Gerrone Black wows in Boise

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.

“We had an all-time record. You can’t get better than that,” head coach Ronnye Harrison said. “[Black] just doesn’t stop breaking records.”

Black ran a time of 7.61 seconds in her first heat. She stepped it up in the final, outdoing her preliminary time. She finished second overall in the meet, but earned the number one spot for the Big Sky in the process.

Karene King also had a great meet in Idaho. The senior sprinter won the 200-meter with a time of 24.09 seconds.

In a weekend that Harrison called outstanding, a number of athletes either broke school or personal records.

“We had a lot of PRs,” Harrison said. “It was everyone’s last chance to either improve or qualify. We got both of those things accomplished. You can’t have a weekend better than that.”

Portland State’s track team split up during the weekend, with some of its athletes going to Nampa, Idaho, to compete in the Boise State University Team Challenge, and the rest going to Seattle to take part in the Flowtrack Husky Challenge.

Portland State needed to have a big weekend because these two meets were the last chance to qualify for the Big Sky Indoor Championships, which take place in Arizona on Feb. 24 and 25. Harrison needed his athletes to really step it up, and he got results. On the women’s side, the Vikings sent six runners to the finals in the 60-meter dash.

The men also had a record setter. Freshman Jake Ovgard had a personal record in the 60-m, which was also a fourth-best all-time record for Portland State. Harrison is excited to see Ovgard develop in his career at PSU.

“He was one of my first legitimate sprinters that was recruited to Portland State, so I am very excited for what he has done up to this point,” Harrison said. “He has worked very hard and he is coming together quite well as just a freshman athlete.”

The Vikings have 18 athletes qualified for the Indoor Championships, which will cap off the winter indoor season. The team has two weeks off before the championships take place the last weekend in February. The athletes are putting all their focus toward achieving times that will get them into Flagstaff, Ariz. Portland State’s indoor schedule has allowed them to compete against high-level track teams like Boise State and Arizona State. Their schedule has prepared the team as best as possible for not only the Big Sky Championships but also the spring outdoor season.

“Preparation comes a lot from how many meets you compete in against higher caliber athletic programs,” Harrison said. “It’s always gratifying to see your athletes do very well against higher level competition.”

The Big Sky Indoor Championships will take place on Feb. 24 and 25 in Flagstaff, Ariz. The championships are all-day events.

Harrison hopes that the PSU community will get excited about what the team is doing.

“I feel that we’re prepared,” Harrison said. “The team is ready to go, and I can’t wait to get on that plane to go to Flagstaff.”