Rozcicha on the right track

Portland State had one goal at the University of Washington Indoor Preview last weekend: to send a message. With high expectations for the women’s team, the Vikings wanted the rest of the conference to know that they had reason to be confident.

“We wanted to put the Big Sky on notice,” assistant coach Jonathan Marcus said. “We wanted to let them know that we’re coming to play for the Big Sky title.”

And so far, they’re on the right track. Senior distance runner Amber Rozcicha stole the show for the Vikings in Seattle, breaking the Portland State record in the 3,000-meter by 24 seconds. Rozcicha’s time is currently ninth best in the nation, an incredible way to start off 2013.

“It was just an awesome race to watch,” Marcus said. “It was our final race of the meet, and she really put an exclamation mark on the meet.”

Senior Geronne Black easily won the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.41 seconds. It was her second win this season, and her time is 12th best in the nation. She was one of four from the women’s team to finish in the top 10 in that event.

On the men’s side, Neil Seibert, Jonathan Talik and Jake Schwartz posted their best career times in the 3,000-meter event.

“They all ran gutsy,” Marcus said. “They’re the trendsetters for the new trajectory of this program.”

The Vikings could hardly have asked for a better meet early in the season. With two runners in the top 15 in the nation, the Vikings will be a force to be reckoned with at the Big Sky Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships just over a month from now in Bozeman, Mont.

“Portland State was there to compete, and compete we did,” Marcus said. “We’re continuing to build that vision of excellence that was established when coach Harrison came here five years ago. Now we have the bodies and we have the quality to do it and continue to do it.”