RESULTS - OVERALL | HEPTATHLON | TEAM SCORES
DAY ONE RECAP
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS - Schmidt's Big Sky Title in Men's Long Jump | Tufty's School Record in Men's High Jump

BOZEMAN, Mont. — Vikings pillage, Vikings build ships, Vikings explore, and on Friday three Portland State athletes proved Vikings could jump, too.
 
Sophomore Spenser Schmidt won the Big Sky title in the men's long jump, while senior Rockwell Tufty broke the school record in the men's high jump, and sophomore Ta'mara Richey earned All-Big Sky honors in the women's long jump, as the Portland State track & field team posted a strong second day at the Big Sky Indoor Championships at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse.
 
Schmidt edged out Sacramento State's Michael Turner for the Big Sky title in the men's long jump, as he surpassed Turner by half an inch with his winning jump of 24-07.00 (7.49m). Schmidt's win marked the first time a Viking men's athlete had won a Big Sky title in the indoor long jump since Ryan Brown in 2003, and also gave Schmidt the best mark by a Viking since Brown set the school record at 24-08.50 (7.53m) that same year.
 
Additionally, Schmidt's jump marks the second-best winning jump within the Big Sky in the past five years, and moves him into a tie for 45th in the nation this season. Schmidt's winning mark also beat his personal best going into the meet by over a foot.
 
Tufty, meanwhile, left no doubt about his place in the record books Friday, as he claimed the Portland State school record in the indoor high jump with a clearance of 6-09.50 (2.07m). Tufty had tied the record Nick Trubachik – a former NCAA All-American in the decathlon – set at 6-09.00 (2.06m) at the final meet of the regular season, but moved past Trubachik's mark with his performance at the Big Sky meet.
 
With the record, Tufty now holds the Portland State records in the indoor and outdoor high jump by himself, making him indisputably the best high jumper in school history.
 
Richey then capped the night in the field for the Vikings with her All-Big Sky performance in the women's long jump. Richey set a seasonal best with her jump of 18-09.75 (5.73m), placing her third in the competition and giving the sophomore the first All-Big Sky honor of her career. Richey's performance also scored six points for the Viking women, and Brandi Williams added two more while placing seventh with a personal-best jump of 18-04.50 (5.60m).
 
Senior Kevin Robinson gave the Viking men five points at the start of the day Friday, as he held steady at fourth in the men's heptathlon. Robinson had set four personal bests while running out to fourth after the first day of the competition, and finished with heptathlon personal bests in two of the final three events to finish with a personal-best point total of 4,767 points.
 
Robinson opened the final day of the heptathlon with a heptathlon personal best of 8.52 seconds, one hundredth of a second faster than the 8.53 he ran in the heptathlon at the UW Invitational on Jan. 30. Robinson followed with an eight-inch overall personal best in the pole vault, clearing 11-09.75 (3.60m) to move into a tie for ninth all-time in the event at Portland State.
 
Robinson then finished the competition with a time of 2:57.56 in the 1,000 meters, giving him his personal-best point total and moving him up to sixth all-time in the indoor heptathlon at Portland State.
 
Robinson's performance, coupled with Schmidt's win in the long jump and Tufty's fourth-place finish in the high jump gave the Viking men 20 points at the end of the second day of the meet, placing them sixth in the team standings going into the final day of competition.
 
The Viking men have never finished higher than eighth at any Big Sky indoor meet, and the men set themselves up to score more points potentially tomorrow. Junior Ben Richardson finished the day with the third-best qualifying time in the 800 meters, as he finished in 1:55.99. Robinson also qualified for the finals in the 60-meter hurdles, as he finished the prelims in 8.56 seconds.
 
The women, meanwhile, should be set up to score points in bunches Saturday, as they advanced several athletes through the sprints Friday.
 
Junior Genna Settle shaved a tick off her personal best in the 60 meters while finishing second in qualifying in 7.50 seconds, and advanced to the finals of the 200 meters as well. Fellow junior Whitney Diggs also posted the fastest qualifying time of anybody in the 400 meters, as she finished in 56.21 seconds, more than three-tenths faster than the No. 2 time Friday. Freshman Rachel Vinjamuri will join Diggs in the finals of the 400 as well, while junior Akayla Anderson also advanced to the finals of the women's 60-meter hurdles.
 
Anderson placed second in qualifying with a seasonal-best finish of 8.55 seconds, just a tick faster than 8.56 seconds she ran in qualifying at the Big Sky meet last season. Anderson followed that performance last season with a personal best of 8.40 seconds in the finals of the event, placing her second behind teammate Jazmin Ratcliff.
 
The Vikings will also have scoring opportunities in the women's triple jump and 4x400-meter relay, which will bookend the day for the Viking women with the triple jump starting things at 10 a.m. (MT) while the relay caps things at 3:30 p.m. (MT).
 
Freshman ChaQuinn Cook will be a Big Sky title threat in the triple jump for the Vikings, as she enters the competition ranked first in the conference this season after posting a personal best of 39-07.00 (12.06m) at the Husky Classic on Feb. 13. Richey could also score points for the Vikings in the triple jump, as she enters the event ranked sixth in the Big Sky this season, and will be coming off her All-Big Sky performance in the long jump on Friday.
 
The Vikings' 4x400-meter relay team, meanwhile, enters its competition ranked fourth in the Big Sky this season.
 
If Cook and Richey can get the Viking women started off right, then the Viking women could be chasing some of their own all-time best team performances tomorrow.
 
BIG SKY CHAMPIONS:
Men:
Spenser Schmidt – Long Jump – 24-07.00 (7.49m)
 
PORTLAND STATE SCHOOL RECORDS:
Men:
Rockwell Tufty – High Jump – 6-09.50 (2.07m)
 
ALL-BIG SKY PERFORMERS:
Women:
Ta'mara Richey – 3rd in Long Jump – 18-09.75 (5.73m)
Men:
Spenser Schmidt – 1st in Long Jump – 24-07.00 (7.49m)
 
Big Sky Championships
Brick Breeden Fieldhouse
Bozeman, Mont.
Feb. 25-26, 2016
 
Women's Results:
60m (prelims): 2. Genna Settle, 7.50. 200m (prelims): 8. Genna Settle, 25.22; 12. Whitney Diggs, 25.42; 15. Rachel Vinjamuri, 25.67. 400m (prelims): 1. Whitney Diggs, 56.21; 8. Rachel Vinjamuri, 57.56. 800m (prelims): 17. Nyalual Beng, 2:18.38; 19. Kris Tollefson, 2:20.30. 5,000m: 13. Sarah Medved, 18:32.90. 60m Hurdles (prelims): 2. Akayla Anderson, 8.55. Distance Medley Relay: 8. Portland State 'A' (Trapp, Miller, Beng, Gibson), 12:25.97. Long Jump: 3. Ta'mara Richey, 18-09.75 (5.73m); 7. Brandi Williams, 18-04.50 (5.60m); 15. Genna Settle, 17-07.00 (5.36m).
 
Women's Team Results (through six events):
1. Sacramento State, 44 points; 2. Montana, 35 points; 3. Weber State, 34 points; 4. Eastern Washington, 32 points; 5. Northern Arizona, 22 points; 6. Montana State, 16 points; 7. Idaho, 15 points; 8. North Dakota, 14 points; 9. Northern Colorado, 11 points; 10. Portland State, 9 points; 11. Idaho State, 2 points.
 
Men's Results:
400m (prelims): 13. Mitchell Gable, 50.38; 16. Sheldon Prince, 50.96. 800m (prelims): 3. Ben Richardson, 1:55.99; 11. Spencer Russell, 1:57.61. 60m Hurdles (prelims): 12. Kevin Robinson, 8.56. Distance Medley Relay: 9. Portland State 'A' (Seibert, Wood, Russell, Cisneros), 10:41.02. High Jump: 4. Rockwell Tufty, 6-09.50 (2.07m); Kevin Robinson, NH; Donté Robinson, NH. Long Jump: 1. Spenser Schmidt, 24-07.00 (7.49m). Heptathlon: 4. Kevin Robinson, 4,767 points (60m: 7.43, 736 points; Long Jump: 21-06.25 (6.56m), 711 points; Shot Put: 33-01.75 (10.10m), 492 points; High Jump: 6-05.50 (1.97m), 776 points; 60m Hurdles: 3. 8.52, 855 points; Pole Vault: 12. 11-09.75 (3.60m), 509 points; 1,000m: 9. 2:57.56, 688 points).
 
Men's Team Results (through seven events): 1. Northern Arizona, 47 points; 2. Sacramento State, 34 points; 3. Idaho State, 33 points; 4. Montana State, 29 points; 5. Weber State, 26 points; 6. Portland State, 20 points; T-7. Southern Utah, 19 points; T-7. Idaho, 19 points; T-7. Eastern Washington, 19 points; 10. Montana, 14 points; 11. North Dakota, 11 points; 12. Northern Colorad, 2 points.