PORTLAND, Ore. - Six Portland State tracksters, three of which qualified for last year's regional championship, are competing in the NCAA West Regional Championship May 26-28 in Eugene, Ore. All have plans of finishing in the top-12 to advance to the NCAA Championships June 8-11 in Des Moines, Iowa. List of PSU qualifiers in events and rankings below.
Women
NAME | EVENT(S) | REGIONAL RANK(S)
Geronne Black | 100m, 4x100 relay | 40th, 19th
Karene King | 100m, 200m*, 4x100 relay | 27th, 19th, 19th,
Anaiah Rhodes | 4x100 relay | 19th
Joenisha Vinson | 100m hurdles*, 4x100 relay | 27th, 19th
Men
NAME | EVENT(S) | REGIONAL RANK(S)
Tony Crisofulli | 800m* | 22nd
Sean Mackelvie | Javelin | 21st
* - Indicates 2010 NCAA West Regional qualifier
IF YOU CAN"T MAKE IT...
For those who are unable to attend the NCAA West Regional Championship, a live video stream of the event is available at GoDucks.com, as well as live results.
The video stream will begin at 3:30 p.m., Thursday, 3 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday.
To view the video stream,
click here. Generally when the stream starts, a link will appear on the GoDucks.com home page.
To view live results,
click here
THE LAST TO ADVANCE OUT OF REGIONALS
In 2009, former-Viking Jernise Saunders finished fifth in the 200-meter semifinal with a time of 23.77 to secure a bid to the NCAA Championship in Fayetteville, Ark. The occasion was unique, as Saunders became the first female sprinter in Portland State history to qualify for the championship.
2010 WEST REGIONAL RECAP
Portland State had four representitives at last year's regional in Austin, Texas, sophomores
Tony Crisofulli (800m) and
Joenisha Vinson (100m hurdles), junior
Karene King (200m) and senior Nick Trubachik (javelin).
King was the closest PSU athlete to advance to the second round of competition, finishing 28th overall in the preliminary round with a time of 24.27 seconds, .16 seconds shy of advancing to the next round.
Vinson finished 38th in the hurdles with a time of 14.12 seconds, trailing the preliminary round winner by 1.06 seconds. The Phoenix, Ariz., native had not run the hurdles since the heptathlon competition at the Big Sky Championship, after being disqualified from the meet for missing the long jump check-in.
Crisofulli, like Vinson, finished 38th overall with a time of 1:50.86. The Vail, Colo., native was placed in the fastest-heat of the regional, running alongside Olympian Andrew Wheating and Baylor's Chris Gowell, who ran the fastest-time in prelims at 1:47.81.
Trubachik, working on a full-approach in preparations for the NCAA Decathlon Championship, finished 41st with a throw of 183-2. Two weeks later, Trubachik would throw 206-8 in the decathlon's javelin competition and finish seventh at the NCAA Championship, en route to All-America honors.
BIG SKY CHAMPIONSHIP - REWIND
The Viks recorded some favorable results at the Big Sky Championship May 11-14 at Sacramento State, as the women finished in sixth-place with 65 points, one point shy of fifth. It was the best finish for Portland State under third year Head Coach
Ronnye Harrison.
On day two, junior
Joenisha Vinson won the Vikings first medal of the championship, taking silver in the heptathlon with a score of 5,117 points. Vinson closed the seven-part epic with a PR in the 800-meters at two minutes, 28.93 seconds.
On the day three of the championships, Portland State broke a few records. Vinson again kicked off the honors with the No. 1 preliminary- round time of 13.72 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles. Junior
Tony Crisofulli followed suit in the 800-meters with a prelim best of 1:49.02, besting his previous-best time by .09 seconds.
Senior
Karene King double-dipped in her record breaking efforts in the 100 and 200-meters. The Tortola, British Virgin Islands native started the occasion with a 11.59 in the 100-meters and broke the Big Sky Conference record in the 200-meters with a time of 23.46 seconds.
The hardware for Portland State was collected on the final day with the women's 4x100 team, comprised of Black, Vinson, junior
Anaiah Rhodes and King, rallying from five-meters back to win the conference crown at 45.75 seconds. The Vikings, for a second-straight season, claimed gold and silver in the 100-meters with King edging out Black for the crown.
Crisofulli and Vinson both claimed silver medals on the final day, with Crisofulli clocking a 1:50.51 and Vinson, again, setting a new PSU record in the 100-meter hurdles at 13.59 seconds. Junior
DeShawn Shead was the last Vikings medalist with a bronze in the 110-meter hurdles and time of 14.52 seconds, .02 second shy of second-place.
Other Vikings finishing in the top-eight were junior Sean Mackelvie in the javelin with a throw of 214 feet, one inch. Sophomore
Jeff Borgerson finish tied for seventh in the high jump with a clearance of 6-4.75 and freshman
Luke Leddige took seventh in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.20.
The men's 4x400 relay team, with members Shead,
J.J. Rosenberg, Crisofulli and
Nate Lightner, finished sixth with a school-record time of 3:15.06. Rosenberg also finished sixth in the 400-meters, after recording a PR time of 48.18 in prelims.
On the women's side, seniors
Adrienne Davis and
Mikeya Nicholson closed their careers with season-best performances in the shot put and triple jump, respectively. Davis finished fourth with a throw of 46-4.75 and Nicholson was seventh with a jump 39-4.50, just 6.25 inches shy of a PR. Black finished sixth in the 200-meters with a time of 24.90 seconds.
THE CHOSEN 48
Since 2003, Portland State has sent 48 athletes to NCAA Regional competitions, 29 women and 19 men. The Viks qualified six this season, the most under Head Coach
Ronnye Harrison. Full list of competitors is listed below.
NOTE: Underline signify athlete who advanced to nationals out of regional.
WOMEN
2003: Lisa Gundersen: High jump
Keisha Harvey: Triple jump
Jenny Rodgers: 5,000m
2004: Andrea Clarke: Javelin
Lisa Gunderson: High jump
2005: Kerry-Ann Blackwood: 100m hurdles, Long jump
Gayle Imran: Triple jump
Ashley Quay: High jump
Ena Shemi: 100m, 200m
2006: Kerry-Ann Blackwood: Long jump, 4x100m relay
Utica Edgecombe: 4x100m relay
Gayle Imran-Sideris: Triple jump, 4x100 relay
Tia Parsons: Javelin
Ashley Quay: High jump
Chantea Watson, 4x100 relay
2007: Melissa Owens: 800m
Ashley Quay: High jump
Caressa Sims: Hammer throw
2008: Jernise Saunders: 100m
Caressa Sims: Hammer throw, Shot put
Nkeiru Ugwoaba: Triple jump
2009: Jernise Saunders: 100m,
200m
Kelsey Kahle: High jump
2010: Karene King: 200m
Joenisha Vinson: 100m hurdles
2011: Geronne Black, 100m, 4x100 relay
Karene King, 100m, 200m, 4x100 relay
Anaiah Rhodes, 4x100 relay
Joenisha Vinson, 100m hurdles, 4x100 relay
MEN
2003: Ryan Brown: Long jump
Tim Overfield: 400m hurdles
Jim Sattem: 100m
2004: Keith Gill: 110m hurdles
Jordan Senn: Javelin
2005: Trevor Rollinger: 400m hurdles
Jordan Senn: Javelin
Mitch Whalen: 400m hurdles
2006: Jon Hill: Long jump
Brandon Lopez: 800m
Trevor Rollinger: 400m hurdles
2007: Westin Morrill: Javelin
Trevor Rollinger: 400m hurdles
2009: Westin Morrill: Javelin
Nick Trubachik: Javelin
2010: Tony Crisofulli: 800m
Nick Trubachik: Javelin
2011: Tony Crisofulli, 800m
Sean Mackelvie, Javelin
THE LAST TIME IT HAPPENED
Listed below is the last time a Portland State athlete advanced to the national championship in their respective event. Outside of the 200-meters, Jernise Saunders in 2009, the women are sailing uncharted waters, having never advanced to the national championship in the 100-meters, 100-meter hurdles and 4x100 relay.
For the men, both feats have been accomplished but it has been sometime. In the 800-meters, Jay Hill (1960-62) was the last Viking to qualify for the national meet and was runnerup in the 800-meters at the NAIA Championship in 1962. Dave Island (1995-96) was a two-time all-american for Portland State in the javelin, after transferring from Clackamas CC.
Women's Year, Name (Level)
100-meters Never
200-meters 2009, Jernise Saunders (NCAA Division I)
100-meter hurdles Never
4x100 relay Never
Men Year, Name (Level)
800-meters 1962, Jay Hill (NAIA)
Javelin 1996, Dave Island (NCAA Division II)
PSU RELAY HISTORY
The Vikings 2011 4x100 relay team is only the second in school history to advance to the NCAA Regional. The 2006 relay squad, comprised of Chantea Watson, Utica Edgecombe, Gayle Imran-Sideris and Kerry-Ann Blackwood, qualified for regionals with a time of 46.07 seconds.
Like this year's relay squad, the 2006 relay squad also won gold at the Big Sky Championship. However, at the regional championship in Provo, Utah, the team was disqualified after two-consecutive false starts.
SPRINT FACTORY
Portland State has become the Big Sky's sprint factory over the years and is looking to do the same on a regional level. The Viking women have won the conference championship in the 100-meters six of the last seven years, only dropping the gold in 2007. Impressively, five of the seven conference champions went on to compete in the regional championship. Here is the list below.
Name | Year | Event(s)
Ena Shemi | 2005 | 100m, 200m
Utica Edgecombe | 2006 | 4x100 relay
Jernise Saunders | 2008 | 100m
Jernise Saunders | 2009 | 100m, 200m
Karene King | 2011 | 100m, 200m, 4x100
A VIKING FIRST
Senior
Karene King becomes the first Portland State trackster to compete in three-different events at the NCAA West Regional. Six Vikings before her competed in two events, the last being Jernise Saunders (100m, 200m).
A STANDING TRADITION IN THE JAVELIN
Of the eight seasons Portland State has qualified males for NCAA West Regional competition, only twice has a Viking javelin thrower not been a team representative, 2003 and 2006. School-record holder and former Big Sky Champion Jordan Senn twice qualified for regionals (2004, 2005), as did Westin Morrill (2008, 2009) and Nick Trubachik (2009 and 2010). Senn, now an NFL linebacker, spent the 2010 season with the Carolina Panthers.
Junior Sean Mackelvie is the latest addition to the Viks list of qualified athletes. The Oregon State transfer from Wilsonville was the 2009 OSAA 5A state champion in the event and is only in his first year of collegiate competition.
Mackelvie originally tried to walk-on as a punter/kicker for the Beavers, but found track a better suitor. His throw of 221-4 April 9 at the Mondo Invitational, the third-longest in PSU history, clinched him the regionals' 21st spot.
KING'S QUEST
Senior Karene is on a mission for the remainder of the outdoor season - qualify for the NCAA National Championships and attempt to qualify for the IAAF World Championships to represent her home country, British Virgin Islands.
At the Big Sky Championships, King recorded a wind-aided time (3.6 meters/second) of 23.46 in the 200-meters, a Big Sky Conference record. Though she was .16 seconds shy of a B standard, the wind velocity was too high. The wind must be below 2.0 meters/second for her time to count.
Event | Times & Standards
100m | 11.38, B;11.29, A
200m | 23.30, B; 23.00, A
2010 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP CUT-OFF MARKS
The marks listed below were of the 12th place finishers at the 2010 West Regional Championship for the events in which Portland State athletes are entered in this year. The marks advanced the athletes to the NCAA Championship. Beneath the 12th place marks are bests at Portland State this season
WOMEN 12th-PLACE MARK
100-meters 11.57
200-meters 23.63
100-meter hurdles 13.37
4x100 relay 44.97
MEN 12th-PLACE MARK
800-meters 1:47.78
Javelin 214-11
WOMEN 2011 PSU BEST
100-meters 11.59
200-meters 23.46
100-meter hurdles 13.59
4x100 relay 45.21
MEN 2011 PSU BEST
800-meters 1:49.02
Javelin 221-4
COMING UP
Those who qualify will compete in the NCAA Championship June 8-11 in Des Moines, Iowa and hosted by Drake University. The track at Drake served host to the 2010 USA Track & Field Championships, where Nick Trubachik finished eighth and clinched a spot on Team U.S.A.'s decathlon roster.
The USATF Championships are June 23-26 at Hayward Field. For more information on the event,
click here.
Senior
Karene King will travel back to Tortola and run for the British Virgin Islands in numerous competitions, including the Central America and Caribbean Championships July 15-17 in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. King finished eighth in the 200-meters at last year's event.
All of Portland State's regional qualifiers will return next indoor season and will be looking to pick up where they left off. King will have exhausted her outdoor eligibility at seasons end by NCAA standards.
