MEET NOTES (PDF)

PORTLAND, Ore. — The big stage awaits the Portland State track & field team, as the Vikings head to Bozeman, Mont., for the Big Sky Indoor Championships this weekend.
 
Kevin Robinson opens the meet for the Vikings with the first day of the heptathlon starting Thursday, while the rest of the Vikings will join Robinson in Bozeman as the meet kicks up Friday and Saturday.
 
Junior Whitney Diggs and freshman ChaQuinn Cook enter the meet as the favorites in their respective events, as they lead the Big Sky in the 400 meters and triple jump, respectively.
 
Diggs took over the Big Sky lead in the 400 meters on the final weekend of the indoor regular season, as she finished in 55.00 seconds at the Husky Classic on Feb. 13. Diggs' time crushed her previous seasonal best by over two seconds, and put her close to a full second over the No. 2 time in the conference, which North Dakota's Tianna McKinney set at 55.86 seconds earlier this season.
 
Additionally' Diggs' time marked her best time in the 400 in nearly two years, as it ranks as her second-best finish ever to the school record of 54.89 seconds she ran at the 2014 Big Sky Indoor Championships.
 
Cook, meanwhile, took over the Big Sky lead in the women's triple jump for a second time at the Husky Classic with a monster personal best of 39-07.00 (12.06m). Cook's jump vaulted her past Eastern Washington's Dominique Butler, who had taken the Big Sky lead in the event from Cook with a jump of 38-01.50 (11.62m) at the MSU, UM, SSU, EWU Dual Meet on Feb. 5. Cook's mark at the Husky Classic beat Butler by nearly 18 inches, however, and set the best mark in the women's indoor triple jump by a Viking since 2012.
 
Outside of Diggs and Cook, the Vikings also rank in the top five of the Big Sky in six other events going into the Big Sky meet.
 
Junior Genna Settle ranks in the top five of the conference in both the women's 60 and 200 meters, and will be a conference title contender in both events. Settle ranks second in the Big Sky in the women's 200 meters after finishing in 24.48 seconds at the Bronco Invitational on Jan. 23. Settle ranks just behind North Dakota's Natasha Brown, who ran an adjusted time of 24.39 seconds at the Bison Classic to lead the conference.
 
Settle also ranks fifth in the Big Sky in the 60 meters after she ran a seasonal-best time of 7.63 seconds at the Portland Indoor Invitational on Feb. 4. Settle's time ranks her a tenth of a second behind the leading time in the conference of 7.53 seconds, which three different athletes have set during the season.
 
Settle's personal bests in the 60 and 200 meters should make her a contender in both events, however, as both rank higher than the conference-leading times this season. Settle set a PR of 7.51 seconds in the 60 meters at last year's Big Sky Indoor Championships, a few ticks ahead of the conference-leading time of 7.53 seconds. Additionally, Settle's PR of 23.92 seconds in the 200 meters, set at the Scarlet & White Invitational last season, ranks well ahead of Brown's conference best this season of 24.39, and ranks Settle fourth all-time in the 200 within the Big Sky Conference.
 
Junior Akayla Anderson also enters the Big Sky meet as a conference title contender, as she ranks second in the women's 60-meter hurdles, a year after finishing second in the event to teammate Jazmin Ratcliff at the Big Sky meet. Anderson set her seasonal best of 8.70 seconds at the TrackTown High Performance Meet #4 on Feb. 5, .13 seconds behind Weber State's Tawnie Moore's conference-leading mark of 8.57 seconds, set at the Weber State Indoor Invitational on Jan. 28. However, Anderson entered last year's Big Sky Indoor Championships with a similar seasonal best of 8.66 seconds, but then set a huge personal best of 8.40 seconds in the finals of the event.
 
The Viking women's 4x400-meter relay team could also be in line for All-Big Sky honors, as they rank fourth in the conference with a seasonal best of 3:50.57, set at the Portland Indoor Invitational on Feb. 4. Diggs anchored the Vikings' 4x400-meter relay throughout the season, and will be joined by Roazena Miller, Dejuanae Toliver and Rachel Vinjamuri at the Big Sky meet this weekend.
 
On the men's side, senior Rockwell Tufty and sophomore Spenser Schmidt enter the meet ranked third in the high jump and long jump, respectively, and should challenge for top three spots in each event at the conference meet.
 
Tufty moved up to third in the conference while tying the school record in the event with a clearance of 6-09.00 (2.06m) at the UW Open on the final day of the indoor regular season. Tufty was an All-Big Sky performer in the outdoor high jump in 2014, but has never finished higher than eighth in the high jump at the Big Sky indoor meet. Tufty has had his best indoor season as a senior in 2016, however, as he's surpassed 2.00 meters at every meet during the season, and cleared 2.05 meters at two different meets.
 
Schmidt, meanwhile, inserted himself into the discussion in the men's long jump with a huge personal best of 23-06.00 (7.16m) at the UW Invitational on Jan. 30. Schmidt is one of five athletes who rank within six inches of Idaho State's Deante Gaines's conference-leading mark of 23-10.75 (7.28m), which should set up for a deep competition in the men's long jump.
 
The Big Sky Indoor Championships get underway at 9 a.m. (MT) Thursday with the opening event of the men's heptathlon. The second day of the men's heptathlon will also open action Friday at 9 a.m. (MT), while the women's triple jump will open the final day of the meet for the Vikings at 10 a.m. (MT).
 
MEET INFORMATION:
Feb. 25-27, 2016 – Big Sky Championships – Bozeman, Mont. (Brick Breeden Fieldhouse)
 
LIVE VIDEO:
A live video stream of the Big Sky Championships will be available on Friday and Saturday. Fans can find a link to the live video stream on the track & field schedule page on GoViks.com.
 
BIG SKY CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE
Thursday, Feb. 25
All Events
Start (MT)                 Event (PSU entries)
9 a.m.                          Men's Heptathlon – 60 Meters (Section 2 – Robinson, K.)
                                    Men's Heptathlon – Long Jump (Robinson, K.)
                                    Men's Heptathlon – Shot Put (Robinson, K.)
                                    Men's Heptathlon – High Jump (Robinson, K.)
 
Friday, Feb. 26
All Events
Start (MT)                 Event (PSU entries)
9 a.m.                          Men's Heptathlon – 60-Meter Hurdles (Section 1 – Robinson, K.)
                                    Men's Heptathlon – Pole Vault (Robinson, K.)
                                    Men's Heptathlon – 1,000 Meters (Robinson, K.)
1:30 p.m.                    Men's Long Jump – Final (Flight 2 – Schmidt)
2:30 p.m.                    Men's High Jump – Final (Robinson, D., Robinson, K., Tufty)
4:15 p.m.                    Women's 60-Meter Hurdles – Trials (Heat 2 – Anderson)
4:30 p.m.                    Men's 60-Meter Hurdles – Trials (Heat 3 – Robinson, K.)
4:45 p.m.                    Women's 400 Meters – Trials (Section 4 – Diggs, Vinjamuri)
5 p.m.                          Men's 400 Meters – Trials (Section 2 – Gable, Prince)
5:15 p.m.                    Women's 60 Meters – Trials (Heat 2 – Settle)
5:45 p.m.                    Women's 800 Meters – Trials (Section 1 – Beng; Heat 2 – Tollefson)
6 p.m.                          Men's 800 Meters – Trials (Section 3 – Richardson, Russell)
6:15 p.m.                    Women's 200 Meters – Trials (Section 2 – Diggs; Section 4 – Vinjamuri; Heat 5 – Settle)
6:30 p.m.                    Women's Long Jump – Final            (Flight 1 – Settle, Williams; Flight 2 – Richey)
7:05 p.m.                    Women's 5,000 Meters – Final (Medved)
7:45 p.m.                    Women's Distance Medley Relay – Final (Portland State 'A' – Trapp, Miller, Tollefson, Gibson)
8 p.m.                          Men's Distance Medley Relay – Final (Portland State 'A' – Richardson, Wood, Russell, Cisneros)
 
Saturday, Feb. 27
All Events
Start (MT)                 Event (PSU entries)
10 a.m.                        Women's Triple Jump – Final (Flight 2 – Cook, Richey)
1 p.m.                          Women's 60-Meter Hurdles – Final
1:15 p.m.                    Men's Triple Jump – Final (Flight 2 – Toku)
1:20 p.m.                    Men's 60-Meter Hurdles – Final
1:35 p.m.                    Women's 400 Meters – Final
1:45 p.m.                    Men's 400 Meters – Final
1:55 p.m.                    Women's 60 Meters – Final
2:20 p.m.                    Women's 800 Meters – Final
2:30 p.m.                    Men's 800 Meters – Final
2:40 p.m.                    Women's 200 Meters – Final
3:15 p.m.                    Men's 3,000 Meters – Final (Cisneros)
3:30 p.m.                    Women's 4x400-Meter Relay – Final (Section 3 – Portland State 'A' – Miller, Toliver, Vinjamuri, Diggs)
3:50 p.m.                    Men's 4x400-Meter Relay – Final (Section 1 – Portland State 'A' – Wood, Robinson, K., Gable, Prince)
 
COMING UP:
The 2016 indoor season will be done for the Vikings unless an athlete moves into the top 16 in the nation in an individual event, or one of the Vikings' relay teams finishes in the top 12 nationally. In those cases, those athletes will move onto the NCAA Indoor Championships, which will be held March 11-12 in Birmingham, Ala. The Vikings will seriously need to move up in the national rankings to have anybody qualify, however, as no athletes rank in the top 100 in their event currently.
 
UW OPEN RECAP:
Senior Rockwell Tufty tied the school record in the indoor high jump while moving into a tie for second in the Big Sky as the Vikings concluded their indoor regular season at the UW Open, Feb. 14, at the Dempsey Indoor facility. Tufty cleared 6-09.00 (2.06m) on his third attempt at the height, tying the school record that former NCAA All-American Nick Trubachik set in 2009. Tufty, who also won the event at the UW Open, took three attempts at 2.07 meters as well, which would have given him the record on his own. Freshman Tyler Dent also threw a personal-best 47-05.25 (14.46m) in the weight throw, moving him up to third all-time in the event at Portland State. Fellow freshmen Kaila Ann Gibson and Nevina De Luca also each set new personal bests in the women's mile, as they finished in 5:05.60 and 5:25.38, respectively. Additionally, the Vikings had four athletes set seasonal bests in the women's 3,000 meters, while Kennedy Martin and Jocelyn Reynolds set personal bests of 10:45.48 and 10:49.83, respectively. Juniors Cheryn Trapp and Maggie Coleman led the group of four with a pair of seasonal bests, as they finished in 10:11.89 and 10:40.13, respectively.
 
HUSKY CLASSIC RECAP:
Junior Whitney Diggs and freshman ChaQuinn Cook took over the Big Sky leads in the women's 400 meters and triple jump, respectively, as the Vikings competed at the Husky Classic, Feb. 12-13, at the Dempsey Indoor facility. Diggs took over the lead in the 400 meters with a huge seasonal best, as she finished in 55.00 seconds, more than two full seconds faster than her previous best this season of 57.09 seconds. Diggs' time also crushed the previous conference best North Dakota's Tianna McKinney set at 55.86 seconds, and marked Diggs' second-best time ever at PSU, behind only the school record of 54.89 seconds Diggs ran at the 2014 Big Sky Indoor Championships nearly two years ago. Cook, meanwhile, reclaimed the Big Sky lead in the women's triple jump after she lost it to Eastern Washington's Dominique Butler last weekend. Cook originally took the lead in the Big Sky with her mark of 38-00.25 (11.59m) at the Bronco Invitational on Jan. 23, but lost it after Butler jumped 38-01.50 (11.62m) at the MSU, UM, SSU, EWU Dual Meet on Feb. 5. Cook blew away both her and Butler's previous bests with her mark at the Husky Classic, however, as she jumped 39-07.00 (12.06m) on her first attempt of the day. Cook's mark gave the freshman a near-18-inch lead over Butler with less than two weeks until the Big Sky meet. Additionally, Viking middle distance runners Nyalual Beng and Kris Tollefson set new personal best in the women's 800 meters at their third straight meet, as they finished in 2:15.46 and 2:15.67, respectively.
 
TRACKTOWN USA HIGH PERFORMANCE MEET #4 RECAP:
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 RECAP:
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:
Nine Vikings stamped their ticket to the Big Sky Indoor Championships in Bozeman, Mont., by hitting the Big Sky auto marks in their respective events. Other than those nine, the rest of the Vikings earned their way to the Big Sky meet by being one of the top 16 declared athletes in each event following the descending order list within the conference. The combined events are the only ones that differed as only the top 14 declared athletes made the meet 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 – 39-07.00 (12.06m) – Husky Classic (2/13/16)
Whitney Diggs – 400m – 55.00 – Husky Classic (2/13/16)
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 – 6-09.00 (2.06m) – UW Open (2/14/16)
 
VIKINGS IN BIG SKY TOP 20:
Women:
60m (leading mark: 7.53)
5. Genna Settle – 7.63 – Portland Indoor Invitational (2/4/16)
t17. Rachel Vinjamuri – 7.87 – Portland Indoor Invitational (2/4/16)
 
200m (leading mark: 24.39)
2. Genna Settle – 24.48 – Bronco Invitational (1/23/16)
8. Whitney Diggs – 25.00 – Bronco Invitational (1/23/16)
16. Rachel Vinjamuri – 25.27 – Portland Indoor Invitational (2/4/16)
 
400m (leading mark: 55.00)
1. Whitney Diggs – 55.00 – Husky Classic (2/13/16)
11. Rachel Vinjamuri – 56.78 – Husky Classic (2/13/16)
 
800m (leading mark: 2:08.44)
18. Nyalual Beng – 2:15.46 – Husky Classic (2/13/16)
19. Kris Tollefson – 2:15.67 – Husky Classic (2/13/16)
 
5,000m (leading mark: 16:27.61)
17. Sarah Medved – 17:55.84 – Husky Classic (2/12/16)
 
60m Hurdles (leading mark: 8.57)
2. Akayla Anderson – 8.70 – TrackTown USA High Performance Meet #4 (2/5/16)
 
4x400m Relay (leading mark: 3:45.91)
4. Portland State – 3:50.57 – Portland Indoor Invitational (2/4/16)
 
Long Jump (leading mark: 5.79m)
t9. Ta'mara Richey – 18-03.75 (5.58m) – TrackTown USA High Performance Meet #4 (2/5/16)
t11. Genna Settle – 18-03.25 (5.57m) – Husky Classic (2/13/16)
15. Brandi Williams – 18-03.00 (5.51m) – Bronco Invitational (1/23/16)
 
Triple Jump (leading mark: 12.06m)
1. ChaQuinn Cook – 39-07.00 (12.06m) – Husky Classic (2/13/16)
6. Ta'mara Richey – 37-03.25 (11.36m) – Portland Indoor Invitational (2/4/16)
 
Men:
400m (leading mark: 47.22)
6. Sheldon Prince – 48.73 – Portland Indoor Invitational (2/4/16)
11. Mitchell Gable – 49.22 – Bronco Invitational (1/23/16)
 
800m (leading mark: 1:51.95)
14. Ben Richardson – 1:54.69 – TrackTown USA High Performance Meet #4 (2/5/16)
15. Spencer Russell – 1:54.70 – UW Indoor Preview (1/16/16)
 
3,000m (leading mark: 7:53.76)
20. Alex Cisneros – 8:33.15 – Bronco Invitational (1/23/16)
 
5,000m (leading mark: 13:44.89)
16. Alex Cisneros – 14:57.77 – Husky Classic (2/12/16)
 
60m Hurdles (leading mark: 8.15)
13. Kevin Robinson – 8.44 – Portland Indoor Invitational (2/4/16)
 
4x400m Relay (leading mark: 3:15.17)
12. Portland State – 3:22.74 – Husky Classic (2/13/16)
 
High Jump (leading mark: 2.10m)
3. Rockwell Tufty – 6-09.00 (2.06m) – UW Open (2/14/16)
t14. Kevin Robinson – 6-05.00 (1.96m) – Ed Jacoby Invitational (1/15/16)
t14. Donté Robinson – 6-05.00 (1.96m) – Husky Classic (2/13/16)
 
Long Jump (leading mark: 7.28m)
3. Spenser Schmidt – 23-06.00 (7.16m) – UW Invitational (1/30/16)
16. Jean-Luc Toku – 21-08.75 (6.62m) – Husky Classic (2/13/16)
 
Triple Jump (leading mark: 15.26m)
6. Jean-Luc Toku – 47-00.75 (14.34m) – Bronco Invitational (1/23/16)
 
Heptathlon (leading mark: 5,141 points)
7. Kevin Robinson – 4,684 points – UW Invitational (1/30/16)