Track team sends five to West Regional

Five Portland State track and field athletes competed against some of the best in the nation at the NCAA West Regional meet in Eugene, Ore. last weekend.

Senior Ashley Quay, juniors Trevor Rollinger and Caressa Sims, sophomore Westin Morrill and freshman Melissa Owens all qualified for the event due to stellar performances at the Big Sky Championships. Quay and Rollinger made repeat appearances at the meet, while Sims, Morrill and Owens were first-time qualifiers.

Owens was the first Viking to take the spotlight, placing 11th in the 800-meter preliminaries last Friday. Sprinting to a mark of 2 minutes, 9.01 seconds, the freshman distance runner reset her own Portland State record in the half-mile. Just two weeks earlier at the Big Sky Championships, the Seaside, Ore. native claimed the school record in the same 800-meter event.

“Melissa has really been a super rookie for us all year,” said head coach Kebba Tolbert. “Throughout the year, she has shown a lot of progress. She just needs to believe in herself and her training to continue her improvement.”

Owens’ record-setting performance also caught the eye of her teammates.

“I thought Melissa had a very strong performance,” said Quay. “Her performance at the West Regional was one of the most spectacular of the season.”

Rollinger, who has won three straight Big Sky Conference titles in the 400-meter hurdle, finished 11th in the event, clocking in at 52.69 seconds in the preliminaries. The junior sprinter and hurdler placed 17th in the region last year, crossing the finish line at 53.32 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles.

Last season, Quay became only the second Portland State athlete to qualify for the NCAA Division I outdoor championships after earning Big Sky runner-up honors in the high jump. This season, Quay competed in her final event in a Viking uniform, posting a mark of 5 feet, 7.25 inches in the high jump.

“I was pretty disappointed with my performance as an individual,” Quay said. “I went in hoping to qualify for the national meet that I went to last year, and not accomplishing that goal was pretty disappointing. But I’m definitely happy and satisfied with my four years here at Portland State.”

On the second day of competition, Sims and Morrill participated in the hammer throw and javelin, respectively. Sims, who established a school record at the conference championships with a mark of 183-8 three weeks ago, placed 17th after a throw of 172-9. Morrill threw his way to a ninth-place finish with a 195-foot toss in javelin, the best finish of the five Viking athletes who competed.

“Although it was the first time for many of these athletes,” Quay said, “I thought they came in with a great attitude. An event like this can be intimidating, but they really prepared themselves. I know many of them didn’t have the result they were looking for, but I think they did everything possible to be successful.”