Portland State

PORTLAND, Ore. - With a young, talented group of sophomores and newcomers, along with a solid core of veterans to lead the pack, the Portland State cross country program will hope to turn some heads this year with a six-meet schedule that carries the team across the Northwest region.

Head of the track and field program, Ronnye Harrison, is entering his third year at the helm of the cross country/track programs, but leaves the distance program in charge of Kevin Jeffers, now in his third year, and Cassie Stilley, now in her first fall with the cross country with the program.

Jeffers worked with both the men's and women's teams last season, but the addition of Stilley allows Jeffers to focus on the men, while Stilley works primarily with the women's squad.

Stilley came to Portland State halfway through the spring track season and the presence of an extra coach made a difference for the distance teams at the Big Sky Outdoor Championships. Katie Blue finished sixth in the 10,000-meters, Karissa Fuller finished seventh in the 5,000-meters and John Lawrence finished eighth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

All the aforementioned athletes will all be back for the Vikings 2010 cross country season and along with a few others, will hope to disrupt the final standings at the Big Sky Championship Oct. 30 in Cheney, Wash.

Lawrence, a native of Reno, Nev., was the Vikings top-finisher in the first three races of the season, including an overall finish of 31st at the Willamette Invitational in a field of nearly 200. Lawrence served as captain during the track season and will lead the men's cross country this fall.

Always at the coattails of Lawrence in the first three races was Andrew Salg, a former-junior college all-american who transferred to PSU last fall. The Van Nuys, Calif., native would become Portland State's top-finisher in the last three meets of the season, including a 114th place showing at the NCAA Regional in Eugene.

Jeffers hinted at his excitement for the upcoming fall and future track of the distance program.

"We have 14 guys this year, which is one of the larger squads I've heard of in PSU's history. It's a huge leap to have this many guys competing for the top-seven spots on the team and our incoming guys are well ahead of our (timing) standards which will give us a lot of depth. I think our freshman will have an impact on this program, not just this year but in years to come."

Last fall then-freshman Amber Rozcicha was the Vikings top finisher in three of Portland State's six races, including the Big Sky Championship and the NCAA West Regional. With a full year of cross country and track experience under her belt, the Newberg native is hoping to improve her status as one the Big Sky's top-distance runners.

Pushing Rozcicha on the women's side will be classmate Julie Pedersen, who posted good times late in the outdoor track season last spring in the 800 and 1,500-meters. Last fall Pedersen was the Vikings top-finisher at the Sundodger Invitational. She finished 38th of 82 on the five kilometer course.

Katie Blue and Karissa Fuller will be the only two upperclassmen on the women's squad and Coach Stilley feels that they will play a vital role during the cross country season.

"You can't underestimate the value of two people who have been around, know what it's like to compete at a high level and know the ins-and-outs of the sport. We have such a big underclassmen group and having a couple of people that understand the sport and are passionate about it will help guide the younger athletes."

In the Big Sky Preseason Coaches Poll, the women were selected to finish seventh while the men were picked to finish eighth. The women's preseason placing is an improvement from a year ago, when the Viks were picked to finish eighth.

Portland State will open its season Friday, Aug. 3 at the John Frank Memorial in Corvallis, Ore.

The full 2010 schedule is listed below.

Date / Meet / Location
Sept. 3 / John Frank Memorial / Corvallis, Ore.
Sept. 18 / Sundodger Invitational / Seattle, Wash.
Oct. 2 / Willamette Invitational / Salem, Ore.
Oct. 15 / Mike Hodges Invitational / Oregon City, Ore.
Oct. 16 / Dellinger Invitational / Eugene, Ore.
Oct. 30 / Big Sky Championship / Cheney, Wash.
Nov. 13 / NCAA West Regional / Eugene, Ore.

THE COMPETITIVE FIELD
The men will run against a pair of top-10 nationally ranked cross country programs, Oregon and Portland, while the women will compete against both the No. 5 Ducks, the Pilots, along with the Oregon State Beavers.

WHERE IT'S AT
The race will be held in Corvallis' s Avery Park. The first gun will fire at 5:30 p.m.

ABOUT THE JOHN FRANK MEMORIAL
The John Frank Memorial Invitational is held in honor of John Frank who ran both cross country and track for the Beavers in the early 1980's but was tragically killed in an unfortunate industrial accident. Before coming to Oregon State, Frank was named the "California Runner of the Year" in 1980.
This is the inaugural John Frank Memorial Race.

ON THE HORIZON
The Vikings will have a two week break from competition but will return to action Sept. 18 at the Sundodger Invitational in Seattle's Lincoln Park.