RESULTS

SALEM, Ore. — Seniors Genna Settle and Mitchell Gable sprinted to the front for the Portland State track & field team, as the pair of experienced athletes led the Vikings to a day of improvement at the Willamette Invitational Saturday at the Charles Bowles Track.
 
Settle won the 200 meters in 24.09 seconds, beating Oregon State's Venessa D'Arpino and Kerissa D'Arpino by .08 and .18 seconds, respectively, and beat the rest of the field by more than a full second. Settle's time gives her the top two times in the women's 200 meters within the Big Sky so far this outdoor season, following her conference-leading time of 23.97 seconds in her season opener last week.
 
Gable, meanwhile, led the Vikings who improved marks Saturday, as he posted a pair of personal bests in the 100 and 200 meters, finishing third in both events in 10.95 and 22.34 seconds, respectively. Gable's time in the 100 marked the first time he has ever broken 11 seconds in the 100, and beat his old personal best by more than a tenth of a second. Gable nearly broke his old 200 PR by a tenth of a second, too, but will instead settle for a .08-second improvement from 22.42 to 22.34 seconds.
 
Sophomore Troy Bacon improved on his season-opening throw in the discus last week that marked the best throw by a Viking men's athlete since 1996 at the time. Bacon finished with a best throw of 153-10.75 (46.90m) Saturday, beating his historic throw of 152-09 (46.55m) last week by more than a foot.
 
Freshman Se Min Park joined Gable in the men's 100 and 200 meters Saturday, and beat his time in both events from his season opener a week ago. Park finished the 100 in 11.36 seconds Saturday, two-tenths of a second faster than the time he ran last week. Additionally, Park finished the 200 in 23.55 seconds Saturday, one-tenth of a second faster than his time of 23.65 seconds one week ago.
 
Senior Christian Wood also improved his time in the 400 from a week ago, as he finished in 50.64 seconds Saturday, more than two-tenths of a second faster than his season-opening time of 50.87 seconds.
 
Freshman Maya Jackson followed suit with an improvement in the women's 400 meters, as she finished in 58.71 seconds Saturday – two-hundredths of a second better than her time of 58.73 seconds last week.
 
Freshmen Mikenna Marchment and Ashley Liber both improved their season-opening marks in the javelin, as well. Marchment finished with a best throw of 115-01 (35.07m), nearly a foot better than her mark of 105-09 (32.23m) last week. Liber, meanwhile, beat her mark from a week ago by close to five-and-a-half feet with a best throw of 108-04 (33.01m) Saturday.
 
Outside of the improvements, a number of other Vikings made their debuts in several events at the Willamette Invitational, including freshman Kamal-Craig Golaube, who ran the 110- and 400-meter hurdle double Saturday. Golaube won the 110-meter hurdles in 15.16 seconds, and then made his debut in the 400-meter hurdles while placing fourth in 58.08 seconds.
 
Seniors Akayla Anderson and Brandi Williams also made their PSU debuts in the 100 meters Saturday, with Anderson placing second in 12.27 seconds, while Williams placed 13th in 12.85 seconds. Williams also placed second in the long jump with a best jump of 18-04.25 (5.59m), while Anderson posted a new personal best in the 200 meters with her time of 25.52 seconds.
 
Junior Alana Chaplin ran the first 3,000-meter steeplechase of her career Saturday, and finished second in a two-athlete race in 11:56.59.
 
Chaplin's fellow distance runner, Gabe Bader, also made his 5,000-meter debut as a Viking and placed 12th in the 'B' section in 16:01.12.
 
Sophomore Jean-Luc Toku, meanwhile, ran the first 100-meter race of his Viking career, and placed 21st in 11.47 seconds.
 
The Vikings will head back down to L.A. for two meets at UCLA next weekend. The Vikings compete in the Bob Larsen Distance Carnival Friday, and will also compete in the Legends of Track & Field Invitational on Friday and Saturday.
 
Willamette Invitational
Salem, Ore.
Charles Bowles Track
March 25, 2017
 
Women's Results:
100m: 2. Akayla Anderson, 12.27; 13. Brandi Williams, 12.85. 200m: 1. Genna Settle, 24.09; 7. Akayla Anderson, 25.52; 12. Maya Jackson, 26.27. 400m: 7. Maya Jackson, 58.71. 3,000m Steeplechase: 2. Alana Chaplin, 11:56.59. High Jump: Ta'mara Richey, NH. Long Jump: 2. Brandi Williams, 18-04.25 (5.59m). Javelin: 19. Mikenna Marchment, 115-01 (35.07m); 24. Ashley Liber, 108-04 (33.01m).
 
Men's Results:
100m: 3. Mitchell Gable, 10.95; 16. Se Min Park, 11.36; 21. Jean-Luc Toku, 11.47. 200m: 3. Mitchell Gable, 22.34; 24. Se Min Park, 23.55. 400m: 10. Christian Wood, 50.64. 5,000m (B Section): 12. Gabe Bader, 16:01.12. 110H: 1. Kamal-Craig Golaube, 15.16. 400H: 4. Kamal-Craig Golaube, 58.08. Triple Jump: Christian Wood, NM. Shot Put: Troy Bacon, NM. Discus: 4. Troy Bacon, 153-10.75 (46.90m).