Complete Match Notes (PDF)

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland State track & field team gets another sneak peek at the competition ahead of the Big Sky Outdoor Championships this weekend at the Pelluer Invitational, hosted by Big Sky-rival Eastern Washington, April 13-14, at Roos Field in Cheney, Wash.
 
In addition to the Vikings, Gonzaga, Eastern Washington and possibly Idaho and Washington State will compete at the meet. The Vikings also competed against Idaho, Eastern Washington, Montana and Montana State at the Al Manuel Northwest Dual Invitational, March 31, in Missoula, Mont.
 
The Viking who came away looking the best compared to the rest of his or her conference competitors after the Al Manuel Northwest Dual Invite was sophomore Nia Powdrell. Powdrell swept the 100 and 200 meters, and was part of the Vikings' winning 4x100-meter relay team. Powdrell would have won a fourth event at the meet if not for teammate Ta'mara Richey, who beat out Powdrell for first in the women's long jump.
 
Powdrell remains undefeated at 5-0 in the 100 and 200 meters so far this season. Powdrell swept the 100 and 200 meters at the Willamette Invitational on March 24, and won the 100 meters at the L&C Spring Break Open on March 17.
 
Powdrell and Richey weren't alone in winning events against Big Sky competition at the Al Manuel Northwest Dual Invitational, either. Chance Whitehurst led a 1-2-3-4 finish for the Vikings in the men's triple jump, beating out teammates Jaron Barrow, Kevin Luyamba and Jean-Luc Toku. Whitehurst won't compete in the men's triple jump at the Pelluer Invitational, but Barrow, Luyamba and Toku will in what is likely the Vikings' deepest event. Whitehurst, Toku and Barrow all set top 10 marks in the indoor triple jump during the winter season, while Toku holds the school record in the outdoor triple jump with Whitehurst and Barrow ranked third and seventh, respectively, behind him.
 
Toku and Barrow will also compete in the men's long jump at 12 p.m. Saturday at the Pelluer Invitational.
 
Katie Baxter will return to the 400-meter hurdles after she won the event at the Al Manuel Northwest Dual Invite two weeks ago. Baxter will also compete in the 100-meter hurdles, along with Alexis Buckhaults.
 
Ceil Dunleavy won the women's high jump while making her debut as a Viking at the Al Manuel Northwest Dual Invite. Dunleavy won with a clearance of 5-05.00 (1.65m), moving her into a tie for eighth all time in the event at Portland State. Dunleavy will lead a group of four Vikings in the women's high jump at the Pelluer Invitational, as Taylor Elliott, Savanna Milroy and Kristen O'Handley will all join her in the event Saturday. O'Handley and Elliott moved up to third and sixth all time in the indoor high jump, respectively, but have yet to crack the top 10 outdoors.
 
Angela Mumford, who didn't win an event two weeks ago but placed second in the shot put with a new Portland State personal best, will open the meet for the Vikings with the women's discus throw at 2 p.m. Friday.
 
Mumford will also open events for the Vikings Saturday with the women's shot put at 10 a.m. Track events begin with the men's 4x100-meter relay at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
 
MEET INFO:
April 13-14 – Pelluer Invitational – Cheney, Wash. (Roos Field)
 
PELLUER INVITATIONAL SCHEDULE:
Friday, April 13
Field Events
Start (PT)              Events (PSU entries)
2 p.m.                   Women's Discus (Mumford)
 
Saturday, April 14
Field Events
Start (PT)              Events (PSU entries)
10 a.m.                 Women's Shot Put (Mumford)
10 a.m.                 Women's Javelin (Cornett, Matsuzaki, Milroy)
12 p.m.                 Men's Long Jump (Barrow, Toku)
12 p.m.                 Men's Pole Vault (Johnson, Moen)
12:30 p.m.            Women's Hammer (Mumford)
12:30 p.m.            Men's Javelin (Rwandika)
After M-HJ            Women's High Jump (Dunleavy, Elliott, Milroy, O'Handley)
After M-LJ             Women's Long Jump (Powdrell, Richey, Terry, Williams)
After M-PV            Women's Pole Vault (Collmer)
2:30 p.m.              Men's Triple Jump (Barrow, Luyamba, Toku)
After M-TJ             Women's Triple Jump (Elliott, Richey)
 
Running Events
Start (PT)              Events (PSU entries)
1:30 p.m.              Men's 4x100-Meter Relay (Portland State 'A' – Park, Desaki, Golaube, Kilcup)
1:35 p.m.              Women's 4x100-Meter Relay (Portland State 'A' – Cummings, Powdrell, Richey, O'Handley)
1:40 p.m.              Men's 1,500 Meters (Emeterio, Hvidsten, Solano, A., Solano, E., Stafford)
1:50 p.m.              Women's 1,500 Meters (Chaplin, Karp, Martin, Tomeo)
2 p.m.                   Men's 110-Meter Hurdles (Golaube)
2:15 p.m.              Women's 100-Meter Hurdles (Baxter, Buckhaults)
2:25 p.m.              Men's 400 Meters (Davis, Desaki, Payton, Shulman)
2:35 p.m.              Women's 400 Meters (Jackson)
2:45 p.m.              Men's 100 Meters (Desaki, Kilcup, Park)
2:55 p.m.              Women's 100 Meters (Cummings, O'Handley, Powdrell, Terry)
3:10 p.m.              Men's 800 Meters (Emeterio, Hvidsten, Solano, A., Solano, E., Stafford)
3:20 p.m.              Women's 800 Meters (Chaplin, Karp, Martin, Tomeo)
3:30 p.m.              Men's 400-Meter Hurdles (Golaube, Robinson)
3:45 p.m.              Women's 400-Meter Hurdles (Baxter)
4 p.m.                   Men's 200 Meters (Davis, Kilcup, Park, Payton)
4:10 p.m.              Women's 200 Meters (Cummings, Jackson, O'Handley, Powdrell)
4:15 p.m.              Men's 5,000 Meters (Jones, Leonis, Rae, Shelevy, Wikler)
4:35 p.m.              Women's 5,000 Meters (Baldwin-Joiner, Reynolds)
 
UPCOMING:
The Vikings will send a small group of athletes to the Bryan Clay Invitational and Mt. SAC Relays next weekend. The Bryan Clay Invite runs between April 18-20 in Azusa, Calif., while the Mt. SAC Relays run April 19-21 in Torrance, Calif.
 
BIG SKY INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS:
The Big Sky Conference eliminated qualifying standards for the Big Sky Outdoor Championships last season, and will continue in that mold this season. Roster sizes will be capped at 28 athletes (men and women), leaving it up to coaches to determine how to maximize their scoring potential at the meet. The Big Sky Outdoor Championships take place, May 8-11, in Moscow, Idaho.
 
NCAA OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFICATION:
Unlike the NCAA Indoor Championships, the path to the NCAA Outdoor Championships runs through a regional stage, giving the Vikings a better chance of qualifying for the national meet. Indoors, the Vikings could only qualify for the national meet if they finished in the top 16 in each individual event, but outdoors, the Vikings only need to finish in the top 48 of the NCAA west region to qualify for the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds, May 24-26, in Sacramento, Calif. The top 12 in each event at the NCAA West and East Preliminary Rounds then advance onto the NCAA Outdoor Championships, June 6-9, in Eugene, Ore. The qualification procedure differs a bit for the relay events, as only the top 24 relay teams qualify for the regional stage. Qualifying for the multi-events also differs, as they skip the regional stage and instead advance the top 24 in the nation in the heptathlon and decathlon directly to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
 
JOHN KNIGHT TWILIGHT RECAP:
Maya Jackson shaved seven-tenths of a second off her seasonal best in the 400 meters while finishing in 57.86 seconds at the John Knight Twilight, April 6, at McArthur Field in Monmouth, Ore. Meggie Karp and McKenna Martin provided two more seasonal bests in the women's 1,500 meters, as they finished in 4:52.35 and 4:58.97, respectively. Erik Solano beat his prep personal best in the 5,000 meters while leading a group of three Vikings in the event with his finish in 16:04.87.
 
PACIFIC OPEN RECAP:
Alana Baldwin-Joiner shaved close to 25 seconds off her personal best in the 5,000 meters while leading a small group of Vikings at the Pacific Open, March 31, at Hanson Stadium in Forest Grove, Ore. Cody Jones, meanwhile, set a new personal best in the men's 5,000 meters, as he finished in 16:15.69 to beat the PR he came into Portland State with of 16:18. 
 
AL MANUEL NORTHWEST DUAL INVITATIONAL RECAP:
Nia Powdrell swept the women's 100 and 200 meters at the Al Manuel Northwest Dual Invitational, March 30-31, at Dornblaser Field in Missoula, Mont., extending her unbeaten streak in the sprint events to open the season. Powdrell improved to 5-0 in the 100 or 200 meters while winning both events by three-tenths and nine-tenths of a second, respectively. Powdrell also ran a leg on the Vikings' 4x100-meter relay, which finished in a seasonal-best 47.71 seconds. Powdrell would have added a fourth win to her meet resume in the women's long jump if not for her teammate, Ta'mara Richey. Richey and Powdrell finished 1-2 in the long jump, while the Vikings went 1-2-3-4 in the men's triple jump. Chance Whitehurst beat out teammates Jaron Barrow, Kevin Luyamba and Jean-Luc Toku for the event win while moving up to third all time at Portland State with a mark of 47-08.00 (14.53m). Whitehurst was also the Vikings' top finisher in the men's long jump, as he placed third with a personal-best jump of 22-05.75 (6.85m). Katie Baxter and Ceil Dunleavy won the women's 400-meter hurdles and high jump, respectively, with Dunleavy moving into a tie for eighth all time in the event with her clearance of 5-05.00 (1.65m). Megan Cornett also moved into the top 10 all time in the women's javelin, as she finished with a best throw of 132-08 (40.43m) to move up to eighth all time in the event.
 
SF STATE DISTANCE CARNIVAL RECAP:
Alex Cisneros became the first Viking to crack 30 minutes in the 10,000 meters since 1984 at the SF State Distance Carnival, March 30-31, at the Chabot College Track in Hayward, Calif. Cisneros finished in 29:54.96, moving him up to third all time in the event behind Dave Henderson and Seppo Matela, who stand 1-2 with times of 29:30.04 and 29:34.60, respectively. Sarah Medved, meanwhile, won her section of the women's 5,000 meters while finishing in 17:21.25. Alana Chaplin shaved 16 seconds off her personal best in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and moved up to ninth all time with her finish in 11:31.34. Justin Wikler also set a personal best in the fourth section of the men's 10,000 meters, as he finished in 33:10.20. Austen Hvidsten shaved close to three seconds off his personal best in the men's 800 meters while finishing in 1:55.67 on the second day of the meet.
 
BOXER COMBINED EVENT RECAP:
Donté Robinson improved to 3-for-3 in multi-event competitions this season while winning the decathlon at the Boxer Combined Event, March 27-28, in Forest Grove, Ore. Robinson won by close to 500 points while setting a new personal-best score of 6,868 points. Robinson didn't finish lower than third in any individual event, and set overall or decathlon personal bests in three of the five events on the second day of the competition. Robinson cleared 14-03.25 (4.35m) in the pole vault, moving him up to seventh all time in the event at Portland State. Katie Baxter placed third in the heptathlon with 4,354 points at the Boxer Combined Event, while freshman Kristen O'Handley – the first-day leader – placed fourth with 4,226 points. Baxter's best event came in the javelin, where she placed second overall with a best throw of 110-09 (33.76m). O'Handley dropped from the top spot because of a poor mark in the javelin, but had won the 200 meters and long jump earlier in the competition, and placed second in the 100-meter hurdles. Freshman Savanna Milroy also competed in the heptathlon for the Vikings, placing tied for 11th with 2,976 points.
 
WILLAMETTE INVITATIONAL RECAP:
Sophomores Angela Mumford and Nia Powdrell led the Vikings in their sophomore outdoor meet of the 2018 season, the Willamette Invitational, March 24, in Salem Ore. Mumford competed in the shot put, discus and hammer for the Vikings, but her best mark came in the hammer, where she set a new personal best of 141-03.50 (43.06m) while moving up to seventh all time at Portland State. Mumford became the first Viking to enter the top 10 all time in the hammer since 2009. Powdrell, meanwhile, swept the 100 and 200 meters, and improved to 3-0 in individual sprint races during the outdoor season. Freshmen Megan Cornett and Taylor Matsuzaki made their Portland State debuts at the meet while competing in the javelin. Cornett, who is also a player for the Portland State women's soccer team, nearly entered the top 10 all time in the javelin while uncorking a throw of 126-07.50 (38.59m) on her second attempt of the day. Matsuzaki set her best mark on her third attempt of the day, as she finished with a top throw of 107-04 (32.71m). Junior Jaron Barrow highlighted the day for the Viking men, as he entered the top 10 all time in the triple jump with a best mark of 45-10.50 (13.98m). Barrow set the mark on his first attempt of the day, moving him up to seventh all time in the event at Portland State.
 
L&C SPRING BREAK OPEN RECAP:
The Viking distance crew headlined the team's season-opening meet at the L&C Spring Break Open, March 16-17 in Portland, Ore. Sarah Medved broke the school record in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase on the first day of the meet, Friday. Medved set the record in her debut in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, finishing in 10:58.17 to become the first Viking women to crack 11 minutes in the event. Medved beat the old record of 11:11.60 that Mandy Peterson set 15 years ago in 2003. Alex Cisneros followed Medved with the Viking men's first top 10 mark in the 5,000 meters in 13 years Saturday despite running through rainy conditions. Cisneros won the 5,000 meters in 14:28.96, moving him up to sixth all time in the event. No Viking had entered the top 10 in the outdoor men's 5,000 since Blake Flanders in 2005, who Cisneros ironically knocked out of the top 10 with his time Saturday. Medved and Cisneros were also just two of several event winners for the Vikings at the meet. Jaron Barrow and Ta'mara Richey won the men's and women's long jump, respectively, Friday, while the Vikings won seven events Saturday. Nia Powdrell and Kristen O'Handley swept the women's 100 and 200 meters, while both also joined Richey and Natalie Cummings to win the 4x100-meter relay for the Vikings. Josh Pikes won the men's 200 meters, and was part of the Vikings' winning 4x400-meter relay team along with Zack Davis, Justin Desaki and Will Payton. Viktor Moen and Jean-Luc Toku, meanwhile, added event wins in the field for the Viking men, as they swept the pole vault and triple jump, respectively. The Viking women beat out Oregon State for first place in the team competition, finishing with 122 points to the Beavers' 115. The Viking men placed second with 102 team points, 21 points behind Western Oregon, which won the men's competition with 123.
 
TEDDY TWILIGHT RECAP:
Alana Chaplin broke the school record in the 2,000-meter steeplechase at the Teddy Twilight on March 3. Chaplin finished in 7:36 to break Keikoanne Hollins' old record of 7:43.56 that she set in 2012. McKenna Martin also moved up to fourth all time in the 2,000-meter steeplechase with her finish in 7:52. Jacob Emeterio and Jayson Maule also competed in the men's 2,000-meter steeplechase and moved up to third and fifth all time with their finishes in 6:20 and 6:44, respectively.
 
2018 INDOOR SEASON RECAP:
Donté Robinson out-kicked Sacramento State's Max Jette in the final event of the heptathlon – the 1,000 meters – at the Big Sky Indoor Championships, giving the redshirt junior his first Big Sky title. Robinson and Jette were tied through the first six events of the heptathlon, but Robinson passed Jette with a lap to go in the 1,000 meters and didn't look back, finishing in 2:51.65 to beat Jette by three-and-a-half seconds. Robinson became the Vikings' first Big Sky champion in the heptathlon since former NCAA first-team All-American Nick Trubachik won the event in 2010. Robinson won the event with a personal-best score of 5,248 points, and set personal bests in four of the seven events during the competition. Besides Robinson, the Vikings set five school records during the season, including two for Alex Cisneros. Cisneros broke his own school record in the 5,000 meters at the UW Invitational, finishing in 14:19.95 – 23 seconds faster than the time he ran at the same meet last season. Cisneros also broke the school record in the 3,000 meters at the UW Indoor Open, finishing in 8:16.45 to beat the old record of 8:21.04 by more than four seconds. Kaila Gibson joined Cisneros in a sweep of the men's and women's 5,000-meter records at the UW Invite, as she set the women's record with her finish in 16:53.60. Saraia Collmer, meanwhile, broke the school record in the women's pole vault in back-to-back meets during the season. Collmer first broke the record with a clearance of 11-05.25 (3.49m) at the Idaho Duals, and then broke it again a week later with a clearance of 11-07.25 (3.54m) at the UW Indoor Open. Kamal-Craig Golaube also broke the school record in the men's 60-meter hurdles twice, as he broke the record in the prelims and then the finals of the Big Sky Indoor Championships. Golaube finished the prelims of the 60 hurdles in 8.19 seconds, and then finished the finals in 8.14 seconds.