lindsey. Terrence Allen is 13th with his throw of 48.65m (159-7), which he accomplished on March 25 at the SOU Meet #2.  His brother, Travis, is 16th with a throw of 48.35m (158-7), which he also threw at the SOU Meet #2.  Lindsey’s throw of 48.21m (158-2), which he recorded on March 23 at the Western Oregon Tri Meet, places him 17th in the region.

 Over in the discus, Richards is seventh with a throw of 44.14m (144-10) from the SOU Meet #2 on March 25 while Travis Allen is 16th with his throw of 39.04m (128-1) from the Western Oregon Tri-Meet on March 20. Richards is 11th in the region with his throw of 14.02m (46-0) from March 18’s meet at SOU Meet #1. Allen is 13th in the West Region with his throw of 44.42m (145-9) from the SOU Meet #1 on March 18 and eighth in the decathlon (4615 points) from March 25’s meet at SOU Meet #2.

 Joining Allen amongst the region’s leaders in the decathlon is Henry Hagen, who is fifth. Hagen scored 5237 points at the SOU Meet #2 on March 25.  The junior track and field athlete is 16th in the 110-hurdles with his time of 15.89, which he ran on March 18 at the SOU Meet #1.  Fellow hurdler, Shane Oliver, ran a 1:01.77 at the SOU Meet #2 on March 25 which places him 20th in the west.

 The jumping duo of Paul Domingue and Jackson Miller are both in the top 20 in the high jump and triple jump.  Domingue is sixth in the triple jump (13.94m, 45-9, March 23, Western Oregon Tri-Meet) and ninth in the high jump (1.91m, 6-3.25, March 18, SOU Meet #1).  Miller 11th in the triple jump (12.69m, 41-7.75, March 23, Western Oregon Tri-Meet) and 16th in the high jump (1.86m, 6-1.25m, March 18, SOU Meet #1). 

 The duo of Aris Valerio and Julian Jensen are amongst the region’s leaders in the 800-meter run. Valerio ran a 1:55.02 on March 23 at the Western Oregon Tri-Meet which places him tenth in the region.  Jensen is 16th with his time of 1:56.37, which he also ran on March 23 at the Western Oregon Tri-Meet.  HSU’s 4x400 relay team of Domingue, Valerio, Jensen and Gengo is 11th with their time of 3:31.41.  The Lumberjacks ran that time on March 25 at the SOU Meet #2.

HSU will return to the track at the end of this month with three meets in Oregon.  The Lumberjacks will participate in the two-day Raider Invitational on April 23-24 in Ashland, Oregon. They will travel north to Salem, Ore., on April 29 for a dual with Willamette University.  Humboldt State will finish off its travel in the two-day Oregon State University High Performance Meet on April 30-May 1 in Corvallis, Ore.

The Lumberjacks started the return to participation process in Fall 2020 and continue this Spring following County Public Health, NCAA, and University protocols including testing on a regular and consistent basis. Protocols include 

• Consultation with Humboldt County Public Health officials
• Frequent testing — teams in competition will be tested three times a week
• Small group practices
• Wearing face coverings on campus and on the road
• Travel-related quarantines

Each team will be on the road for multiple games over the course of one to three weeks. None of the games are part of regular conference competition, which is not occurring this year.