Complete Meet Notes (PDF)

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Viking 'Rust-Buster' sounds like something that should be endorsed by the late pitchman Billy Mays but with any luck, the new Portland State home meet that has its first annual running this Saturday won't need the celebrity endorsement in the future.
 
Portland State head coach David Hepburn and assistant coach Josh Seitz, who will serve as the meet director, created the meet over the summer to serve as an introductory meet for the cross country season. But more than that, Hepburn and Seitz also hope the meet, which features two high school races and a community 4,000-meter race in addition to the men's and women's collegiate races, will further connect the Viking cross country and track & field programs to the Portland running community.
 
"I really want to make sure there is something tangible for alumni and the Viking community to see and experience when it comes to cross country and track & field," Hepburn said of the new meet. "I think we need to be able to showcase the amazing dedication our athletes put into our sport."
 
The first effort in that comes this Saturday, as the Vikings host the 1st annual Viking 'Rust-Buster' at Blue Lake Park in Fairview, Ore. The collegiate races will open the meet as the men run a 6,000-meter race at 9:30 a.m., while the women follow with a 4,000-meter race at 10 a.m. Two high school races will follow those, as a boys 4,000-meter race starts at 10:30 a.m., while a girls 4,000-meter race starts at 11 a.m. The community 4,000-meter race will then conclude the meet at 11:30 a.m.
 
The men's collegiate 6k will feature a head-to-head competition between Portland State and the University of Portland, which enters the meet ranked first in the USTFCCCA West region and third nationally. PSU and UP will also square off in the women's collegiate 4k while also facing Oregon State.
 
Forest Grove High School and Oregon City High School will battle each other in the boys and girls high school races. Registration for the community race will be available the day of the race at the race site in Blue Lake Park.
 
Hepburn and Seitz hope to grow the meet to include more teams and community runners in the future.
 
"I would really like to see the 'rust-buster' become an annual thing," Hepburn said. "I think the high school portion will grow as well as the community race. It should be a lot of fun and hopefully get the Viking community talking cross country."
 
The name 'Rust-Buster' not only puts the Vikings in the Billy Mays realm, but also indicates the underlining purpose Hepburn and Seitz hope the meet will serve. The 4k and 6k distances for the women's and men's collegiate races are more than manageable in the early season, and shouldn't shock new college freshmen used to running shorter distances in high school.
 
"This meet is a great way for the coaches to get a read on where their team is at after their summer base training and set workout paces," Seitz said of the races. "The low-key, off-distance nature of the race helps runners not overthink what any of the times mean. They can just get a tough effort in, remember what the 'race hurt' feels like, and move on without missing a beat in training."
 
The low-pressure element to the meet should especially help Hepburn and Seitz, who will have to sort through the biggest cross country men's and women's rosters in recent memory within the Viking program. The Viking men brought in 11 new runners this cross country season, while the Viking women added 13.
 
Those runners will get their first taste of collegiate racing at the Vikings' home meet Saturday. The only way the freshmen could get a better introduction would be if Billy Mays was there to hype them up himself.
 
MEET INFO
Sept. 1 – Viking 'Rust-Buster' – Fairview, Ore. (Blue Lake Park)
 
MEET SCHEDULE
Race                                                                            Time
Men's 6,000-meter collegiate race                            9:30 a.m.
Women's 4,000-meter collegiate race                       10 a.m.
Boys 4,000-meter high school race                            10:30 a.m.
Girls 4,000-meter high school race                            11 a.m.
Alumni and community 4,000-meter open race        11:30 a.m.
 
COLLEGIATE TEAMS COMPETING
Men: Portland State University, University of Portland
Women: Oregon State University, Portland State University, University of Portland
 
PORTLAND STATE ENTRIES
Men: Liam Jemison, Cody Jones, Chase Lovercheck, Jayson Maule, Matt Palmer, Jason Rae, Luke Ramirez, Jack Rubalcave, Drew Seidel, Josh Snyder, Andy Solano, Erik Solano, Andrew Stafford, Ian Vickstrom
Women: Alana Baldwin-Joiner, Phoebe Brown, Sammy Burke, Kaila Gibson, Phoebe Jacques, Linnaea Kavulich, McKenna Martin, Sarah Medved, Hunter Storm, Hannah Tomeo, Kristen Walker, Delaney White
 
PORTLAND STATE'S HISTORY WITH HOME CROSS COUNTRY MEETS
While this will be the first running of the Viking 'Rust-Buster' this Saturday, the Vikings have hosted other cross country meets in the past, including a couple at Blue Lake Park where the 'Rust-Buster' will be this weekend. The Vikings hosted the Viking XC Classic/PSU Viking Classic in back-to-back years in 2013 and 2014 at Blue Lake Park. The women ran a three-mile race both years of that meet, while the men ran a four-mile race in 2013 and an 8,000-meter race in 2014. Camelia Mayfield posted the best individual finish by a Viking man or woman at the 2014 Viking XC Classic, where she placed third out of 50 total runners. The Vikings also hosted the Big Sky XC Triangular Meet at Pier Park in 2014. The women ran a 5,000-meter race at that meet, while the men ran an 8,000-meter race. Amanda Boman and T-Roy Brown each placed sixth overall as the top women's and men's finishers, respectively, for the Vikings.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
The Vikings head to the Cougar Classic, hosted by Washington State University, Sept. 14, at the Colfax Golf Course in Colfax, Wash. The men will run an 8,000-meter race at 5:15 p.m. at the meet, while the women will run a 6,000-meter race at 6 p.m.