RESULTS (PDF)

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Donté Robinson wasn't about to place second to Sacramento State's Max Jette again.
 
Jette beat Robinson for the Big Sky title in the decathlon at the conference outdoor meet last season, and the two were tied atop the heptathlon standings going into the final event of the second day at the Big Sky Indoor Championships. Robinson drafted off Jette early in the 1,000 meters, however, and then out-kicked him down the stretch for the win.
 
Robinson claimed his first Big Sky title with the win, and became the Viking men's first heptathlon champion since former NCAA first-team All-American Nick Trubachik won the event in 2010.
 
Robinson looked destined for the title at the beginning of the day, as he kicked off the second day of the competition with a huge personal best in the 60-meter hurdles. Robinson finished in 8.31 seconds, close to two-tenths of a second better than his previous best of 8.50 seconds.
 
Robinson followed that up with another personal best in the pole vault, clearing 13-09.00 (4.19m) to beat his previous overall best in the event by 5.5 inches, and beat his previous heptathlon best by close to nine inches. Jette put the pressure on Robinson by clearing 14-08.75 (4.49m) in the pole vault, however, tying him with Robinson at 4,500 points going into the final event.
 
Robinson came through in the 1,000 meters, though, finishing in 2:51.65 to beat Jette to the line by three-and-half seconds.
 
Robinson didn't have much left by the time he ran in the prelims of the 60-meter hurdles, and instead gave the stage over to sophomore Kamal-Craig Golaube, who broke the school record in the event while running in the same heat as Robinson. Golaube finished in 8.19 seconds Friday, three-hundredths of a second better than the old record of 8.22 seconds that Golaube tied at the Big Sky Indoor Championships last season. Golaube moved out of a tie with Peter Jason Tait, who originally set the record in 2008.
 
Golaube will run in the finals 60-meter hurdles at 12:40 p.m. (MT) Saturday, when he could set the record again.
 
The Viking women, meanwhile, picked up nine points from three different events Friday.
 
Kristen O'Handley – a day after she got the Vikings on the board with a fourth-place finish in the pentathlon – scored for the Vikings again with a fifth-place finish in the high jump. O'Handley cleared 5-06.50 (1.69m) on her first attempt, more than two inches better than her previous best of 5-04.25 (1.63m).
 
O'Handley moved up to third all time in the high jump at Portland State with her mark Friday, and the freshman also moved into the top 10 all time with a new personal best in the 60-meter hurdles. O'Handley finished in 8.90 seconds, moving her up to ninth all time in the event.
 
O'Handley also set personal bests in the prelims of the 60 and 200 meters, making her 4-for-4 on personal bests for the day. O'Handley finished the 60 and 200 meters in 7.72 and 25.29 seconds, respectively, but did not advance to the finals in either event.
 
Ta'mara Richey and Kaila Gibson scored five more points for the Viking women between sixth- and seventh-place finishes in the women's long jump and 5,000 meters, respectively. Richey, who was competing for the first time during the indoor season, placed sixth in the long jump with a best mark of 19-02.75 (5.86m). Gibson, meanwhile, placed seventh in the 5,000 meters – an event in which she set the school record earlier this season – while finishing in 18:01.55.
 
The Viking men picked up another 2.33 points from the pole vault, where freshman Braden Masanga placed seventh while Keegan Winkle tied for eighth. Masanga placed seventh while making a final-attempt clearance at 15-04.50 (4.69m), while Winkle topped out at 14-10.75 (4.54m). Masanga took over third place all time on his own with his clearance, moving him out of a tie with teammate Viktor Moen, who no-heighted at the Big Sky meet Friday.
 
Nia Powdrell put herself in position to score for the Vikings tomorrow, as she advanced to the finals of the 60 and 200 meters while setting personal bests in both events. Powdrell opened her day in the prelims of the 60 meters, and won her heat while finishing in 7.54 seconds. That time beat Powdrell's previous best by .23 seconds, and moved her into a tie for seventh all time in the event at Portland State.
 
Powdrell knocked nearly half a second off her personal best in the 200 meters while moving up to sixth all time in the event at Portland State with her finish in 24.45 seconds. Powdrell's time in the 200 beat her old best by .46 seconds, and beat her previous best this season by .70 seconds.
 
Powdrell will run the finals of the 60 meters at 1:10 p.m. (MT) Saturday, and then return to the track less than an hour later for the finals of the 200 meters at 1:50 p.m. (MT).
 
Freshman Josh Pikes will run in the finals of the men's 200 meters after he advanced following a big personal best in the prelims. Pikes finished in 21.64 seconds, just .04 seconds back from the school record of 21.60 seconds that Ryon Edwards set in 2000.
 
Pikes will run the finals of the men's 200 meters at 2 p.m. (MT) Saturday.
 
Pikes missed out on a chance to compete in the finals of the 60 meters, however, as he finished ninth overall by only four-thousandths of a second. Pikes still set a personal best in the event with his finish in 6.86 seconds, just eight-hundredths of a second back of the school record Kenneth Mackins set at 6.78 seconds in 2006.
 
A number of other athletes set personal bests in their events Friday despite not advancing to the finals. Alexis Buckhaults joined O'Handley with a personal best in the women's 60-meter hurdles, as she finished in 8.96 seconds. Will Payton also set a personal best with his finish in the men's 400 meters in 50.25 seconds, while Austen Hvidsten followed with a personal best in the 800 meters with his finish in 1:56.73. Kevin Luyamba also matched his personal best in the long jump with a mark of 20-03.00 (6.17m).
 
Luyamba will open the final day of the Big Sky Indoor Championships for the Vikings Saturday, as he competes in the first flight of the men's triple jump at 10 a.m. (MT). Golaube will then open things on the track for the Vikings with the finals of the men's 60-meter hurdles at 12:40 p.m. (MT).
 
Big Sky Indoor Championships
Flagstaff, Ariz.
J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome
Feb. 22-23, 2018
 
Women's Results:
60m (Prelims): 3. Nia Powdrell, 7.54; 9. Kristen O'Handley, 7.72. 200m (Prelims): 4. Nia Powdrell, 24.45; 19. Kristen O'Handley, 25.29. 5,000m: 7. Kaila Gibson, 18:01.55. 60H (Prelims): 12. Kristen O'Handley, 8.90; 13. Alexis Buckhaults, 8.96. High Jump: 5. Kristen O'Handley, 5-06.50 (1.69m); 18. Taylor Elliott, 5-03.25 (1.61m). Long Jump: 6. Ta'mara Richey, 19-02.75 (5.86m); 24. Brandi Williams, 17-01.50 (5.22m); 31. Nicole Terry, 16-02.50 (4.94m). Pentathlon: 4. Kristen O'Handley, 3,526 points (60H: 5. 9.04, 902 points; High Jump: T-4. 5-03.00 (1.60m), 736 points; Shot Put: 9. 32-08.50 (9.97m), 527 points; Long Jump: 7. 17-07.50 (5.37m), 663 points; 800m: 7. 2:29.58, 698 points); T-16. Katie Baxter, 3,056 points (60H: 13. 9.45, 818 points; High Jump: 16. 4-10.25 (1.48m), 599 points; Shot Put: 13. 31-05.75 (9.59m), 503 points; Long Jump: 18. 16-02.25 (4.93m), 540 points; 800m: 15. 2:37.99, 596 points).
 
Women's Team Scores:
1. Weber State, 46.5 points; 2. Sacramento State, 33.5 points; 3. Northern Arizona, 30 points; 4. North Dakota, 22 points; 5. Idaho State, 21 points; 6. Southern Utah, 15 points; T-7. Idaho, 14 points; T-7. Portland State, 14 points; 9. Montana, 12 points; 10. Montana State, 11 points; 11. Northern Colorado, 10 points; 12. Eastern Washington, 5 points.
 
Men's Results:
60m (Prelims): 9. Josh Pikes, 6.86. 200m (Prelims): 5. Josh Pikes, 21.64. 400m: (Prelims): 23. Will Payton, 50.25. 800m (Prelims): 16. Austen Hvidsten, 1:56.73. 5,000m: 9. Alex Cisneros, 15:21.28; 29. Justin Wikler, 17:11.97. 60H (Prelims): 8. Kamal-Craig Golaube, 8.19; 16. Donté Robinson, 9.45. Pole Vault: 7. Braden Masanga, 15-04.50 (4.69m); T-8. Keegan Winkle, 14-10.75 (4.54m); Viktor Moen, NH. Long Jump: 21. Jean-Luc Toku, 21-00.00 (6.40m); 22. Kevin Luyamba, 20-03.00 (6.17m). Heptathlon: 1. Donté Robinson, 5,248 points (60m: 4. 7.14, 833 points; Long Jump: 1. 22-06.25 (6.86m); Shot Put: 12. 35-05.25 (10.80m), 534 points; High Jump: 2. 6-05.50 (1.97m), 776 points; 60H: 2. 8.31, 905 points; Pole Vault: T-6. 13-09.00 (4.19m), 671 points; 1,000m: 5. 2:51.65, 748 points).
 
Men's Team Scores:
1. Northern Arizona, 40 points; 2. Sacramento State, 34 points; 3. Montana State, 30.33 points; 4. Southern Utah, 26 points; 5. Weber State, 25.33 points; 6. Eastern Washington, 25 points; 7. Portland State, 12.33 points; 8. Idaho, 12 points; 9. Idaho State, 11 points; 10. North Dakota, 10 points; 11. Montana, 7 points; 12. Northern Colorado, 1 point.