PORTLAND, Ore. — An October Surprise may or may not have positive connotations depending on who's involved and your political affiliation. Portland State head cross country coach David Hepburn is hoping for a happy surprise this Saturday, however, as the calendar turns to October. Not to do with anything politically. Instead, Hepburn hopes to see if any of his runners making their season debuts at the Charles Bowles Invitational could be a factor for the Vikings at the championship meets later this season.
 
Bára Stýblová will make her season debut for the Viking women, while Abdi Ibrahim, Stirling Marshall-Pryde and Bradley Rzewnicki will make their debuts for the men. That gives the Vikings four debuts out of the 14 runners who will race for them in a PSU singlet this Saturday.
 
So, the capacity is there for an October Surprise.
 
At the same time, Hepburn and the Vikings will enjoy the lack of a surprise that the course at the Charles Bowles Invitational will bring. The Vikings have raced at the Charles Bowles Invitational, hosted by Willamette University, 18 different times since 1999. Hepburn has been part of four different teams that have raced at the meet, while assistant coach Griffin Humphreys has been down there three different times. So, familiarity with the meet's course at Bush's Pasture Park in Salem, Ore., won't be an issue.
 
"It'll be a good little race. It's familiar, just down there in Salem so the travel's not very far," Hepburn said. "We're just giving an opportunity for those who haven't run yet or those who are opening up again. Race that second race or open up."
 
The runners facing their second race of the season include Cheyenne Abbett, Sammy Burke, Sophie Jones, Jalen Marcil, Dyllan Newville and Emma Owen on the women's side. Aiden Carlson, Pat Roos, Jake Schulte and Alex Solberg will do so on the men's side. All of them will be running in a jersey for the first time since the Vikings opened their season at the Viking Rust Buster on Sept. 2.
 
Burke is back after an illness (non-COVID-related) held her out of last week's Bill Dellinger Invitational. Marcil started the women's 6k at Dellinger but had a flare up of something early and dropped out for preventative measures. She's back in the fold this week.
 
The women will have a direct comparison to the Viking Rust Buster, as Saturday's distance (a 5k) will be the same one they ran at the Rust Buster. The men have a slightly different race ahead of them as they race an 8k instead of the 6k they ran at Rust Buster. Still, any runner knows they shouldn't be purely reliant on time when assessing how they raced. The men should also be able to see improvements, then, given their training over the four weeks since the Rust Buster.
 
"They've gotten in some workouts, have sharpened their tools a little bit," Hepburn said of the team's work since Rust Buster. "We'll get there and compare ourselves to who's there. See if we need to make some adjustments in training. That's what races really do. Where do we need to improve? We see that [in a race]."
 
The races will get started early Saturday. The men will run their 8k at 9:30 a.m., while the women follow with their 5k at 10:20 a.m.
 
So, Hepburn won't have to wait long – not even for noon on Oct. 1 – to know if he has an October Surprise.
 
MEET INFO
Saturday, Oct. 1 – Charles Bowles Invitational – Salem, Ore. (Bush's Pasture Park)
 
MEET SCHEDULE
Time (PT)        Race
9:30 a.m.         Men's 8k
10:20 a.m.       Women's 5k