OGDEN, Utah — Kaila Gibson will have to wait another six weeks to find out if her 80-second personal best in the 10,000 meters at the Stanford Invitational last Friday will qualify her for the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds at the end of May. One thing she doesn't have to wait for is a Big Sky Track Athlete of the Week award. She picked that up Monday, becoming the Vikings' first Big Sky Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week since 2017, and just the second since 2014.
 
Gibson earned the athlete of the week honor after finishing the 10,000 meters in 34:12.51 in a late-night race Friday at the Stanford Invite. Gibson moved up to third all time in the outdoor 10,000 meters at Portland State with that time, behind only Debbie Myra (33:51.40) and Sarah Dean (34:00.32).
 
It was a dramatic improvement over her first attempt at the 10,000 meters, which came amid a late bid for a spot at the 2018 NCAA West Prelims at last season's Big Sky Outdoor Championships. Gibson had to push the pace for most of that race, which came at the worst possible elevation for a distance race (2,000 feet, high enough to affect the runners but not high enough to get their times altitude adjusted), before finishing in 35:24.64. It wasn't enough to qualify her for the NCAA West Prelims that season, but Gibson delivered on the promise she showed in that race with her performance Friday.
 
Gibson's time at the Stanford Invite – 34:12.51 – was more than 30 seconds faster than the final NCAA West Prelims qualifying time last season (34:47.00). Camelia Mayfield and Amanda Boman, both of whom Gibson passed in the PSU record books with her time Friday, also qualified for the NCAA West Prelims for the Vikings with times much slower than Gibson's at the Stanford Invite.
 
Gibson ranks 27th in the West in the 10,000 meters after Friday, putting her well within the top 48 that will qualify for the NCAA West Prelims at the end of May. Gibson also ranks third in the Big Sky in the women's 10,000 meters, behind Idaho State's Jenica Dodge and Weber State's Lexie Thompson.
 
Gibson was also the first Viking to be named the Big Sky Cross Country Athlete of the Week since 2006 during the fall.