Complete Meet Notes (PDF)

THE STARTING BLOCK
The pun is there. The Big Sky Outdoor Championships are the pinnacle of the 2019 outdoor track & field season. They take place in Missoula, Mont., May 8-11, at over 3,000 feet of elevation. Can the Vikings summit the mountain?
 
Okay, forgive us. But seriously, redshirt seniors Donté Robinson and Sarah Medved come into the meet as the defending champions in the decathlon and women's 3,000-meter steeplechase, respectively. Can they get back on top of the conference again this season?
 
Both come into the meet leading the conference in their respective events, which is a bit of surprise for Robinson. It's not as if Robinson doesn't have the ability to lead the conference, but he leads with a score – 6,697 points – more than 600 points below his personal best in the event.
 
Robinson's lead is a little misleading, however, since most of his closest competition in the decathlon have yet to complete a full decathlon during the outdoor season. Montana State's Wyatt Thompson-Siporen, for instance, placed second to Robinson in the heptathlon at the Big Sky Indoor Championships back in February but has yet to complete a full decathlon. Montana's Aidan Diggs and Josh Riley also have yet to complete a decathlon but placed fifth and sixth, respectively, in the heptathlon. Montana's Brendan Thurber-Blaser did not compete in the heptathlon during the indoor season or either multi-event competition during the 2018 season, but placed ninth in the decathlon as a freshman in 2017.
 
Robinson's leading score in the decathlon is also misleading, though, because it doesn't show Robinson's full scoring potential. Robinson scored his conference-leading 6,697 points despite no-heighting in the pole vault at the Bryan Clay Invitational. If Robinson clears his first bar at the meet at 4.20 meters, then Robinson's score suddenly becomes 7,370 points – a score that could have potentially qualified him for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in June.
 
A similar misstep during the Big Sky Outdoor Championships for Robinson is unlikely, if only because head coach David Hepburn said they'll enter at a lower height to assure some score in the pole vault. Robinson's competitors will have to beat him straight up, then, something no Big Sky athlete has been able to do over the past two seasons.
 
Not only is Robinson defending his Big Sky decathlon from last season, he also enters this week's Big Sky meet having won three straight conference titles in the multi-events. No Big Sky athlete has ever won four Big Sky multi-event titles in a row, meaning Robinson can become the first athlete in conference history to sweep the heptathlon and decathlon titles in back-to-back years if he can win the competition later this week.
 
That will be job #1 for Robinson. Job #2, which may or may not come, would be to put down a score that would qualify him for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in June. Robinson was on pace for such a score before the no-height at the Bryan Clay Invitational. If he can repeat his performance through the first seven events of the competition and then clear a bar in the pole vault, he should threaten for a spot at the national meet again at the Big Sky meet.
 
This is Robinson's last chance at a qualifying score in the decathlon, as the qualifying period closes at the end of the weekend. The top 24 athletes in the decathlon by the end of the weekend will advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, June 5-8, in Austin, Texas.
 
The current 24th-best score in the decathlon is 7,252 points, though that is likely to move up as athletes across the country compete at their conference championships. The final qualifying mark in the decathlon last season was 7,475 points, 168 points higher than Robinson's current personal best in the event. It's conceivable that the final qualifying score this season would be lower, however, since half of the 24 athletes in the decathlon at last season's national meet were seniors.
 
Medved already has her qualifying mark in hand going into the conference meet, and so she will only need to focus on winning when she toes the line in the finals of the women's steeplechase Friday at 3 p.m. (MT). Medved got her NCAA West Prelims qualifying time three weeks ago at the Mt. SAC Relays, where she finished in 10:23.36. Medved beat two Montana State runners in that race, as Anna French and Patricia Carlson finished in 10:25.96 and 10:47.10, respectively.
 
Medved sat on Carlson's hip for the entire race at last season's Big Sky meet before passing her coming out of the final water jump and sprinting to the finish line for the win. Carlson won't be in this year's race, but Medved will have to battle French and four other Montana State runners if she hopes to defend her title this season.
 
Medved and French enter the steeplechase ranked 1-2 in the conference by a healthy margin. French's No. 2 time of 10:25.96 stands seven seconds clear of the No. 3 time in the conference, which Idaho's Malaina Thacker set while finishing in 10:32.96 at the OSU High Performance meet two weeks ago. Southern Utah's Morgan Porcaro also led the conference in the steeplechase during the early part of the outdoor season, after she finished in 10:35.39 at the Mike Fanelli Track Classic on March 28.
 
Considering the stage, it's likely that Friday's steeplechase final will turn into a tactical race in which case it could come down to whoever kicks to the line the best. Medved won last year's race with a strong kick, but would need to repeat that performance again this season in the event of a tactical race.
 
Redshirt junior Kaila Gibson did everything she could to not turn last year's women's 10,000 meters into a tactical race. Gibson led from the front for the majority of the race as she tried to get a late qualifying time for last year's NCAA West Prelims. It didn't materialize for Gibson last year, but this year she doesn't have that worry. She got her qualifying time in the 10k at the Stanford Invitational, where she finished in 34:12.51 back on March 29.
 
Gibson won't run the 10k at this year's Big Sky meet, however, as she'll instead compete in the final of the women's 5,000 meters Friday at 4:30 p.m. (MT). Gibson comes into the meet ranked 11th in the conference in the 5,000 after finishing in 16:52.79 at the Bryan Clay Invitational on April 18. Gibson should be a threat to score for the Vikings in the 5,000 despite her ranking, however, as she broke her own school record in the indoor 5,000 meters while finishing in 16:33.38 at the UW Invitational back in January.
 
Redshirt senior Alex Cisneros should be another threat to score for the Vikings despite his ranking, as he competes in the men's 5,000 meters at 4:55 p.m. (MT) Friday along with freshman Drew Seidel. Cisneros hasn't matched his form from a year ago when he broke the school records in the indoor 3,000, indoor 5,000 and outdoor 10,000 meters, but he will be competing in his final Big Sky meet as a Viking.
 
Other threats to score for the Vikings at the Big Sky meet include sophomore Kristen O'Handley, who could challenge for a podium finish in the heptathlon if things go right for her during the competition.
 
O'Handley comes into the meet ranked fifth in the Big Sky in the heptathlon after setting a 300-point personal best at the Bryan Clay Invitational. O'Handley finished with 4,871 points at the Bryan Clay Invitational, 293 points better than her previous best of 4,578. O'Handley set heptathlon bests in five of the seven events at the meet, including all three of the events on the second day of the competition.
 
Idaho State's Ashley VanVleet-Sturgis leads the Big Sky in the heptathlon with a score of 5,169 points, while her teammate and sister Brianna VanVleet ranks second with 5,121 points. Montana's Erika McLeod, a three-time Big Sky champion in the pentathlon and the conference's 2016 heptathlon champion, will be another favorite in the field despite not completing a full heptathlon yet this season.
 
The multi-events will open the Big Sky Outdoor Championships, as the decathlon gets underway at 10 a.m. (MT) Wednesday while the heptathlon gets underway at 10:30 a.m. (MT). Those start times will be repeated for Day 2 of both multi-events Thursday, while the rest of the events get underway Friday.
                                                                                                           
MEET INFO
May 8-11 – Big Sky Outdoor Championships – Missoula, Mont. (Dornblaser Field)
 
BIG SKY OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE
Wednesday, May 8
Decathlon – Day 1
Start (MT)                   Events (PSU entries)
10 a.m.                        100 meters (Heat 1 of 2 – Robinson)
                                    Long Jump (Flight 1 of 1 – Robinson)
                                    Shot Put (Flight 1 of 1 – Robinson)
                                    High Jump (Flight 1 of 1 – Robinson)
                                    400 Meters (Section 1 of 2 – Robinson)
 
Heptathlon – Day 1
Start (MT)                   Events (PSU entries)
10:30 a.m.                   100-Meter Hurdles (Section 5 of 5 – O'Handley)
                                    High Jump (Flight 1 of 2 – O'Handley)
                                    Shot Put (Flight 1 of 1 – O'Handley)
                                    200 Meters (Section 2 of 3 – O'Handley)
 
Thursday, May 9
Decathlon – Day 2
Start (MT)                   Events (PSU entries)
10 a.m.                        110-Meter Hurdles (Section 2 of 3 – Robinson)
                                    Discus (Flight 1 of 1 – Robinson)
                                    Pole Vault (Flight 1 of 1 – Robinson)
                                    Javelin (Flight 1 of 1 – Robinson)
                                    1,500 Meters (Section 1 of 1 – Robinson)
 
Heptathlon – Day 2
Start (MT)                   Events (PSU entries)
10:30 a.m.                   Long Jump (Flight 1 of 2 – O'Handley)
                                    Javelin (Flight 1 of 1 – O'Handley)
                                    800 Meters (Section 1 of 2 – O'Handley)
 
Friday, May 9
Field Events
Start (MT)                   Events (PSU entries)
11 a.m.                        Men's High Jump (Flight 1 of 1 – Robinson)
12:30 p.m.                   Women's Shot Put (Flight 1 of 2 – Mumford)
3 p.m.                          Women's Javelin (Flight 1 of 2 – Cornett)
 
Running Events
Start (MT)                   Events (PSU entries)
12:30 p.m.                   Women's 1,500 Meters – Prelims (Section 1 of 2 – Kavulich)
12:45 p.m.                   Men's 1,500 Meters – Prelims (Section 1 of 2 – Stafford; Section 2 of 2 – Ramirez)
1:30 p.m.                     Men's 110-Meter Hurdles – Prelims (Heat 3 of 3 – Robinson)
2:25 p.m.                     Women's 100 Meters – Prelims (Heat 1 of 2 – O'Handley)
3 p.m.                          Women's 3,000-Meter Steeplechase – Final (Section 1 of 1 – Medved)
3:20 p.m.                     Men's 3,000-Meter Steeplechase – Final (Section 1 of 1 – Seidel, Snyder)
3:55 p.m.                     Men's 800 Meters – Prelims (Section 2 of 4 – Lovercheck)
4:50 p.m.                     Women's 200 Meters – Prelims (Section 3 of 3 – O'Handley)
5:25 p.m.                     Women's 10,000 Meters – Final (Section 1 of 1 – Jacques)
6:05 p.m.                     Men's 10,000 Meters – Final (Section 1 of 1 – Rae)
 
Saturday, May 11
Field Events
Start (MT)                   Events (PSU entries)
11 a.m.                        Women's High Jump (Flight 1 of 1 – Dunleavy, Elliott, O'Handley)
1:30 p.m.                     Men's Pole Vault (Flight 1 of 1 – Masanga, Robinson)
2:45 p.m.                     Men's Javelin (Flight 1 of 1 – Robinson, Rwandika)
 
Running Events
Start (MT)                   Events (PSU entries)
2:05 p.m.                     Women's 1,500 Meters – Final
2:15 p.m.                     Men's 1,500 Meters – Final
2:45 p.m.                     Men's 110-Meter Hurdles – Final
3:15 p.m.                     Women's 100 Meters – Final
3:35 p.m.                     Men's 800 Meters – Final
4:15 p.m.                     Women's 200 Meters – Final
4:30 p.m.                     Women's 5,000 Meters – Final (Section 1 of 1 – Gibson)
4:55 p.m.                     Men's 5,000 Meters – Final (Section 1 of 1 – Cisneros, Seidel)

UPCOMING
The Vikings who qualify will advance to the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds, May 23-25, in Sacramento, Calif.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Five different Viking middle-distance runners shaved around two seconds off their personal bests to lead the Vikings at the Linfield Open last Saturday. Two Vikings each in the men's and women's 1,500 meters set two-second personal bests between Delaney White and Phoebe Brown on the women's side, and Ian Vickstrom and Jayson Maule on the men's side.
 
White placed third in the women's 1,500 meters in 4:51.86, just under two seconds better than her previous best of 4:53.56. Brown, meanwhile, placed sixth in 4:59.22, her first time dipping under five minutes in the 1,500 as a Viking. Brown's prep personal best in the 1,500 is 4:58, but she beat her previous collegiate best by close to two seconds just like White.
 
Vickstrom and Maule went over two seconds in their personal bests as they finished in 4:07.37 and 4:11.46, respectively. Vickstrom was running in his first 1,500-meter race as a Viking, but crushed his old prep personal best of 4:09.57. Maule, conversely, was running in his fourth 1,500-meter race of the season, with his previous three times all tightly grouped in the 4:13.5-4:14.0 range. Maule broke out of that range with his performance Saturday, however, which was his first time competing for the Vikings since he set his previous 1,500-meter best at the Jay Hammer Invitational on April 13.
 
Will Payton joined the 1,500-meter runners with a two-second personal best in the men's 800 meters. Payton finished in 1:57.22 Saturday, crushing the personal best of 1:59.14 that he set just last week at the OSU High Performance meet.
 
Andy Solano and Cody Jones were the lone Vikings outside of the middle distances to set personal bests as they each shaved large chunks of time off their previous bests in the men's 5,000 meters. Solano led a group of six Vikings in the event while placing sixth in 15:41.10. That was a 13.5-second improvement over Solano's previous best in the outdoor 5,000 meters, which came at the beginning of the season when he finished in 15:54.78 at the L&C Spring Break Open.Jones, meanwhile, finished right behind Solano at seventh in 15:45.07, shaving close to 28 seconds off his previous best in the 5,000 meters.
 
NCAA WEST RANKINGS WATCH
Kaila Gibson's performance in the 10,000 meters at the Stanford Invitational on March 29 put her in good standing to qualify for the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds at the end of May. Gibson ranks 33rd in the NCAA west regional rankings after her 10k at the Stanford Invite, well within the qualifying zone for the NCAA West Prelims. Sarah Medved also stands in qualifying position in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase, after moving up to 26th in the west with her time of 10:23.36 at the Mt. SAC Relays on April 19.
 
The top 48 in the NCAA West rankings in each of the individual events qualify for the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds. The only group that skips the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds are the multi-eventers, as the top 24 athletes nationally in the heptathlon and decathlon by the end of the second weekend of May advance straight to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in June. 
 
ROBINSON GOES FOR FOURTH STRAIGHT MULTI-EVENT TITLE DURING OUTDOOR SEASON
Redshirt senior Donté Robinson defended his Big Sky heptathlon title at the Big Sky Indoor Championships earlier this season, and will be looking to become the first men's athletes in the history of the Big Sky Conference to win four straight multi-event titles when he defends his decathlon title at the Big Sky Outdoor Championships, May 8-11, in Missoula, Mont.
 
Robinson already joined elite company when he swept the multi-event titles at last year's Big Sky meets. Robinson became just the second Viking ever to sweep both the heptathlon and decathlon titles in a single year, joining PSU hall-of-famer Nick Trubachik, who swept the titles in 2010 – the season he went on to become the Vikings' first NCAA first-team All-American.
 
Robinson and Trubachik are also the only athletes to repeat as Big Sky champion in the heptathlon. No athlete has repeated as the Big Sky decathlon champion since Idaho State's Nathan Capps won back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007.
 
Robinson missed breaking Trubachik's school record in the heptathlon by only 36 points at the UW Invitational, but could be chasing Trubachik's record in the decathlon during the outdoor season. Trubachik set the school record with a score of 7,510 points at the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Championships, where he earned his All-American honors with a seventh-place finish in the event. Robinson set his best in the decathlon at 7,307 points while winning the event at the Big Sky Outdoor Championships last season.
 
CISNEROS COMING OFF HISTORIC 2018 SEASON
Redshirt senior Alex Cisneros will be more excited than anyone to get outdoors. Cisneros did not compete until the Big Sky Indoor Championships during the indoor season, and had to sit out the cross country season in the fall due to exhausting his eligibility. Cisneros became the first Viking to qualify for the NCAA West Prelims in the men's 10,000 meters after breaking a 34-year-old school record in the event last outdoor season. Cisneros broke the 10,000-meter record with his finish in 29:25.74 at the Mt. SAC Relays, making him the first Viking to crack 29:30 in the 10k.
 
Cisneros also broke the school records in the indoor 3,000 and 5,000 meters earlier in 2018, and became the first Viking since 2005 to crack the top 10 all time in the outdoor 5,000 meters despite running through a steady downpour at his first outdoor meet of the season last year.
 
GIBSON, MEDVED READY TO PUSH EACH OTHER IN FINAL SEASON TOGETHER
Training partners Kaila Gibson and Sarah Medved have been reliable headliners for the Portland State distance runners so far this season, and should be again during the outdoor season.
 
During the indoor season, Gibson scored for the Vikings with a sixth-place finish at the Big Sky meet in the women's indoor 5,000 meters – just the third time a Viking has scored in the event, though the second time for Gibson. Medved, meanwhile, anchored the Vikings' distance medley relay team that scored with an eighth-place finish.
 
Gibson also shaved 20 seconds off her own record in the indoor 5,000 meters at the UW Invitational on Jan. 25 this season. Gibson also moved up to third all time in the 3,000 meters with her time of 9:52.40 at the UW Indoor Open last season.
 
The two really pushed each other to greater heights during the fall cross country season, however. Gibson and Medved became the first pair of Viking teammates to earn All-Big Sky honors in the same race at the Big Sky Cross Country Championships. Gibson placed ninth for her highest finish ever at a Big Sky cross country meet, while Medved placed 10th after also placing 10th in 2016. Medved then took the lead at the NCAA West Regional while the pair placed 39th and 40th overall, respectively, making them the first Viking teammates to place together in the top 50 – let alone the top 40 – at the regional meet.Medved broke the school record in the cross country 6k with her finish in 20:48.1 at the NCAA West Regional, while Gibson's time of 20:48.4 would have also broken the previous record.
 
Medved's strong cross country season came on the heels of a breakout 2018 outdoor track & field season in which she became the Vikings' first-ever Big Sky champion in the steeplechase. Medved also became the Vikings' first-ever NCAA West Prelims qualifier in the steeplechase, and broke the school record in the event twice – the last time coming with a finish in 10:21.56 at the Mt. SAC Relays.
 
Gibson attempted to join Medved at the NCAA West Prelims last season, but a heroic effort in the 10,000 meters at the Big Sky Outdoor Championships came up short. Gibson still placed fifth in the 10,000 meters in a personal-best 35:24.64 despite having to hold the lead for most of the race.