PORTLAND, Ore. — The Vitamin D levels for the Portland State track & field program are about to go up. After the longest indoor track season since 2013 – thanks to Katie Camarena qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships – the Vikings open their outdoor season Saturday with the L&C Spring Break Open at Lewis & Clark College's Eldon Fix Track.
 
The turnaround seems abrupt for a Viking program that just a week ago was in Birmingham, Ala., cheering on Camarena to double NCAA second-team All-American honors. But everyone not named Camarena has either been off since the end of the Big Sky Indoor Championships on Feb. 26, or since the Portland Indoor Four on Feb. 13. So, the turnaround might not be as abrupt as it seems.
 
"It feels crazy to me, the turnaround, but really that's only Katie and she's done [with outdoor eligibility]. Everybody else has been off for two weeks, taking a little break," Portland State head coach David Hepburn said of the turnaround. "Now it's time to get back on the horse and get out there and spin the wheels a little bit."
 
Spinning the wheels means a few different things for the Vikings' distance crew. The break means the Vikings will need to gauge their fitness levels ahead of bigger meets later in the season. What event the Vikings do that in will depend from runner to runner. 
 
"It's about half and half between the 15s and the 5s [1,500 and 5,000 meters]. A little mixed bag in there. Some people trying to run quick in the 15, some people trying to test where their fitness is in the 5k," Hepburn said of the choice of events for his runners.
 
The women's team is split almost exactly half and half as seven runners are entered in the 1,500 meters, while six are entered in the 5,000.
 
The men are a bit more varied. Zach Grams, Sam Lingwall and Cam McChesney are all entered in both the men's 1,500 and 5,000 meters. Other than them, five others will run the 1,500, while eight others are entered in the 5k.
 
The men's 1,500 field also features the Vikings' 800-meter crew, who will run a little longer distance than they're used to. Chase Lovercheck, Rashid Muse and Zach Salcido are all entered in the 1,500 meters after not running anything longer than a 1,000-meter race during the indoor season.
 
Lovercheck has set a challenge for himself, according to Hepburn, as he asked the Viking coaches to also enter him in the 800 meters. The men's 1,500 meters starts at 12:50 p.m., while the 800 comes less than two hours later at 2:45 p.m.
 
"He wants to run a tired 8," Hepburn said of Lovercheck's reasoning. "Run the 15, do the whole thing, come back around and race. Not worry about a time or anything, but just race on some fatigued legs. We'll see what that looks like."
 
It's something Lovercheck should be familiar with, considering the number of times he's had to work through a prelim and then a final over his career in the 800 meters.
 
A Viking that will encounter the unfamiliar this Saturday will be Harley Montgomery. Montgomery will compete in his first long jump and high jump events Saturday, after focusing on the longer sprints during the indoor season. Montgomery and Jordan Gloden will both compete in the 100 and 200 meters in addition to the long jump. Montgomery will be the lone Viking in the men's high jump, however, which opens the meet at 10 a.m. Saturday.
 
Lewis & Clark offers a safe space for Montgomery and the rest of the Vikings to test the waters, either in new events or in regards to their fitness levels.
 
"It's a good place for Harley to go and try out new events. There's not a lot of pressure, really," Hepburn said of the meet. "It's awesome that they have it and they let us come. We want to keep supporting them and send our crew there."
 
The only hiccup could be the weather. That's the one thing the indoor season has over outdoor, especially considering the gamble that a spring day in Oregon can be in terms of rain.
 
But, that's why they call it outdoor track & field. Whether it rains or is sunny, you're right there in it.

MEET INFO
March 19 – L&C Spring Break Open – Portland, Ore. (Eldon Fix Track)
 
L&C SPRING BREAK OPEN SCHEDULE
Time (PT)              Event (PSU Entries)
10 a.m.                  Men's High Jump (Flight 1 of 1 – Montgomery)
10 a.m.                  Women's Long Jump (Flight 1 of 1 – Jensen, Quinn)
After W-LJ at 10    Men's Long Jump (Flight 1 of 1 – Gloden, Montgomery)
12:25 p.m.             Women's 1,500 Meters (Heat 1 of 4 – Miller; Heat 2 of 4 – Brooks, Brown, Marcil; Heat 3 of 4 – Faust, Martino, Owen)
12:55 p.m.             Men's 1,500 Meters (Heat 1 of 5 – Lingwall; Heat 2 of 5 – McChesney, Shedd; Heat 3 of 5 – Hippe, Ibrahim; Heat 4 of 5 – Lovercheck, Muse, Salcido; Heat 5 of 5 – Grams)
1 p.m.                    Women's Triple Jump (Flight 1 of 1 – Quinn)
2:20 p.m.               Women's 100 Meters (Heat 2 of 2 – Jensen)
2:30 p.m.               Men's 100 Meters (Heat 1 of 3 – Gloden; Heat 3 of 3 – Montgomery)
2:45 p.m.               Women's 800 Meters (Heat 1 of 3 – Jones)
3 p.m.                    Men's 800 Meters (Heat 1 of 3 – Lovercheck)
4 p.m.                    Men's 200 Meters (Heat 2 of 3 – Gloden, Montgomery)
4:15 p.m.               Women's 5,000 Meters (Section 1 of 1 – Hackett, Irving, Newville, Storm, Swain, Tafoya)
4:40 p.m.               Men's 5,000 Meters (Section 1 of 1 – Abdi, Grams, Lingwall, McChesney, Morganti, Peters, Ramirez, Schulte, Seidel, Solano, A., Solano, E.)
5:05 p.m.               Men's 4x400-Meter Relay (Heat 2 of 2 – Portland State 'A' – Gloden, Montgomery, Lovercheck, Salcido)