In just three weeks, the Vikings track teams have had one competitor named the Big Sky Conference athlete of the week, one school
record has been broken and there are 10 athletes who have already qualified for the Big Sky Outdoor Championships, which will be held from May 11-–14.
In just three weeks, the Vikings track teams have had one competitor named the Big Sky Conference athlete of the week, one school
record has been broken and there are 10 athletes who have already qualified for the Big Sky Outdoor Championships, which will be held from May 11-–14.
Starting off with the opening meet, the Northwest Conference Preview, which was held in Forest Grove on March 12, the Vikings won eight different events—five from the women and three from the men. All marks qualified for the Big Sky Championship.
On the women’s side, junior Joenisha Vinson won the 100-meter, sophomore Geronne Black won 200-meter, senior Karene King, who left her comfort zone for this victory, won the 400-meter and senior Adriene Davis took shot put. The 4×100 relay team comprised of Black, King and juniors P’Lar Dorsett and Anaiah Rhodes raced away to a first place finish as well.
For the men, junior DeShawn Shead won in the 110-meter hurdles, senior John Lawrence in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and sophomore Sean Mackelvie won javelin. This was Mackelvie’s first outdoor meet with the Vikings.
The next meet was the Oregon Preview held March 19, where the women’s 4×100 relay team took the limelight. They finished second, right behind Oregon’s relay team with a time of 45.92 seconds, which took the honor of Big Sky athlete(s) of the week. Their time was only .01 shy of tying the PSU all-time record.
For the next two meets, the team split up, as multi-event athletes Vinson and junior J.J. Rosenberg headed to Berkeley, Calif. for the Cal Multi Event on March 23–24, and the rest of the team headed to the Stanford Invitational on March 25–26.
On the first day of the Cal Multi Events, in the heptathlon, Vinson had a score of 3,021 points and was ranked the top collegiate competitor. Her best event was the 200-m, which she won with a time of 24.8, earning her a new personal record by .26. The time qualified her for the Big Sky Championship in the 200-m and moved her up to number eight in the all-time PSU record books.
Rosenberg placed ninth in the decathlon and had 3,213 points. His best event was the 400-m, winning with a time of 49.62, beating his next competitor by .65. Rosenberg is also in better standing than the 2010 decathlon NCAA runner up, Michael Morrison, as Morrison never scored during the high jump.
Unfortunately for these two athletes, the second day of competition was cancelled due to high winds.
At the Stanford Invitational, Black broke the school record in the 100-m with a time of 11.65. Her new time ranks her the eighth-fastest runner in the West region and the fourth fastest in Big Sky records. Mackelvie placed third in the competition for men’s javelin, improving his season best throw by four feet and one inch, making his personal record stand at 199 feet and six inches.
Another athlete who did well this past weekend was freshman Zach Carpenter who ran a new season best in the 1,500-m with a time of 4:00.47, an overall eight-second improvement for him. His time puts him only three seconds behind fellow teammate Lawrence.
The team will next compete as a whole on April 2–3 at the Willamette Invitational in Salem. ?
