CORVALLIS, Ore. — Qualifying marks for the NCAA West Prelims secured, training partners Kaila Gibson and Sarah Medved got some speed work in Friday on the first day of the OSU High Performance meet at the Whyte Track & Field Center.
 
Gibson and Medved – qualified in the women's 10,000 meters and 3,000-meter steeplechase, respectively – each ran their first 1,500-meter races of the season at the meet. Gibson competed in the top section of the race, and finished a tenth of a second off her personal best with a time of 4:32.09. Medved followed in the second section of the race, and placed third while shaving over three seconds off her three-year-old personal best in the event. Medved finished in 4:36.48 Friday, well ahead of her previous best of 4:39.84, which she set at the Triton Invitational way back as a redshirt freshman in 2016.
 
Freshman Luke Ramirez led the Viking men's runners in the middle distances, as he won the second section of the men's 1,500 meters while dipping under four minutes for a second time this season. Ramirez had never cracked four minutes in the 1,500 meters during his high school career, but has now done it twice as a freshman at Portland State. Ramirez finished in 3:57.12 Friday, just off the personal best of 3:56.34 that he set at the Mike Fanelli Track Classic on March 29. Ramirez's time at the Mike Fanelli Track Classic was the best by a Viking freshman since freshmen records go back through the 2003 season.
 
Junior Andrew Stafford ran in the same section as Ramirez Friday, and also cracked four minutes in the 1,500 meters for a second time in 2019. Stafford finished in 3:58.28 at the OSU meet, just over a second behind the personal best he set at 3:57.18 at the Mike Fanelli Track Classic. Stafford's performance at the Mike Fanelli Track Classic was the first time he had ever cracked four minutes in the men's 1,500 meters.
 
Freshman Josh Snyder gave the Vikings a second sectional win in the men's 1,500 meters as he won the fourth section of the race in a new personal-best 4:03.86. Snyder's time was just under his prep personal best of 4:04, and gave him the 10th-best 1,500-meter time by a Viking freshman.
 
Freshman Phoebe Brown won the second section of the women's steeplechase while shaving 14 seconds off her previous best in the event. Brown finished in 11:28.44, just two-hundredths of a second behind the current No. 10 time in the steeplechase at Portland State, which Jill Salmon set at 11:28.42 in 2001.
 
Freshman Linnaea Kavulich already ranks third all time in the steeplechase at PSU, but shaved 1.33 seconds off her previous best while finishing in 11:13.66 in the first section of the race. Kavulich now ranks only two seconds behind Mandy Peterson's No. 2 time of 11:11.60, which had been the school record for 15 years before Medved broke the record last season.
 
Freshman Drew Seidel also ran his second-ever steeplechase on the men's side Friday, finishing in 9:38.66.
 
Junior Jason Rae and sophomore Alana Baldwin-Joiner each shaved about 10 seconds off their personal bests in the men's and women's 5,000 meters, respectively. Rae set his personal best while placing second in his section of the race in 14:54.89. Rae's previous best in the 5,000 came at the Mike Fanelli Track Classic on March 29, when he finished in 15:05.38.
 
Baldwin-Joiner, meanwhile, finished the women's 5,000 meters in 18:34.95, beating the personal best she set a year ago at the Pacific Twilight Invitational. Baldwin-Joiner has had one of the best Aprils of any Viking runner, as she's set new personal bests in the 1,500, 5,000 and 10,000 meters over the past four weekends.
 
Outside of the distance events, three-time multi-event champion Donté Robinson exorcised some demons from last week while competing in the pole vault. Robinson was on pace for a potentially national qualifying mark in the decathlon last week at the Bryan Clay Invitational when he no-heighted in the pole vault with the bar at 4.20 meters. Robinson again entered with the bar at 4.21 meters Friday, but this time cleared the bar on his first attempt.
 
The Vikings will compete in more field events Saturday, as the OSU High Performance meet continues at 11:30 a.m. (PT) at the Whyte Track & Field Center.
 
OSU High Performance Meet
Whyte Track & Field Center
Corvallis, Ore.
April 26, 2019
 
Women's Results:
1,500m (Section 1): 9. Kaila Gibson, 4:32.09. 1,500m (Section 2): 3. Sarah Medved, 4:36.48. 5,000m (Section 2): 13. Alana Baldwin-Joiner, 18:34.95. 3,000m Steeplechase (Section 1): 10. Linnaea Kavulich, 11:13.66. 3,000m Steeplechase (Section 2): 1. Phoebe Brown, 11:28.44.
 
Men's Results:
1,500m (Section 2): 1. Luke Ramirez, 3:57.12; 5. Andrew Stafford, 3:58.28. 1,500m (Section 4): 1. Josh Snyder, 4:03.86. 5,000m (Section 2): 2. Jason Rae, 14:54.89. 3,000m Steeplechase (Section 1): 11. Drew Seidel, 9:38.66. Pole Vault: 6. Donté Robinson, 13-09.75 (4.21m); 7. Braden Masanga, 13-09.75 (4.21m).