Author: Alex Moore

Amidst a disappointing season, one thing that all Blazer fans were looking forward to was the selection of forward LaMarcus Aldridge to the 2012 All Star game.

Conference records, personal records and the best finish since 2007 are just a few of the accomplishments that the Vikings made this weekend in Flagstaff, Ariz., at the Big Sky Conference Championships.

Portland is “Soccer City, USA.” However, Portland State, Oregon’s largest college, does not have an official men’s soccer team. That doesn’t keep Vikings from playing the most-played sport in the world, however.

The Portland State Vikings have had a memorable indoor track and field season. But it is not over yet, as the Vikings will compete in one last meet—the Big Sky Indoor Championship.

The championship takes place this weekend, Feb. 24 and 25, in Flagstaff, Ariz. Portland State will be sending 18 athletes to compete against the top athletes from the Big Sky Conference.

Patience. That’s how senior sprinter Karene King describes her last season running at Portland State University.

That patience has led the senior to a very successful track tenure at Portland State, including four school records. King had four gold medals last season, and she only hopes to continue her success this year at the Big Sky indoor championships, possibly her last ever meet as a Viking.

7.41 seconds.

That’s all the time it took junior sprinter Gerrone Black to run 60 meters last weekend, breaking the Big Sky Conference record, which she previously co-owned.

The Portland State Vikings track program competed in one of the nations biggest meets least weekend.

The team traveled 3,000 miles to New York to participate in the New Balance Invitational. Few teams from the West Coast travel to New York for this meet, but Portland State was one of them, outdoing many Big Sky, Pac-12 and other West Coast track programs.

I sat and watched the 2007 draft lottery like most other Blazers fans, and I remember exactly what I said and thought when Portland got the first pick.

“We got Oden.”

In sports like gymnastics and swimming, there is always a point when one has to face the choice of quitting or going to the Olympic level. It is rare that a college-aged student gets to compete at a high level without going to the Olympics.

But Portland State offers the opportunity to do just that.



“This year’s Cherry and Silver Invitational for our sprinters was one of the best,” Harrison said. “We have a shot this year to be on the podium as a team on the women’s side. It’s meets like the New Mexico meet that let us know were we are at. They’re still lifting and doing stuff that they normally would do during the week, and having [personal records] while doing that is impressive.”



The Portland Trail Blazers started off the season with a record of 7-2, which included big wins against NBA powers like the Los Angeles Lakers and the Oklahoma City Thunder. But after a long six-game road trip, the Blazers have cooled off, winning only two of their last six games.

Portland now stands at a record of 9-7 going into their Monday game against Sacramento. The Blazers are currently fourth in the Northwest Division and tied for eighth in the Western Conference. The NBA schedule, condensed due to the lockout, has proven to be rigorous. The Blazers have played five back to back games in the young season, and they are currently in the middle of their first back to back to back.