MEET NOTES (PDF)

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland State track & field gets one final shot before the Big Sky meet comes calling at the end of the month, as the Vikings compete at their final regular season meets at the Husky Classic and UW Indoor Open, Feb. 12-14, at the Dempsey Indoor facility in Seattle, Wash.
 
The Husky Classic runs on Friday and Saturday, while the UW Indoor Open extends the meet to Sunday.
 
The Vikings head into the weekend looking to improve their status going into the conference meet in Bozeman, Mont. in two weeks, as the Vikings currently have athletes ranked in the top 16 of the conference in eight events on the women's side and nine events on the men's side.
 
Five Vikings rank second in the Big Sky in their respective events this season, and all will be in action over the weekend, starting with junior Genna Settle, who will open the Husky Classic in the women's 200 meters at 4 p.m. Friday. Settle ranks second in the conference in the 200 with her time of 24.48 seconds at the Bronco Invitational on Jan. 23, which still stands as the fastest unadjusted time in the conference despite ranking second officially to North Dakota's Natasha Brown, who ran an adjusted 24.39 seconds on Jan. 16.
 
Junior Akayla Anderson is also entered in the 60-meter hurdles at both the Husky Classic and UW Indoor Open after moving up to second in the conference with her time of 8.70 seconds in the event at the TrackTown USA High Performance Meet #4 last Friday. Anderson missed the first half of the 2016 indoor schedule, but has been shaving time off her mark in the 60-meter hurdles since debuting at 9.17 seconds in the event at the UW Invitational two weekends ago. Anderson still ranks behind Weber State's Tawnie Moore – whose time of 8.57 seconds leads the conference – but Anderson should still be a conference title contender in the event after finishing second in the event to teammate Jazmin Ratcliff last season in a personal-best 8.40 seconds.
 
Freshman ChaQuinn Cook, meanwhile, lost her lead in the conference in the women's triple jump recently, but still ranks second in the Big Sky on the back of her mark of 38-00.25 (11.59m) at the Bronco Invitational on Jan. 23. She'll compete in the women's triple jump at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, and is also entered in the women's triple jump at the UW Indoor Open on Sunday.
 
Additionally, senior Sheldon Prince moved up to second in the Big Sky in the 400 meters last weekend with his time of 48.73 seconds at the Portland Indoor Invitational. Prince trails Idaho's Ben Ayesu-Attah by 1.5 seconds in the 400 meters, but will look to close that gap as he competes in the fifth section of the event at the Husky Classic at 10:20 a.m. Saturday. Prince won the Big Sky title in the indoor 400 meters as a sophomore in 2014, as he broke the school record while winning the event in 47.86 seconds.
 
Sophomore Spenser Schmidt, finally, moved up to second in the men's long jump two weekends ago with his mark of 23-06.00 (7.16m) at the UW Invitational, and will return to the event at Dempsey Indoor at 10 a.m. Saturday. Schmidt's jump at the UW Invite moved him up to third all-time in the event at Portland State, and ranks him second in the Big Sky this season behind Idaho State's Deante Gaines, who jumped 23-10.25 (7.27m) at the Snake River Open on Jan. 15.
 
The Vikings open the Husky Classic with Settle, Rachel Vinjamuri and Whitney Diggs active in the women's 200 meters at 4 p.m. Friday, and close the action Friday with Sarah Medved active in the women's 5,000 meters at 6:05 p.m. The Vikings then get started with the women's 60-meter hurdles at 9 a.m. Saturday, while the women's long jump, men's long jump and women's high jump open events for the Vikings at the UW Indoor Open Sunday at 9 a.m.
 
MEET INFORMATION:
Feb. 12-14, 2016 – Husky Classic/UW Open – Seattle, Wash. (Dempsey Indoor)
 
LIVE RESULTS:
Live results will be available for both the Husky Classic (Feb. 12-13), as well as the UW Open on Sunday. Fans can access the links to live stats via the track & field schedule page on GoViks.com.
 
LIVE VIDEO:
A live video stream of the Husky Classic (Feb. 12-13) will be available via FloTrack, but fans will need to pay for a subscription to access the stream. A link to where you can purchase a FloTrack subscription can be found on the track & field schedule page on GoViks.com.
 
HUSKY CLASSIC SCHEDULE
Friday, Feb. 12
Running Events
Start (PT)                  Event (PSU entries)
4 p.m.                          Women's 200 Meters (Section 4 – Vinjamuri; Section 8 – Diggs; Section 10 – Settle)
4:20 p.m.                    Men's 200 Meters (Section 1 – Gable; Section 2 – Schmidt; Section 6 – Prince)
6:05 p.m.                    Women's 5,000 Meters – Sections 2-4 (Section 4 – Medved)
 
Saturday, Feb. 13
Field Events
Start (PT)                  Event (PSU entries)
10 a.m.                        Women's Long Jump (Flight 2 – Williams; Flight 3 – Richey, Settle)
10 a.m.                        Men's Long Jump (Flight 1 – Toku; Flight 2 – Schmidt)
1 p.m.                          Men's High Jump (Flight 1 – Robinson, D., Robinson, K., Stipic; Flight 2 – Tufty)
2:30 p.m.                    Women's Triple Jump (Flight 1 – Cook; Flight 2 – Richey)
3:30 p.m.                    Men's Triple Jump (Flight 1 – Toku)
 
Morning Running Events
Start (PT)                  Event (PSU entries)
9 a.m.                          Women's 60-Meter Hurdles – Prelims (Heat 1 – Anderson)
9:15 a.m.                    Men's 60-Meter Hurdles – Prelims (Heat 4 – Robinson, K.)
9:30 a.m.                    Women's 60 Meters – Prelims (Heat 6 – Settle)
9:45 a.m.                    Men's 60 Meters – Prelims (Heat 4 – Schmidt)
10 a.m.                        Women's 400 Meters – Sections 1-7 (Section 1 – Miller; Section 3 – Vinjamuri)
10:20 a.m.                  Men's 400 Meters – Sections 1-6 (Section 3 – Gable; Section 5 – Prince)
10:40 a.m.                  Women's 60 Meters – Semifinals
10:52 a.m.                  Men's 60 Meters – Semifinals
11:04 a.m.                  Women's 60-Meter Hurdles – Semifinals
11:16 a.m.                  Men's 60-Meter Hurdles – Semifinals
11:30 a.m.                  Women's 800 Meters – Sections 1-6 (Section 1 – Beng, Tollefson)
12:15 p.m.                  Women's 60 Meters – Final
12:23 p.m.                  Men's 60 Meters – Final
12:30 p.m.                  Women's 60-Meter Hurdles – Final
12:37 p.m.                  Men's 60-Meter Hurdles – Final
 
Afternoon Running Events
Start (PT)                  Event (PSU entries)
4 p.m.                          Women's 400 Meters – Sections 8 & 9 (Section 8 – Diggs)
5:35 p.m.                    Women's 4x400-Meter Relay – Sections 2-4 (Section 3 – Portland State 'A' (Miller, Toliver, Vinjamuri, Diggs))
5:50 p.m.                    Men's 4x400-Meter Relay – Sections 2 & 3 (Section 3 – Portland State 'A' (Wood, Robinson, K., Gable, Prince))
 
UW OPEN SCHEDULE (Tentative)
Sunday, Feb. 14
Field Events
Start (PT)                  Event (PSU accepted entries)
9 a.m.                          Women's Long Jump (Richey, Williams)
9 a.m.                          Men's Long Jump (Robinson, D., Robinson, K., Toku)
9 a.m.                          Women's High Jump (Garrity)
11:30 a.m.                  Men's Weight Throw (Dent)
12 p.m.                       Men's High Jump (Robinson, D., Stipic, Tufty)
1:30 p.m.                    Women's Triple Jump (Cook, Richey)
 
Running Events
Start (PT)                  Event (PSU accepted entries)
9 a.m.                          Women's 60-Meter Hurdles (Anderson)
9:50 a.m.                    Men's 60 Meters (Schmidt)
10:10 a.m.                  Women's Mile (Gibson)
10:40 a.m.                  Men's Mile (Richardson)
11:10 a.m.                  Women's 400 Meters (Miller, Toliver, Vinjamuri)
11:35 a.m.                  Men's 400 Meters (Wood)
12:45 p.m.                  Women's 800 Meters (Beng, Tollefson)
1:10 p.m.                    Men's 800 Meters (Russell)
1:35 p.m.                    Women's 200 Meters (Vinjamuri)
2:05 p.m.                    Men's 200 Meters (Gable)
2:30 p.m.                    Women's 3,000 Meters (Coleman, Martin, Medved, Trapp)
3:05 p.m.                    Men's 3,000 Meters (Cisneros)
 
COMING UP:
The Vikings take a week off before heading to the Big Sky Championships in Bozeman, Mont., Feb. 25-27.
 
TRACKTOWN USA HIGH PERFORMANCE MEET #4:
Junior sprinter Genna Settle won the 200 meters for the second straight day, winning the 200 at the TrackTown USA High Performance Meet #4 at The House of Track in Portland, Ore., on Feb. 5, a day after she swept the 60 and 200 meters on the same track at the Portland Indoor Invitational. Settled edged Washington's Sierra Peterson by a hundredth of a second, winning in 24.72 seconds to Peterson's 24.73 seconds. Junior Akayla Anderson also had her second straight strong performance at The House of Track, as she hit the Big Sky qualifying mark in the 60-meter hurdles with her time of 8.70 seconds in the prelims of the event. Anderson then placed third in the finals of the event in 8.78 seconds, both times fasters than the 8.79 she ran in the event at the Portland Indoor Invitational a day earlier. Sophomore Nyalual Beng and senior Kris Tollefson also each set personal bests in the women's 800 meters for the second straight day, as they finished in 2:16.47 and 2:17.20, respectively. Beng's and Tollefson's times rank them 12th and tied for 15th in the 800 meters within the Big Sky this season, putting both of them in contention for qualifying for the Big Sky meet at the end of the season. Junior Ben Richardson also set a personal best in the men's 800 meters, finishing in 1:54.69 to move him just ahead of teammate Spencer Russell (1:54.70) for 10th in the Big Sky.
 
PORTLAND INDOOR INVITATIONAL:
Junior sprinter Genna Settle ruled The House of Track in Portland, Ore., at the Portland Indoor Invitational on Feb. 4, as she swept the titles in the women's 60 and 200 meters at the meet. Settle won the 60 meters in a seasonal-best 7.63 seconds, more than a quarter of a second faster than the No. 2 runner in the event, Settle's teammate Rachel Vinjamuri, who finished in 7.89 seconds. Settle's time also gave her the Big Sky qualifying mark in the event, giving her the auto marks in both the 60 and 200 meters this season. Settle also won the 200 meters at the meet, as she finished in 24.70 seconds, while Vinjamuri placed third behind Settle in a personal-best 25.27 seconds. Junior Akayla Anderson and senior Kevin Robinson also had strong performances in the women's and men's 60-meter hurdles, respectively. Anderson finished in a seasonal-best 8.79 seconds to move up to second in the Big Sky this season, while Robinson finished the 60-meter hurdles in a personal-best 8.44 seconds, moving him into a tie for fourth all-time in the event at Portland State.
 
UW INVITATIONAL RECAP:
Sophomore Spenser Schmidt and senior Rockwell Tufty each hit Big Sky auto marks in the men's long jump and high jump, respectively, as the Viking men shined at the UW Invitational, Jan. 29-30, at the Dempsey Indoor facility. Schmidt hit the auto mark in the long jump with a personal-best mark of 23-06.00 (7.16m), beating his old indoor personal best by over six inches. Schmidt's mark moved him up to second in the Big Sky this season, and also ranks him third all-time in the indoor long jump at Portland State. Tufty, meanwhile, tied his personal best in the indoor high jump, as he cleared 6-08.75 (2.05m), moving him into a tie for third in the Big Sky this season. Senior heptathlete Kevin Robinson also set a personal best in the heptathlon with 4,684 points at the meet. Robinson set his new PR while setting new heptathlon personal bests in six of the seven events. Additionally, freshman Rachel Vinjamuri lowered her personal best in the 400 meters for the third straight week, finishing in 57.15 seconds, while junior Whitney Diggs set a seasonal best in the 400, as she placed right behind Vinjamuri at 57.21. Sophomore Ta'mara Richey also set a new seasonal best in the triple jump, finishing with a mark of 36-11.75 (11.27m).
 
BRONCO INVITATIONAL RECAP:
Freshmen triple jumpers ChaQuinn Cook and Jean-Luc Toku shined for the Portland State track & field team at the Bronco Invitational, Jan. 23, at the Jackson Indoor Track in Nampa, Idaho. Cook took over the Big Sky lead in the women's triple jump with her mark of 38-00.25 (11.59m), while Toku surpassed 47 feet in the men's triple jump, finishing with a mark of 47-00.75 (14.34m). Toku moved up to third all-time in the indoor triple jump at Portland State with his mark at the meet, while Cook moved to 10th all-time at Portland State in the women's side of the event. Both Cook and Toku hit the Big Sky auto marks in their respective sides of the triple jump as well, while junior sprinter Genna Settle also beat the Big Sky auto mark in the 200 meters, finishing in a seasonal-best 24.48 seconds. Settle also nearly hit the qualifying mark in the 60 meters, as she won the event in 7.67 seconds, just .02 seconds short of meeting the conference standard.
 
UW INDOOR PREVIEW RECAP:
Senior sprinter Sheldon Prince picked up the Vikings' first Big Sky auto qualifying mark in the 400 meters, as he finished in 48.84 seconds to lead the Vikings at the UW Indoor Preview, Jan. 16, at the Dempsey Indoor Facility. Several other Vikings came close to auto marks, none closer than sophomore sprinter/jumper Spenser Schmidt, who came within one centimeter short of the distance needed to qualify for the meet, as he jumped 22-07.25 (6.89m). Senior high jumper Rockwell Tufty also took three attempts at what would have been a Big Sky qualifying mark of 2.05 meters, but missed on all three despite clearing his first two heights on his first attempt. Additionally, senior Spencer Russell and junior Ben Richardson came within a second of hitting the Big Sky auto mark in the 800 meters, as they finished within .03 seconds of each other at 1:54.70 and 1:54.73, respectively. 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, which moved her up to fifth all-time at Portland State in the event just one race into her PSU career.
 
ED JACOBY INVITATIONAL RECAP:
Senior Kevin Robinson completed his first heptathlon at Portland State, finishing fifth at the Ed Jacoby Invitational with 4,369 points, Jan. 16, at the Jacksons Indoor Track. Robinson went over 700 points in two events, as he tied for first overall with a clearance of 6-05.25 (1.96m) in the high jump to end the first day of the competition and then opened the second day of the competition with his time of 8.89 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles. Sophomore Donté Robinson also competed at the meet, but was unable to clear a height in the pole vault and did not finish. Donté Robinson had been off to a good start in the heptathlon, as he topped 700 points in the 60 meters (7.44 seconds) and high jump (6-04.00, 1.93m).
 
BIG SKY QUALIFIERS:
Junior Akayla Anderson picked up the Big Sky auto mark in the 60-meter hurdles at Friday's TrackTown High Performance Meet #4, finishing in a seasonal-best 8.70 seconds. Junior Genna Settle also picked up her second Big Sky auto mark of the season, as she finished the 60 meters in 7.63 seconds at the Portland Indoor Invitational on Thursday. Auto marks assure athletes of competing at the Big Sky Indoor Championships in Bozeman, Mont., Feb. 25-27. The top 16 declared athletes in each event qualify for the meet, with the field filled in following the descending order list within the conference after the auto qualifiers are entered. The combined events are the only ones that differ as only the top 14 declared athletes qualify in each of those events.
 
PSU BIG SKY AUTO QUALIFIERS:
Women:
Akayla Anderson – 60m Hurdles – 8.70 – TrackTown High Performance Meet #4 (2/5/16)
ChaQuinn Cook – Triple Jump – 38-00.25 (11.59m) – Bronco Invitational (1/23/16)
Genna Settle – 60m – 7.63 – Portland Indoor Invitational (2/4/16)
Genna Settle – 200m – 24.48 – Bronco Invitational (1/23/16)
Men:
Sheldon Prince – 400m – 48.84 – UW Indoor Preview (1/16/16)
Spenser Schmidt – Long Jump – 23-06.00 (7.16m) – UW Invitational (1/30/16)
Jean-Luc Toku – Triple Jump – 47-00.75 (14.34m) – Bronco Invitational (1/23/16)
Rockwell Tufty – High Jump – 6-08.75 (2.05m) – UW Invitational
 
VIKINGS IN BIG SKY TOP 1:
Women:
60m
t1. Three-way tie – 7.53 – Multiple meets
5. Genna Settle (PSU) – 7.63 – Portland Indoor Invitational (2/4/16)
t16. Two-way tie – 7.89 – Multiple meets
 
200m
1. Natasha Brown (UND) – 24.39 – Bison Classic (1/16/16)
2. Genna Settle (PSU) – 24.48 – Bronco Invitational (1/23/16)
7. Whitney Diggs (PSU) – 25.00 – Bronco Invitational (1/23/16)
10. Rachel Vinjamuri (PSU) – 25.27 – Portland Indoor Invitational (2/4/16)
16. Josephine Petruska (MSU) – 25.45 – MSU, UM, SSU, EWU Dual Meet (2/5/16)
 
400m
1. Tianna McKinney (UND) – 55.86 – Jim Emmerich Invitational (1/23/16)
8. Whitney Diggs (PSU) – 57.09 – Portland Indoor Invitational (2/4/16)
9. Rachel Vinjamuri (PSU) – 57.15 – UW Invitational (1/30/16)
15. Roazena Miller (PSU) – 57.92 – Bronco Invitational (1/23/16)
16. Haley Harris (SUU) – 57.99 – Lumberjack Team Challenge (1/16/16)
 
800m
1. Cammy Sargent (UNC) – 2:12.25 – Meyo Invitational (2/5/16)
12. Nyalual Beng (PSU) – 2:16.47 – TrackTown USA High Performance Meet #4 (2/5/16)
t15. Kris Tollefson (PSU) – 2:17.20 – TrackTown USA High Performance Meet #4 (2/5/16)
 
60m Hurdles
1. Tawnie Moore (WSU) – 8.57 – Weber State Indoor Invitational (1/28/16)
2. Akayla Anderson (PSU) – 8.70 – TrackTown USA High Performance Meet #4 (2/5/16)
t16. Two-way tie – 9.05 – Multiple meets
 
4x400m Relay
1. North Dakota – 3:45.91 – Jim Emmerich Invitational (1/23/16)
t3. Portland State – 3:50.57 – Portland Indoor Invitational (2/4/16)
 
Long Jump
1. Alisha Allen (UNC) – 19-00.00 (5.79m) – CSM Alumni Classic & Multi (12/10/15)
4. Ta'mara Richey (PSU) – 18-03.75 (5.58m) – TrackTown USA High Performance Meet #4 (2/5/16)
9. Brandi Williams (PSU) – 18-01.00 (5.51m) – Bronco Invitational (1/23/16)
t16. Three-way tie – 17-09.50 (5.42m) – Multiple meets
 
Triple Jump
1. Dominique Butler (EWU) – 38-01.50 (11.62m) – MSU, UM, SSU, EWU Dual Meet (2/5/16)
2. ChaQuinn Cook (PSU) – 38-00.25 (11.59m) – Bronco Invitational (1/23/16)
5. Ta'mara Richey (PSU) – 37-03.25 (11.36m) – Portland Indoor Invitational (2/4/16)
16. Alisha Allen (UNC) – 36-00.00 (10.97m) – Air Force Invitational (1/21/16)
 
Men:
400m
1. Ben Ayesu-Attah (UI) – 47.22 – UW Invitational (1/29/16)
2. Sheldon Prince (PSU) – 48.73 – Portland Indoor Invitational (2/4/16)
7. Mitchell Gable (PSU) – 49.22 – Bronco Invitational (1/23/16)
16. Jake Ness (WSU) – 49.66 – Snake River Open (1/15/16)
 
800m
1. Peter Lomong (NAU) – 1:51.95 – Mountain T's Invitational and Multi's (1/29/16)
10. Ben Richardson (PSU) – 1:54.69 – TrackTown USA High Performance Meet #4 (2/5/16)
11. Spencer Russell (PSU) – 1:54.70 – UW Indoor Preview (1/16/16)
16. Liam Kennell (SUU) – 1:56.24 – Lumberjack Team Challenge (1/16/16)
 
3,000m
1. Hayden Hawks (SUU) – 8:05.58 – UW Invitational (1/29/16)
12. Alex Cisneros (PSU) – 8:33.15 – Bronco Invitational (1/23/16)
16. Zachary Kughn (MSU) – 8:39.34 – MSU, UM, SSU, EWU Dual Meet (2/5/16)
 
60m Hurdles
1. Jonathan McUne (WSU) – 8:17@ – Wildcat Winter Open (12/4/15)
12. Kevin Robinson (PSU) – 8.44 – Portland Indoor Invitational (2/4/16)
16. Austin Warner (WSU) – 8.54 – Weber State Indoor Invitational (1/28/16)
 
4x400m Relay
1. Northern Arizona – 3:15.17@ – NAU Friday Night Duals 2016 (1/22/16)
9. Portland State – 3:23.18 – Bronco Invitational (1/23/16)
 
High Jump
1. Anthony Gregory (WSU) – 6-10.75 (2.10m) – Wildcat Winter Open (12/4/15)
t3. Rockwell Tufty (PSU) – 6-08.75 (2.05m) – UW Invitational (1/30/16)
12. Kevin Robinson (PSU) – 6-05.00 (1.96m) – Ed Jacoby Invitational (1/15/16)
t13. Donté Robinson (PSU) – 6-04.75 (1.95m) – TrackTown USA High Performance Meet #4 (2/5/16)
 
Long Jump
1. Deante Gaines (ISU) – 23-10.25 (7.27m) – Snake River Open (1/15/16)
2. Spenser Schmidt (PSU) – 23-06.00 (7.16m) – UW Invitational (1/30/16)
t16. Jean-Luc Toku (PSU) – 21-07.25 (6.58m) – Bronco Invitational (1/23/16)
 
Triple Jump
1. Deante Gaines (ISU) – 50-00.75 (15.26m) – Snake River Open (1/15/16)
6. Jean-Luc Toku (PSU) – 47-00.75 (14.34m) – Bronco Invitational (1/23/16)
16. Nolan Hovland (UND) – 44-00.75 (13.43m) – Bison Classic (1/16/16)
 
Heptathlon
1. Kyle Searle (ISU) – 5,141 points – Mountain States Games (2/5/16)
7. Kevin Robinson (PSU) – 4,684 points – UW Invitational (1/30/16)
16. Tim Ankenman (ISU) – 4,149 points – Mountain States Games (2/5/16)