Cal Poly Humboldt Women's Cross Country

Pesch begins his seventh season as the head cross country and track and field coach at Humboldt State.   An HSU alumnus and former Green and Gold distance standout, Pesch has taken the program to new heights under his leadership.   Pesch teaches his student-athletes to balance the busy life of an NCAA Division II athlete and a student at HSU. His priority is academic success that will help prepare them for life after athletics. He works to build high-character and mature young adults that will give back to their community in the future. In respect to athletic success, Pesch believes in building his programs depth from the ground up. He has increased his programs national recognition by qualifying teams and individuals for Nationals, and has coached multiple All-American talents. He works tirelessly to build a program that can compete in one of the nations best conferences, the California Collegiate Athletic Association.   In the fall of 2010, his first season with the Jacks, he coached a pair of cross country student-athletes to All-Conference accolades. Pesch coached an All-American and All-Conference selection in Nicolas Arguellas during the spring 2011 season. He also led a team that included two more All-Conference choices and a Conference Champion (Logan Baumgartner).   The 2011 cross country season saw improved results for his squad. Bridget Berg captured All-Conference, All-Region and All-American honors under Peschs guidance, and Joe Ostini picked up All-Conference and All-Region nods.   Track and field sent two NCAA Div. II qualifiers to Pueblo, Colo., in the spring (Jantzen Oshier and Austin Huff). Seven Jacks also were tabbed All-Conference performers and Oshier was a Conference Champion.   Peschs 2012 mens and womens cross country teams became the first squads in program history to qualify for the NCAA Division II National Cross Country Championships. The women placed third overall in the NCAA Regional Meet and finished 15 th in the NCAA National Meet. The mens team ranked fifth overall in the Regional Meet and 16 th in the NCAA National Meet. Bridget Berg and Austin Huff carried over their success from the spring season and were named All-Americans. The Jacks finished the season with four All-Conference and three All-Region selections.   Fred Rosser captured a Conference Championship in the mens 400m hurdles and Oshier was tabbed an All-Conference member during the 2012 track and field season.   The 2013 cross country team was balanced, but had just one All-Region pick in Kori Gilley.   Pesch added another All-American to his already growing list in the 2014 track and field season. Matt Horsfall placed third in the javelin during the NCAA DII National Championships in Grand Rapids, Mich. Rosser finished the season as a NCAA Qualifier for the National Meet and was an All-Conference pick and eventual Conference Champion in the 400m hurdles. Joshua Toney won the Conference Championship in the discus and was also an All-Conference selection. Five total Jacks earned All-Conference nods in 2014.   The Jacks success continued in the fall of 2014. Kori Gilley finished first at the CCAA Championship meet in San Bernardino, Calif., and was tabbed the Womens Runner of the Year. On the mens side, Dustyn Salomon was tabbed the Mens Freshman Runner of the Year.   The 2015 outdoor track & field campaign yielded outstanding results. Both Kori Gilley and Kate Earle advanced to the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Earle earned CCAA Female Track & Field co-Athlete of the Year honors, and she compiled the most points for any female student-athlete during the three-day conference meet. The awards continued to roll in for Earle who was also named a USTFCCCA All-West Region selection and a Dr. Hal Charnofsky Memorial Award winner.   Despite injuries and youth, Pesch guided the 2015 cross country squad to a strong finish. The mens squad placed fourth at the conference meet and the womens team finished in sixth place. Gilley once again earned All-Conference honors, and she placed sixth overall.   Academic success has always been a key goal for Peschs student-athletes. His mens and womens teams have been honored as USTFCCCA All-Academic Teams 12 total times in both cross country and track and field.