RESULTS (PDF)
CORVALLIS, Ore. — A pair of 1-2 finishes between the men's and women's 5,000 meters highlighted the Portland State track & field team's long-awaited return to outdoor competition Saturday at the OSU PNW Team Clash.
It had been 659 days since the Vikings last competed at a collegiate outdoor meet, going back to second day of the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds on May 24, 2019.
Kaila Gibson didn't compete that day, but she did the day before at the meet when she tied a program record with a 21st-place finish in the 10,000 meters.
Gibson was active again Saturday, serving as the Vikings' bridge from that last meet to now as she led the Vikings' 1-2 finish in the women's 5k. Gibson blew away the field, finishing 35 seconds ahead of teammate
Hunter Storm to win the race in 17:09.44. Storm, meanwhile, placed 10 seconds ahead of the No. 3 runner, Oregon State's Kate Intile, while finishing in 17:45.16.
Storm was making her outdoor debut as a Viking Saturday despite being a stalwart of the Vikings' cross country team since joining the program in 2018. Storm redshirted the 2019 outdoor season, then saw the 2020 outdoor season get canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That meant Storm's prep personal best in the 5k from six years ago was still standing going into Saturday's meet, a time she destroyed by more than a full minute.
Monica Salazar also shaved 23 seconds off her personal best in the 5k while finishing in 19:10.84. Salazar's previous best came at the Pacific Open in 2019, when she finished in 19:34.29.
Luke Ramirez and
Keynan Abdi led four Viking runners in the men's 5k with a 1-2 finish at the top. Ramirez and Abdi worked with each other throughout the race, trading off the lead, and both runners finished 18 seconds of the No. 3 finisher, Western Oregon's Keanu Daos, as a result. Ramirez ended up winning the race in 14:47.81, while Abdi crossed the line second in 14:49.49.
Ramirez's time shaved close to 46 seconds off his personal best in the 5k, bettering the mark he set nearly two years ago to the day when he finished in 15:33.70 at the L&C Spring Break Open on March 16, 2019. Ramirez, like a lot of other Vikings, has come back fitter than he ever has been despite the interruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The junior also set a personal best in the cross country 8k two weeks ago at the Big Sky Cross Country Winter Championships despite the race being run at over 4,000 feet of elevation.
Cam McChesney and
Cody Jones also ran for the Vikings in the 5k Saturday, and finished fourth and sixth, respectively, in times of 15:22.82 and 16:15.59.
Jordan Gloden, meanwhile, broke up the distance fest for the Vikings while making his Portland State debut in the 110-meter hurdles. Gloden finished second overall in 15.35 seconds.
The Vikings will return to action next Saturday, when more of the team will make their season debuts at the Lewis & Clark Spring Break Open in Portland, Ore.
OSU PNW Team Clash
Whyte Track & Field Center
Corvallis, Ore.
March 13, 2021
Women's Results:
5,000m: 1.
Kaila Gibson, 17:09.44; 2.
Hunter Storm, 17:45.16; 7.
Monica Salazar, 19:10.84.
Men's Results:
5,000m: 1.
Luke Ramirez, 14:47.81; 2.
Keynan Abdi, 14:49.49; 4.
Cam McChesney, 15:22.82; 6.
Cody Jones, 16:15.59.
110H: 2.
Jordan Gloden, 15.35.
