The Portland State Vikings track program competed in one of the nations biggest meets least weekend.
The team traveled 3,000 miles to New York to participate in the New Balance Invitational. Few teams from the West Coast travel to New York for this meet, but Portland State was one of them, outdoing many Big Sky, Pac-12 and other West Coast track programs.
Success in the meet came in the way of personal records. It started with junior Gerrone Black, who finished with a time of 7.45 seconds in the 60-meter dash. Black already leads the Big Sky Conference in this event, and her new PR only adds to her lead.
Karene King failed to make the final in her event, however she did have her best ever time in New York for the 200-meter event. King ran a time of 24.28 seconds. Her best time this season is 24.08 seconds, which she ran at the Cherry & Silver Invitational. Head coach Ronnye Harrison is excited to see what King will do this weekend.
“I think that is her wake up to get ready to do something big at Boise State,” Harrison said.
The New York trip was exciting for the team, especially the newcomers. A lot of the team went to this meet for only the first or second time. For all the athletes who couldn’t quite leave their mark on the Big Apple, Harrison looks at this meet as a worthwhile experience.
“They were in awe just being in a place with so many athletes,” Harrison said. “We were in a hallway about 60 meters long with just three lanes. And there are 140 people warming up in it. And it’s 90 degrees in the hallway. They had to deal with these kinds of circumstances. It was kind of an experience in that way.”
The New Balance Invitational is not only a meet for current Portland State athletes, but also athletes of the future. The meet is used to get Portland State’s name out there on the East Coast. Very few schools on the West Coast go to New York, so it puts Portland State on another level as far as recruitment goes.
“When you say you go to New York, that’s big,” Harrison said. “Our travel schedule puts us right up there with the best schools in the country. New York in the winter, and this spring we are going to the Texas Relays. Those are big meets. Not many schools from the Big Sky Conference go to these meets.”
This weekend, Portland State’s track team will split up, with some of the team going to New Mexico for the Don Kirby Elite Invitational and the rest going to the University of Washington for the Husky Classic. This weekend is the last one to qualify for the Big Sky Indoor Championships, so any athletes who have yet to qualify will have to have great performances to compete. The Championships take place Feb. 24 and 25 in Flagstaff, Ariz.
“In terms of the women’s program, I don’t see us doing any worse than third,” Harrison said. “We would need some miracle performances to win it all. But you know what, anything can happen at a meet.”
Harrison is less optimistic about the men’s program.
“On the men’s side, we are just trying to stay out of the cellar,” Harrison said. “We don’t have the type of things we need financially to build the men’s program the way we want to right now.”