RESULTS - PDF | HTML
RECAP - DAY 1 | DAY 2
HIGHLIGHTS

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Friday at the Big Sky Outdoor Championships served as the eighth-inning set up for the Portland State track & field team, as the Vikings advanced several athletes to finals Saturday, when they'll hope to bring on Mariano Rivera to close things out.
 
Senior Genna Settle would appear to be the closest thing to Mariano River for the Vikings, as she cruised to the finals in the 100 and 200 meters.
 
Settle posted the fastest qualifying time in the 100 meters, as she won her heat in 11.63 seconds Friday. Settle's time marked the second-fastest time of the season for the Viking senior, with the only better time being Settle's finish in 11.51 seconds at the Texas Invitational on April 15.
 
Northern Arizona's Shanice McPherson, who won the Big Sky title in the long jump earlier in the day, posted the next-fastest qualifying time Friday, as she finished in 11.71 seconds in Settle's same heat.
 
Fellow Viking senior Akayla Anderson also advanced to the finals of the 100 meters behind a personal-best finish in 12.07 seconds.
 
Settle again cruised in the prelims of the 200 meters, as she beat the field by close to three-quarters of a second while finishing in 24.50 seconds.
 
Northern Colorado's Moriah Zachary, who came into the Big Sky meet ranked second in the conference to Settle in both the 100 and 200 meters, beat Settle out for the fastest qualifying time in the 200 with her finish in 24.04 seconds. Both Settle and Zachary won their heats comfortably, however, making any real comparison between the two moot as neither had to push themselves.
 
Settle and Zachary will certainly square off tomorrow, when Settle will be running for history as she tries to pull off a 100-200 title sweep. Settle swept the 60- and 200-meter titles at the Big Sky Indoor Championships earlier in the season, joining Jernise Saunders as the only two Vikings to pull off the double.
 
Saunders also currently stands as the only Viking to win the indoor 60, indoor 200, outdoor 100 and outdoor 200 titles in one calendar year (2009), but Settle can join her in that feat if she sweeps the 100 and 200 meters tomorrow.
 
Settle runs the finals of the 100 meters at 1:25 p.m. (PT) Saturday, less than an hour before she's scheduled to run the finals of the 200 meters at 2:20 p.m.
 
Anderson, meanwhile, will find herself in essentially a two-woman race in the finals of the 100-meter hurdles Saturday, as she and Weber State's Tawnie Moore figure to square off for the title at 12:50 p.m. (PT).
 
Anderson and Moore came into the Big Sky meet as the only two athletes to run under 14 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles this season, and that held true again in the prelims Friday.
 
Moore beat out Anderson for the fastest qualifying time, as she finished in 13.48 seconds to Anderson's finish in 13.83 seconds. Anderson won her heat by close to half a second, however, meaning she was slowing down considerably as she crossed the line.
 
Freshman Kamal-Craig Golaube qualified for the finals of the 110-meter hurdles on the men's side, as well, and did so while posting a Portland State personal best of 14.85 seconds. Golaube's time beat his previous seasonal best by .15 seconds, and moved him up to eighth all-time at Portland State.
 
Senior Mitchell Gable also advanced to the finals of the men's 400 meters, as he qualified on time behind his finish in 48.51 seconds.
 
Fellow senior Ben Richardson won his heat of the men's 800 meters, as he ran a blazing final 250 meters to go from fourth to a big lead on the home stretch. Richardson crossed the line in 1:51.92, behind his personal best of 1:51.14, but he was slowing down by the end with the win wrapped up.
 
All eight qualifiers in the men's 800 meters finished within 1.04 seconds of each Friday, setting up what should be an entertaining final tomorrow.
 
The three Viking men will run their finals close together Saturday, as the three events fall within 45 minutes of each other between the 110-meter hurdles at 1 p.m., the 400 meters at 1:15 p.m. and the 800 meters at 1:45 p.m.
 
The Vikings also picked up some points Friday, including nine combined in the women's long jump behind a fourth-place finish from junior Ta'mara Richey and a fifth-place finish from senior Brandi Williams. Richey placed fourth with a jump of 19-06.25 (5.95m) on her final jump of the day, which moved her just ahead of her teammate, Williams.
 
Williams ended her career with a bang while placing fifth Friday, as she tied the personal best she had coming into Portland State with a best jump of 19-05.50 (5.93m).
 
Sarah Medved, meanwhile, added one point for the Viking with an eighth-place finish in the women's 10,000 meters in 36:19.61.
 
A couple of Vikings also set personal bests without scoring for the Vikings Friday, including freshman Maya Jackson, who set Portland State personal bests in both the 200 and 400 meters. Jackson moved up to ninth all-time in the 400 meters with her finish in 57.34 seconds, and finished the 200 meters in 25.86 seconds.
 
Junior Alana Chaplin also knocked a second off her personal best in the finals of the 3,000-meter steeplechase, as she finished in 11:47.13.
 
The Vikings will get underway on the final day of the Big Sky Outdoor Championships at 12:50 p.m. (PT) Saturday.
 
Big Sky Outdoor Championships
Sacramento, Calif.
Hornet Stadium
May 10-12, 2017
 
Women's Results: 
100m (Prelims): 1. Genna Settle, 11.63; 6. Akayla Anderson, 12.07. 200m (Prelims): 2. Genna Settle, 24.50; 15. Maya Jackson, 25.86. 400m (Prelims): 12. Maya Jackson, 57.34. 10,000m: 8. Sarah Medved, 36:19.61; 20. Jocelyn Reynolds, 39:14.45. 100m Hurdles (Prelims): 2. Akayla Anderson, 13.83. 3,000m Steeplechase: 13. Alana Chaplin, 11:47.13. Long Jump: 4. Ta'mara Richey, 19-06.25 (5.95m); 5. Brandi Williams, 19-05.50 (5.93m); 12. Genna Settle, 18-04.25 (5.59m).
 
Women's Team Scores:
1. Weber State, 56 points; 2. Sacramento State, 50 points; 3. Montana, 41 points; 4. Eastern Washington, 32 points; 5. Montana State, 31 points; 6. Idaho, 25 points; 7. Northern Arizona, 23 points; 8. North Dakota, 22 points; 9. Idaho State, 19 points; 10. Portland State, 10 points; 11. Northern Colorado, 3 points.
 
Men's Results:
400m (Prelims): 7. Mitchell Gable, 48.51; 20. Christian Wood, 50.50. 800m (Prelims): 4. Ben Richardson, 1:51.92. 10,000m: 19. Justin Wikler, 33:21.13. 110m Hurdles (Prelims): 6. Kamal-Craig Golaube, 14.85. 3,000m Steeplechase: 14. Michael Biedebach, 9:31.14. Discus: 9. Troy Bacon, 156-00 (47.55m). Decathlon: 2. Donté Robinson, 6,852 points (100: 3. 11.22, 812 points; Long Jump: 9. 21-02.75 (6.47m), 691 points; Shot Put: 10. 36-00.25 (10.98m), 545 points; High Jump: T-5. 6-02.00 (1.88m), 696 points; 400: 7. 50.79, 779 points; 110H: 8. 15.70, 767 points; Discus: 5. 119-10 (36.54m), 595 points; Pole Vault: T-7th. 12-10.75 (3.93m), 598 points; Javelin: 3. 173-08 (52.93m), 632 points; 1,500m:
4. 4:31.22, 737 points).
 
Men's Team Scores:
1. Weber State, 44 points; 2. Sacramento State, 43 points; 3. Northern Arizona, 34 points; 4. Montana State, 31 points; 5. Southern Utah, 28 points; 6. Idaho, 15 points; 7. North Dakota, 12 points; 8. Idaho State, 10 points; 9. Portland State, 8 points; 10. Eastern Washington, 6 points; 11. Montana, 3 points.