Sprinting toward the finish line

This previous weekend the men and women’s track and field Vikings headed down to Eugene and Hayward Field to compete in the Oregon Twilight. This was the last regular meet of the 2011 outdoor season. Coming up next is the Big Sky Outdoor Championship, which will be held on May 11–14.

Assistant coach Cassie Stilley said the Vikings performed “okay” at the meet. Some of the highlights came from sophomores Geronne Black and Amber Rozcicha and senior Nate Endicott.

Black won the 100-meter with a time of 11.91 seconds. Black currently holds the Big Sky record for the season, at a time of 11.65, which she set at the Stanford Invitational. She also holds the number-one time in the Portland State record books. The weather at the meet was cold and rainy, so even though her time of 11.91 may not seem the fastest, given the weather conditions it was a strong performance.

Rozcicha ran a 2:14.79 in the 800-meter, creating a new career record and placing her in third for the meet.

“Amber Rozcicha also had a fabulous race. She ran near perfect and tactically, and because of that she almost ran a new personal record,” Stilley said.

Endicott was the last Viking to qualify for the championship meet, and he did so in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. At the second to last meet, the Pacific Twilight, Endicott was only .24 seconds shy of the qualifying time. At this meet, he improved his time to 9:26.85, only 1.84 away from a career best.

Junior Joenisha Vinson had a decent meet as well. In the long jump she finished second with a distance of 18 feet and 1.75 inches. Her season best is only 3.5 inches better, and she set that at the California Invitational. She also placed third in the 100-meter hurdles.

Fellow classmate Tony Crisofulli had his second best season performance at this meet in the 800-meter, finishing fourth with a time of 1:50.67. Also, senior Adrienne Davis was the top performer in women’s shot put with a throw of 44-5.50.

As for the upcoming meet, the team will be heading down to a familiar track in Sacramento where they have already competed once this year. Not only does their familiarity with this track help them out, but the fact that they did well at this particular place can also serve as a confidence booster. Also, the fact that the athletes will know all the details of the track, like where the bathrooms are and where they can warm up, really helps the athletes focus more on their events.

“You always remember what tracks you do well on and which ones you run poorly on,” Stilley said. “But I think most of the athletes are just focused on taking care of business.”

As far as individual athletes go, there are 18 Vikings qualified for the championship meet, including nine women, and nine men.

Competition at the Big Sky championships will be tough, as many of the athletes the Vikings will be going up against are nationally ranked in the top 25. Still, the team has high hopes as they continue to prepare for the big event. ?