After a cancelled competition last weekend, cross country team returns to action on Saturday
This Saturday the Vikings will be competing in the seventh annual Adidas Cross Country Classic hosted by Concordia University. The meet will take place at Fernhill Park in Northeast Portland, and includes cowbells, music, an awards ceremony and a live broadcasting stage with footage of the varsity races. According to the event webpage on Athletic.net, the event will also provide an athlete experience lounge and use chip timers to help track the individual runners’ positions during the races.
Last weekend, the Vikings were supposed to compete in the Rose City Invitational hosted by the University of Portland, but due to a lack of communication with the event starting time, the Vikings were unable to participate. The runners, however, welcomed this change of pace. The teams also took the break as an opportunity for some team bonding and even altered their training schedule to fit in a game of soccer earlier in the week.
“Cross country is largely based on teamwork, and there is always room in a training plan to bond,” Carpenter said.
The Adidas Classic marks Portland State’s fifth race of the season. The Vikings have one more meet, the Beaver Classic on Oct. 22, until the highly anticipated Big Sky Conference Championship meet, which will take place on Oct. 30 in Pocatello, Idaho.
“This is the pivotal time of the season. We are finishing up with all the normal meets and preparing for conference which is what matters,” Carpenter said. “I think both teams are going into these final meets strong as long as we can keep everybody healthy.”
This weekend’s meet is not just for collegiate athletes. The event is scheduled to start with an open community 5,000-m race at 9 a.m., followed by the 8,000-meter men’s collegiate event at 10 a.m., and the 5,000-m college women’s race beginning a half hour later. At 11 a.m. the awards ceremony for college athletes will take place, and then various groups of high school runners will take over the course at noon. The overall event is scheduled to conclude around 4 p.m.
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