Viking briefs

The challenge grows for the Vikings now as they go on the road for the next three weeks. PSU plays at Sacramento State Saturday Oct. 9 at 6 p.m.

The Vikings lost to Eastern Washington Saturday Oct. 2, 2004. The loss dropped PSU to 2-2 on the season and will also drop the Vikings out of the top 25 poll. The loss spoiled Viking Coach Tim Walsh’s attempt at a 100th career win.

The Eagles took a 41-21 lead into the fourth quarter and did a good job running the clock by keeping the ball on the ground. PSU could get no closer. Joey King made 11 tackles, including two for loss, to lead the defense. But a combination of three PSU turnovers and Meyer’s effectiveness in the pocket was too much.

Cross country keeps on running!

The Portland State cross country teams had another solid outing Saturday at the Willamette Invitational at Salem with the men finishing third and the women taking eighth.

Men’s cross country

The men received solid outings from the 3-4-5 runners: senior Chris Hollis in 35th (25:02.57), freshman Vertin Alvarez in 40th (25:08.28) and junior Blake Flanders in 47th (20:17.72) provided the depth to help the team finish third. Also, sophomore Tim Badley raced Saturday for the first time this season after recovering from an ankle injury. He finished in 62nd place (25:37.63). “The men had a really solid day and just keep getting better. If that continues, we’ll be real good,” said Hickey.

The exceptional runner for the men this weekend was junior Michael Davenport, who was the first collegian to finish the 8,000-meter course in fifth-place with a time of 24-minutes, 15.23-seconds. “Michael had an outstanding day and if he keeps running like he did today he’ll be in the top five in the conference,” Assistant Cross Country Coach Mike Hickey said.

Women’s cross country

As usual, junior Amanda Kamm (17:53.43) and sophomore Bobeya Krishnek (17:44.64) were the women’s team leaders. Kamm beat Krishnek to the line to grab 25th, two spots ahead of Krishnek. Saturday marked the first time that either woman had finished a 5,000-meter race in less than 18 minutes and the first time Portland State has had two women accomplish the feat in the same race.

Senior Annie Kawasaki, who came in at 48th place (18:43.83), was the third Viking to finish. Hickey responded by saying, “Annie has been building up throughout the season, this week was better than the last, hopefully she’ll be better in the next one too. She can really help this team.”

Freshman Holly Cotterill ran her best race of the season and finished in 64th place (18:58.30).

Viking soccer – women kick butt!

The Portland State women’s soccer team extended its current unbeaten streak to three games, tying the Wyoming Cowgirls 2-2, on Sunday at PGE Park.

After impressive back-to-back wins against Pac-10 schools Oregon and Oregon State, Vikings (3-5-2) had a slight letdown against Wyoming (5-3-4).

Portland State’s next match will be the opening of Big Sky Conference, when they play at Sacramento State on Friday, Oct. 8. Kickoff against the Hornets is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.