RESULTS (PDF)

POCATELLO, Idaho — In what may have been her last indoor race as a Viking, the fifth-year senior veteran Kaila Gibson provided one more historic note Friday while placing fourth in the 5,000 meters on the second day of the Big Sky Indoor Championships at Holt Arena.
 
Gibson matched alum Camelia Mayfield for the highest finish ever by a Viking distance runner – male or female – in the indoor 5k while finishing in a time of 17:25.08. Mayfield – an alum who coincidentally will race in tomorrow's U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta – posted the first fourth-place finish by a Viking at the 2014 Big Sky Indoor meet.
 
The Viking women have only scored in the indoor 5k four times in program history, and Gibson has accounted for three of the four after scoring at each of the past three indoor meets. Gibson moved up in the rankings each season, placing seventh in 2018, sixth in 2019 and fourth in 2020.
 
Gibson may still run in tomorrow's 3,000-meter final, at which point she could add to her legacy, If she doesn't then her three top-eight finishes in the women's 5k – an event in which she's broken the school record twice – would make a nice cap to her indoor career.
 
Chase Lovercheck, someone just at the start of his career as a sophomore, positioned himself to score for the Vikings Saturday while making the finals of the 800 meters. Lovercheck, racing in first heat of Friday's 800 prelims, moved up to second on the back straight of the penultimate lap where he stayed until the final 75 meters. Lovercheck appeared pinned on the rail in the home straight, but found an opening with about 25 meters to go and placed second in his heat.
 
Lovercheck finished in 1:54.27 Friday, setting an indoor best in the 800 meters while qualifying for tomorrow's final on time.   
 
Braden Masanga scored for the Viking men Friday, as he finished in a tie for fourth in the men's pole vault. Masanga passed until the bar reached 15-11.75 (4.87m), and then cleared on his second attempt at the height. Masanga could have finished on the podium if he had cleared at the next height – 16-03.50 (4.97m) – but missed on all three attempts.
 
Masanga's top-five finish caps a strong indoor season for the Viking junior, who twice broke the school record in the pole vault over the past seven weeks. Masanga added a foot to the old record through the course of the season, topping out with a mark of 16-07.25 (5.06m) at the UW Invitational on Feb. 1. Masanga surpassed the old record at four of the five meets at which he competed during the year.
 
The Viking men's distance medley relay team added a point to the team total with an eighth-place finish in 10:26.93. Luke Ramirez, Will Payton, Garrett Vasta and Josh Snyder comprised the Vikings' DMR team, and the group moved up to eighth all time in the event at Portland State with their time.
 
Payton did not score nor advance to the finals of the 400 meters Friday, but still set an overall personal best with his finish in 49.97 seconds. Payton came within five-hundredths of a second of moving into the all-time top 10 in the 400 at Portland State with his finish.
 
Jaron Barrow narrowly missed out scoring for the Vikings while placing ninth with a mark of 22-09.25 (6.94m).
 
Sophomore Phoebe Jacques also ran in the women's 5k final Friday, placing 11th in 18:07.92. Jacques placed 17th in the 5k as a freshman last season, meaning she moved up six spots as a sophomore.
 
Events resume for the Vikings at 11:50 a.m. Saturday, when Liam Jemison joins Ramirez and Vasta in the finals of the men's mile.
 

Big Sky Indoor Championships

Holt Arena
Pocatello, Idaho
Feb. 27-28, 2020
 

Women's Results:

5,000m: 4. Kaila Gibson, 17:25.08; 11. Phoebe Jacques, 18:07.92. High Jump: T-11. Ceil Dunleavy, 5-02.50 (1.59m); Taylor Elliott, NH. Shot Put: 21. Angela Mumford, 38-02.25 (11.64m).
 

Men's Results:

400m (Prelims): 18. Will Payton, 49.97. 800m (Prelims): 7. Chase Lovercheck, 1:54.27. 5,000m: 19. Ian Vickstrom, 15:25.37. Distance Medley Relay: 8. Portland State 'A' (Ramirez, Payton, Vasta, Snyder), 10:26.93. Pole Vault: T-4. Braden Masanga, 15-11.75 (4.87m). Long Jump: 9. Jaron Barrow, 22-09.25 (6.94m).