RESULTS

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Youth ruled the day for the Portland State cross country program, as the Vikings opened their season at the John Frank Oregon State Invitational Saturday with freshmen or sophomores dominating both the men's and women's top sevens.
 
Freshman Michael Biedebach led the Viking men's team with a fifth-place overall finish in the 6,000-meter men's race, while only one runner with more than a letter of experience placed in the Viking women's top seven.
 
Biedebach led the Viking men with his finish in 18:47.8, placing him fifth behind only three runners from the University of Portland's men's team, and the top finisher, David Ribich from Western Oregon. Biedebach's time ranks second all-time in cross country 6,000-meter races at Portland State, just eight seconds behind Zach Carpenter, who set the school record at 18:39.45 at the 2011 Pier Park Invitational.
 
Biedebach's time led a strong showing by the young Viking men, as the Vikings placed third overall as a team with 75 team points.
 
Behind Biedebach, senior Ben Richardson – a two-time All-Big Sky performer in the 800 meters in track – placed as the Vikings' second runner at 23rd overall, tying his highest finish in the Vikings' lineup ever in cross country. Richardson finished in 19:38.6, just over a second ahead of another of the Vikings' freshman, Cameron Gaskell, who placed 24th overall in 19:40.0.
 
Junior Justin Wikler placed as the Vikings' fourth runner, as he posted a big improvement of 19:59.9 to finish 33rd overall. Wikler hadn't run a 6,000-meter cross country race at Portland State going into the meet, but his best time over four miles – only about 400 meters longer than a 6,000-meter race – was 22:12.8, more than two minutes slower than the time he ran Saturday.
 
Freshman Jacob Emeterio rounded out the Vikings' team scoring, as he placed as the team's fifth runner at 36th overall in 20:05.2. Junior Ethan Cotton and freshman Andrew Stafford rounded out the Vikings' top seven with 38th- and 44th-place finishes in 20:16.8 and 20:40.5, respectively. Freshmen Gabe Bader and Liam Jemison also competed for the Vikings, and placed 45th and 48th overall in 20:45.7 and 21:08.0, respectively.
 
Overall, the Viking men finished with four freshmen in their top seven, a strong sign of things to come for the Vikings, who will compete this season with seven freshmen among their 11-athlete roster.
 
The Viking women will also rely on their youth this season, and the team's young runners came through Saturday, as six of the Vikings' top seven runners have just four letters of experience combined between them.
 
Sophomores Kaila Ann Gibson and Nevina De Luca led the Viking women, as they placed 14th and 15th overall, respectively, in times of 18:05.1 and 18:11.4 over the three-mile women's race. Gibson's time beat her 5k personal best by 12 seconds, as she finished well ahead of the 18:17.2 she ran at the Charles Bowles Invitational last season, albeit at a 160-meter shorter distance.
 
De Luca outdid Gibson – at least in terms of the size of her improvement – as she finished close to 50 seconds better than her 5k personal best of 18:58.2, which she also set at the Charles Bowles Invitational last season.
 
Freshman Demi Marine followed Gibson and De Luca as the Viking women's third finisher, as she placed 22nd overall in a time of 18:36.9 in her first race as a Viking.
 
Senior Cheryn Trapp placed as the Vikings' fourth runner, as she placed 26th overall in 19:04.8.
 
Meanwhile, junior Nyalaual Beng – an 800-meter runner during the track season – posted her best cross country finish ever as a Viking, as she finished as the Vikings' fifth runner at 30th overall in a personal-best 19:17.9.
 
The Vikings' sixth runner – Alana Chaplin – completed one of the best stories of the meet with her finish, as she placed in the Vikings' top seven despite never having raced cross country before in either high school or college. Chaplin spent her first two years at Portland State playing for the Vikings women's tennis team, but was forced to retire from tennis over the summer due to problems with her shoulder.
 
However, running in front of family – her mother and father are the head coach and associate head coach of women's gymnastics at Oregon State – Chaplin placed 33rd overall in 19:34.6.
 
Sophomore Jocelyn Reynolds rounded out the Vikings' top seven while placing 34th overall with her finish in 19:40.0. Senior Kennedy Martin also competed for the Vikings, placing 44th overall in 20:51.4. As a team, the Viking women placed fourth overall with 88 team points.
 
The Vikings will next compete two weeks from now at the Sundodger Invitational in Seattle, Wash., on Sept. 17. The first race will start at 10 a.m. (PT).
 
John Frank Oregon State Invitational
Avery Park
Corvallis, Ore.
Sept. 3, 2016
 
Women's Top Ten Finishers (3 Mile):
1. Parkes Kendrick, Portland, 16:52.8; 2. Anne Luijten, Portland, 16:53.3; 3. Taryn Rawlings, Portland, 16:53.8; 4. Kristiane Width, Oregon State, 17:01.8; 5. Courtney Cox, Portland, 17:23.7; 6. Sam McKinnon, Oregon State, 17:27.5; 7. Lexi Reed, Oregon State, 17:30.8; 8. Samantha Lewis, Oregon State, 17:43.6; 9. Morgan Anderson, Oregon State, 17:44.3; 10. Lacey Conner, Unattached, 17:52.6.
 
Women's Team Scores:
1. Portland, 22 points; 2. Oregon State, 34 points; 3. Western Oregon, 85 points; 4. Portland State, 88 points; 5. Concordia (Ore.), 134 points.
 
Portland State Runners (out of 50):
14. Kaila Ann Gibson, 18:05.1; 15. Nevina De Luca, 18:11.4; 22. Demi Marine, 18:36.9; 26. Cheryn Trapp, 19:04.8; 30. Nyalual Beng, 19:17.9; 33. Alana Chaplin, 19:34.6; 34. Jocelyn Reynolds, 19:40.0; 44. Kennedy Martin, 20:51.4.
 
Men's Top Ten Finishers (6k):
1. David Ribich, Western Oregon, 18:21.6; 2. Logan Orndorf, Portland, 18:31.5; 3. Fabian Tomas, Portland, 18:43.6; 4. Joe Horen, Portland, 18:47.0; 5. Michael Biedebach, Portland State, 18:47.8; 6. Erik Wingfield, Portland, 18:52.3; 7. Andre Walker, UO Running Club, 18:57.8; 8. Tayte Pollmann, Portland, 18:59.9; 9. Judd Lewis, Concordia (Ore.), 19:00.5; 10. Carter Aebi, Portland, 19:03.9.
 
Men's Team Scores:
1. Portland, 22 points; 2. Western Oregon, 56 points; 3. Portland State, 75 points; 4. Concordia (Ore.), 95 points.
 
Portland State Runners (out of 50):
5. Michael Biedebach, 18:47.8; 23. Ben Richardson, 19:38.6; 24. Cameron Gaskell, 19:40.0; 33. Justin Wikler, 19:59.9; 36. Jacob Emeterio, 20:05.2; 38. Ethan Cotton, 20:16.8; 44. Andrew Stafford, 20:40.5; 45. Gabe Bader, 20:45.7; 48. Liam Jemison, 21:08.0.