After an exciting indoor track and field season, Portland State went to the Big Sky Championship and matched their best finish ever, coming in second place as a team in Montana. It was the best result for the Vikings at the conference championship meet since a second-place showing in 2006.
Vikings come close at the Big Sky Championship
After an exciting indoor track and field season, Portland State went to the Big Sky Championship and matched their best finish ever, coming in second place as a team in Montana. It was the best result for the Vikings at the conference championship meet since a second-place showing in 2006.
Although PSU fell just 14 points short of being crowned Big Sky champions, the coaching staff could not be more proud of the effort shown by their team last weekend.
“It was a really fantastic meet,” assistant coach Seth Henson said. “There are a few girls on the back of the bus as we’re driving back that are just decorated in medals…We came and wanted to win it.”
The list of accomplishments for the Vikings is a long one, and begins with senior Geronne Black. The sprinter won the 55-meter event in Bozeman with a time of 6.86 seconds, a new PSU and Big Sky Conference record.
Graduate student Joenisha Vinson also had a huge meet for Portland State. Vinson won the pentathlon title and was a part of the 4×400 relay team that broke its own school record and accounted for 10 of the Vikings’ 93 points overall. Senior Cassandra Sidner’s time of 7.91 seconds in the 55-meter hurdles topped the previous Portland State mark, as did graduate student Dominique Maloney’s 55.28 seconds in the 400-meter event.
Senior Amber Rozcicha contributed nicely to the Vikings’ campaign as well, adding nine points in two races. On the men’s side, Sean Mackelvie finished fifth in the triple jump, tallying four of the men’s team’s seven points. Despite not finishing the championship on top, the coaching staff could not have asked for more out of the team.
“Everything fell into place,” Henson said. “As a whole, this season was a great success, and a testament to the energy and the effort that the seniors have put into this program.”
It was a bittersweet end to a tremendous season for the PSU track squad, one in which they established themselves as a force in the Big Sky.
“I can’t say that I am disappointed—they proved themselves out there,” Henson said. “We came here with a goal and we came just short, but disappointment is so far from how this team feels. If anything, it motivated us to move forward and to train for the outdoor championships.”
The Vikings will now shift their focus to the outdoor season, which begins on March 16 at the Oregon Preview in Eugene.
