Mayfield goes coast to coast

Almost 3,000 miles separated Portland State junior Camelia Mayfield from her home in Oregon last year. Mayfield is originally from Ashland, but moved east after high school to attend the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Mayfield eventually began to miss home while living on the East Coast, and started researching social work programs in the region. PSU had exactly what she was looking for.

“Portland is an awesome place,” Mayfield said. “The decision was an easy one for me.”

Now in her third term as a member of the PSU track and field squad, Mayfield is settling into her new major and life as a student athlete. She has already made a name for herself in the distance events this season and hopes to play a key role in the Vikings’ run for a Big Sky Championship.

Initially, athletics were not on Mayfield’s mind when she decided to make the trip back to Oregon. But during the summer before fall term last year, Mayfield found herself calling assistant coach Jonathan Marcus and telling him she wanted to get on the track.

“I knew I wanted to run, just because I have been doing it my whole life,” Mayfield said. “I figured I’d see how the team is and just try it out.”

Mayfield has turned in a tremendous season for the Vikings, establishing herself as one of the top distance runners on the team. Her success this season includes a PSU record during the indoor season in the 5,000 meters and a spot at the outdoor championship this month. Although her talent is not a surprise to anyone who has seen her run, the fact that she is doing so well this season has taken her coaches and even Mayfield herself by surprise.

The junior started the school year with an injury to one of her core muscles that could have knocked her out for the season. “[In] September, I couldn’t even finish a 5k cross country race because my injury would act up,” Mayfield said. “It wasn’t until I had a breakout race during the indoor season that it became apparent I had to find other ways to overcome this.”

Marcus shared her trepidation; he was unsure if Mayfield was going to compete at all this year for PSU, let alone contribute as much as she has.

“I did not think she was going to achieve what she has,” Marcus said. “It’s nice to see this rapid improvement so soon. As long as she stays healthy, stays grounded and enjoys running, she very well might graduate here as the record holder in many more events than just the indoor 5k.”

Mayfield’s performance could help to make the difference on a squad that fell just 14 points short of the conference championship during the outdoor season.

“She’s a great asset to the team,” assistant coach Seth Henson said. “We expect to see big things from her.”

Portland State will host the Big Sky Championship in Forest Grove May 8–11.