TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Last week, in the buildup to the NCAA West Regional, Portland State head cross country coach David Hepburn mentioned that the regional meet was what the entire season builds towards for the Vikings.
 
In any other year, he would have been right. But Katie Camarena had different plans.
 
The Viking grad transfer from UC Santa Barbara extended the season a week for the Vikings, as she became the first Viking to ever reach the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships after placing fifth individually at the NCAA West Regional. Camarena snatched up one of the four individual spots that go to runners who did not qualify for the national meet with their team.
 
"You can have those closed-door conversations about possibilities, but at no point was that expected," Hepburn said of Camarena' finish at the NCAA West Regional. "She ran really well. Ran really, really well. She was tough. Put herself in it, right up front. Looked confident and really strong."
 
So now that Camarena and the Vikings are on this national stage, why not do something while they're there? Saturday's women's 6k, which gets underway at 7:20 a.m. PT / 10:20 a.m. ET at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Fla., certainly won't be a glorified victory lap for Camarena. There's stuff on the line for her, even without her Viking teammates alongside her.
 
"From our perspective, she's surpassed everything we could have hoped for really and imagined. So, let's just go there and have some fun, and stick our noses in it. See if she can be an All-American," Hepburn said.
 
Camarena will have to finish in the top 40 if she hopes to become the Vikings' first-ever NCAA Division I All-American in cross country. Hepburn and the rest of the Vikings' coaches believe it's a real possibility, especially considering the runners Camarena just ran with at the NCAA West Regional.
 
Camarena beat all but one of Stanford's runners, all of whom will be running at nationals. Additionally, she beat all but one of Oregon's runners, another team that will be at nationals. 
 
The depth of Saturday's field will mark a new challenge for Camarena, who has just hung with the lead pack most of the season. It worked at the last two big meets for Camarena, as she finished fourth at the Big Sky Championships on Oct. 29, then placed fifth at the NCAA West Regional last Friday.
 
Still, the quality of Saturday's field is a step up from those two meets, meaning Camarena will have to rely on her race savviness as much as her physical dominance.
 
"She'll have to use her maturity and race her race a little bit. It might feel like she might go out a little more conservative," Hepburn said. "But again, the girls that she was not far behind [at the NCAA West Regional], those were top girls. And she was only a few seconds behind them. She can run with them. If you're looking at it in those terms, she could stick her nose in it, run with that pack."
 
How Camarena handles some of the logistical challenges of the national race will also determine if she can finish in the top 40 and earn All-American status. That's, of course, where the Viking coaches can help her the most. Hepburn said they had Camarena get up a half-hour earlier every day from the day after the NCAA West Regional to when the Vikings left for Florida on Wednesday morning. Her workout Tuesday morning – her first since the regional race – was at 8 a.m., closer to the time she'll be running Saturday (7:20 a.m. PT) than when she'd train normally.
 
Hepburn also noted that it's not just the race at 7:20 a.m. PT / 10:20 a.m. ET, but also the pre-race shakeout. That's usually come four hours before race time for the Vikings. If Camarena were still on her sleep schedule in Portland, then a pre-race shakeout four hours before start time would put her up at 3:20 a.m. PT.
 
But that's what coaches are there for, and part of what's helped Camarena in her lone year with the Vikings has been her connection with the Viking coaches. Hepburn noted Camarena and assistant coach Josh Seitz have worked especially well together all season. 
 
"Their relationship as coach and athlete, you can see that," Hepburn said of Seitz's work with Camarena. "It's funny because that has grown for them pretty quickly. Usually, it takes a little bit longer. But again, I think she's come in and she's had so much success, and some of that goes back to him [Seitz] and/or us as a staff. She's come in and she's been welcomed and accepted. Those were her words."
 
Anyone near the finish line of last Friday's NCAA West Regional could see the shared emotion between Camarena and the Viking coaches. Camarena let the tears run down her face after qualifying for nationals – a meet that had always been the goal for her – and she wasn't alone.
 
"A couple of our guys were throwing Seitzy under the bus because they could see that he had a few droplets himself," Hepburn said while good-naturedly teasing his assistant. "That's exciting stuff. I've been there before where the emotion overwhelms you."
 
But while the coaches may shed a few tears, they know Saturday is all about Camarena. She's the only one running Saturday, of course, and Hepburn said she'll have as much voice in the race strategy as anyone. She's earned that with her performances throughout the year, which collectively have made up the best individual season in Division I program history. With one race still to go, Camarena's season has already featured:

• First national qualifier in program history
• Best individual finish at Big Sky Championships (4th)
• Best individual finish at NCAA West Regional (5th)
• 4k school record (at Viking Rust Buster, Sept. 3)
• 5k school record (at Big Sky Championships, Oct. 29)
• 6k school record (at Santa Clara Bronco Invitational, Oct. 16)

 
"A lot of firsts," Hepburn said of Camarena's season. "There were expectations for her to come in and be good, be our low stick, but she took the training differences we gave her and it looks like they paid off well for her [Laughs]. She's done a lot of things right."
 
And while that training was built around the NCAA West Regional, it won't be hard for Camarena to find the extra motivation to run at nationals. 
 
"Her confidence is through the roof," Hepburn said. "She feels really good. Happy and healthy. That's a good spot to be.
 
"There's not much to say, really, in that regard. She's just doing her thing."
 
It's exactly where you want your runner to be on the verge of their and your program's first-ever appearance at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships.