High expectations for track and field

The track and field indoor season is coming to a close, as Portland State has only one meet left before the Big Sky Championships. The Vikings had last weekend off to prepare for the meet, which will take place in Bozeman, Mont., on Friday and Saturday.

The women’s team, which took third place in last year’s conference championship, has its sights set on the top prize.

“The thought is, ‘you’re in it to win it,’” assistant coach Jonathan Marcus said. “You don’t go to a conference championship just happy to be there. The conference championships are a big deal, and we stress that a lot. For the women, we are going to be right up there fighting. It’s going to be close.”

The Vikings are now resting and working on a few technical aspects of competition before they leave for Montana early Wednesday morning. The team is expecting great races from senior sprinter Geronne Black and senior distance runner
Amber Rozcicha, but will need others to step up as well.

“That’s where the meet is won, in those unexpected points,” Marcus said.

This will be the last event of the indoor season for a lot of Vikings, but for a few, the season could continue into the national championships next month in Fayetteville, Ariz. Even for the athletes who don’t qualify for Arizona, the next few weeks will be busy with less than a month before the start of the outdoor season. The Oregon Preview in Eugene is scheduled for March 16.

The Vikings, however, are clearly focused on the coming weekend.

“I don’t think anyone envisioned us being in the conversation for…a Big Sky team title,” Marcus said. “We have some firepower up front now to get us the points we need. But it’s really going to come down to the small points. You’re fighting for every point at conference, and that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to fight for every point until the last event.”

The Big Sky Conference Championships will take place Feb. 22–23, beginning at 10 a.m. on both days. Results can be found at goviks.com.