Track solidifies Big Sky standings

Seasonal bests and solidified standings highlighted Portland State University’s track-and-field performance at the Oregon Twilight Invitational last weekend. The Vikings added another Big Sky Conference qualifier to their ranks and finalized other marks in the scoring meet Saturday.

“We’re rounding into shape,” said head track-and-field coach Tony Veney. “We still have a few bubble babies left.”

The Vikings solidified Big Sky marks in the javelin and sprints Saturday. Holly Dimmel set a personal record in the javelin to place fifth in the meet. Her throw of more than 133 feet has her solidly qualified for the Big Sky Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Boseman, Mont., on May 14-17.

Most of the Vikings will take the coming weekend off to prepare for the Big Sky championships, but Veney says he might send some athletes to a meet at the University of Washington over the weekend to try to place a few more competitors in the conference championships. Veney has two 400-meter hurdlers within two seconds of a conference bid, and a thrower who is just five inches off of the Big Sky standard.

Sprinter Jim Sattem ran his second-fastest 100 meters ever, a 10.67, and took fourth place Saturday. The senior from Albany will be competing in the Big Sky championships, where he finished seventh in 2001.

The Vikings have qualified three student-athletes for the Western Regionals, where qualifying marks are much harder to achieve and competition is skimmed from all the top schools in the West. Junior Ryan Brown’s distance in the long jump has him qualified for the Western Regionals. Brown, from Tigard, took fourth in the Big Sky championships in 2002 in the long jump.

Senior Tim Overfield, from Silverton, has qualified for the Western Regional in the 400-meter hurdles, and he has Big Sky times in the 110-meter high hurdles. This is Overfield’s first year in the BSC after two years at the University of Oregon, where he was an All-Pac-10 performer.

Senior distance-runner Jenny Rogers continues to impress with her times in the 5,000M. In a conference strongest in distance running, Rogers keeps on pressing. She ranks in the top 20 in the entire Western region in the 5,000m. She has also qualified for the Big Sky championships in the 1,500m and the 10K. She placed in the Big Sky last year as a junior in the 5,000m.

Senior Anthony Robinson, from Canby, ran the second-fastest 400m of his college career and placed fourth in Eugene this weekend. Robinson had already qualified for the Big Sky in the 100m and 400m. Robinson was all-conference in the 400 last season.

Fourteen women have qualified for the Big Sky championships, with Rogers’ three times leading the way. Junior Lisa Gunderson, who won the high jump Saturday, also has a good chance in the conference championships. Other qualifiers include Jennifer Donatelli in the discus, Ena Shemi in the 100, Gayle Imran and Keisha Harvey in the triple jump, Brady Randall in the 400 intermediate hurdles, Kerine Harvey in the 100 hurdles, Mallory Moye in the 10K, Anne Kawasaki in the 5K and 10K, Megan Kriz in the shot put. Andrea Schwartz represents the 10K, and Mandy Peterson will compete in the steeplechase. In addition, Randall, Kerry-Ann Blackwood and Schwartz are all ranked in the top 14 and are close to making the championships in other events.

The Vikings have qualified 11 men for the Big Sky championships, including Overfield and Robinson’s two events each. Also qualifying for the men are Jim Webster in the shot put, Jay Williams and Keith Gill in the 110 high hurdles, Andre Gittens in the 100, Evan Garich in the 800, and Chris Hollis and Mike Devenport in the 10K. Additionally, Mike Kebbe, Patrick Sideris, Trevor Lauman, Renard Carrie and Bill Dolan all have top-14 times, good enough for the conference meet if it started today.

Veney would like to qualify a few more of his “bubble babies.”

“We might send a few to Seattle for a last chance meet this weekend,” Veney said.

Otherwise, look for the Vikings to be rested and ready to go for the Big Sky Conference Championships in a week and a half.