Portland State broke numerous conference and school records last weekend at the Big Sky Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The women’s 4×100 relay team broke the conference championship record en route to winning their event. Senior Dominique Maloney broke the Portland State record in the women’s 400-meter. And to top it off, senior Sean Mackelvie was the Big Sky Champion in the men’s javelin.
Portland State broke numerous conference and school records last weekend at the Big Sky Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The women’s 4×100 relay team broke the conference championship record en route to winning their event. Senior Dominique Maloney broke the Portland State record in the women’s 400-meter. And to top it off, senior Sean Mackelvie was the Big Sky Champion in the men’s javelin.
Overall, the women finished in seventh place with a score of 71 points. The men finished eighth with 15 points, a victory for a team that only brought four athletes to the competition.
“If I was a coach at another school, I’d probably be in pretty big trouble if I brought a whole team and a team that only brought four people did better than me,” head coach Ronnye Harrison said.
Two of the four men that competed finished 10th or better, awarding the team with points. One of the two, Mackelvie, finished first in the men’s javelin throw, but the senior also scored in the triple jump with a ninth place finish. Freshman Jake Ovgard also scored points for the team in the men’s 100-meter dash.
“That’s a lot of pressure for a young kid to have, but he held his own really well,” Harrison said.
Sprinters led the women’s side. Junior Geronne Black finished first in the women’s 100-meter dash, an event she has led all season. Black was also a part of the 4×100 relay team that took first place. She competed with junior Sierra Brooks, senior Anaiah Rhodes and freshman Jazmin Ratcliff. After the conference meet, the relay team was ranked 19th in the west region. The top 25 go to the NCAA West Regional.
Senior Mandy Keifer was also successful in her last meet as a Viking. Keifer finished in fifth place in the heptathlon. Her finish was the fifth best in Portland State history and earned four of the women’s total 71 points.
Although the women’s team did not get a top three finish, the program is aiming to improve on their result next season. The expectations are to repeat a top three finish in the indoor season and get a top three finish in the outdoor season. If the Vikings continue to be successful, the program can grow in other aspects, like recruitment.
“We just have to continue to grow in other areas besides the sprints,” Harrison said. “I really want to see our distance program start becoming a more functional part of the program. We have to get the right people in the right training, and that will come through recruiting the right folks.”
Harrison wasn’t disappointed with his squad’s performance this year. As far as expectations at the beginning of the year and at the beginning of the season, the Vikings met and even exceeded what Harrison and the rest of coaching staff wanted.
“As a coach, one of the things you want at the end of the year is for everyone to be better than they were at the beginning of the year,” Harrison said. “I saw that happen on all levels. Everyone improved. We do need to work on the competitive side. If that can improve, and it does over time, it’ll give us a shot at scoring more.”
The conference season may be over, but the Vikings have a few athletes that are qualified for regionals. Mackelvie and Black will be going, and it is highly probable that the 4×100 relay team will qualify as well. Regionals will be held in Austin, Texas, on May 24–26.
After school ends, the Vikings will begin summer training. Harrison hopes to change up the workouts and improve all the athletes in different areas than they are used to.
“Right now, the plan is for students to finish up strong in their last term of school,” Harrison said. “During the summer, I like to work on some other areas of the body that don’t normally get hit during the year. So I hope to get people in shape during the year.”
Another off-season plan for Harrison involves former Viking Karene King, who is still coached by Harrison. King is working on qualifying for the 2012 Olympics, and if she does, Harrison would go to London to coach her.
