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SEATTLE, Wash. — Senior sprinter Sheldon Prince picked up the Portland State track & field team's first Big Sky Conference automatic qualifying mark in the 400 meters Saturday, as the Vikings opened the 2016 indoor season in earnest at the UW Indoor Preview at Dempsey Indoor Facility.
 
Prince, a Big Sky champion in the indoor 400 meters in 2014, finished the distance in 48.84 seconds, ducking him under the 49-flat he needed to run to qualify for the Big Sky meet at the end of the season. Prince nearly hit the Big Sky auto mark in the 200 meters, too, as he led a group of three Vikings in the event with his time of 22.27 seconds.
 
Sophomore sprinter/jumper Spenser Schmidt came agonizingly close to a Big Sky auto mark in the men's long jump, as well, as his mark of 22-07.25 (6.89m) stood just one centimeter short of the 6.90-meter distance needed to qualify for the conference meet. Schmidt also came extremely close at last year's UW Indoor Preview, falling two centimeters short that time with his mark of 22-07.00 (6.88m), but picked up the auto mark one week later at the Lobo Collegiate Invitational.
 
Senior high jumper Rockwell Tufty was another Viking going after a Big Sky auto mark Saturday, as he cleared the first two heights of the high jump on his first attempt, but then missed on three straight attempts at 2.05 meters, which would have given him the Big Sky auto mark in the event. Tufty still finished with a mark of 6-06.75 (2.00m), however, three-and-a-half inches higher than his mark from his first indoor meet last season.
 
Senior distance runner Spencer Russell and junior distance runner Ben Richardson  also came within a second of hitting the Big Sky auto mark in the 800 meters, as the pair finished within .03 seconds of each at 1:54.70 and 1:54.73, respectively. Despite the near-miss at an auto mark, Richardson's time still represents a vast improvement over his time at the same meet last season, when he opened the 2015 season nearly three full seconds slower at 1:57.45 in the 800 meters. Additionally, Richardson's time moves him up to ninth all-time in the indoor 800 meters, two spots behind Russell, who remains seventh all-time in school history.
 
Freshman sprinter Rachel Vinjamuri also had an impressive debut in the 400 meters, as she led three Vikings in the event with her time of 57.36 seconds. That time moves Vinjamuri up to 5th all-time in the indoor 400 meters at Portland State, just one race into her Viking career.
 
Additionally, Roazena Miller came within 1.40 seconds of breaking the school record in the women's 600 meters, finishing in 1:38.62, just behind Melissa Owens' record of 1:37.22 in 2007.
 
The Vikings will next compete at the Bronco Invitational next Saturday at Jacksons Indoor Track in Nampa, Idaho.
 
PSU Big Sky Auto Qualifiers (through Jan. 16)
Men:
Sheldon Prince – 48.84 – 400m – UW Indoor Preview (1/16/15)
 
UW Indoor Preview
Seattle, Wash.
Dempsey Indoor
Jan. 16, 2016
 
Women's Results:
60m (Qualifying): 10. Genna Settle, 7.69; 33. Adia White, 8.14; 36. Brandi Williams, 8.25. 60m (Prelims): 17. Genna Settle, 7.75. 200m: 15. Whitney Diggs, 25.42; 16. Genna Settle, 25.43; 20. Rachel Vinjamuri, 25.75. 400m: 10. Rachel Vinjamuri, 57.36; 12. Whitney Diggs, 57.88; 17. Dejuanae Toliver, 58.99. 600m: 11. Roazena Miller, 1:38.62. 800m: 18. Nyalual Beng, 2:20.19; 21. Kris Tollefson, 2:22.72. High Jump: T-13. Hannah Garrity, 5-01.00 (1.55m). Long Jump: 16. Brandi Williams, 17-08.25 (5.39m); 19. Ta'mara Richey, 17-06.00 (5.33m); 28. Genna Settle, 16-10.00 (5.13m). Triple Jump: 15. ChaQuinn Cook, 36-11.75 (11.27m); Ta'mara Richey, FOUL.
 
Men's Results:
60 (Qualifying): 12. Spenser Schmidt, 7.04. 60m (Prelims): 19. Spenser Schmidt, 7.08. 200m: 6. Sheldon Prince, 22.27; 13. Spenser Schmidt, 22.74; 19. Mitchell Gable, 22.87. 400m: 5. Sheldon Prince, 48.84; 11. Mitchell Gable, 49.65. 600m: 21. Christian Wood, 1:25.56. 800m: 7. Spencer Russell, 1:54.70; 8. Ben Richardson, 1:54.73. High Jump: T-12. Rockwell Tufty, 6-06.75 (2.00m). Long Jump: 8. Spenser Schmidt, 22-07.25 (6.89m). Weight Throw: 18. Tyler Dent, 42-02.75 (12.87m).