PORTLAND, Ore. — Combine the biggest sneaker brand in the world with the biggest tech brand and what do you get?
 
A Jordan MacIntosh.
 
Of course, the Vikings' Jordan MacIntosh represents a brand of his own this week as the only Viking in action at the Payton Jordan Invitational. MacIntosh will run the steeplechase Friday, returning to Cobb Track and Angell Field for a second time this season.
 
MacIntosh already has a de facto qualifying time for the NCAA West Prelims in the steeplechase this season. He got that at the Stanford Invitational three weeks ago with a time of 8:39.01 – a mark that still ranks him third in the NCAA west region and eighth nationally. He also already holds the school record in the event, having run 8:35.44 at the Bell Canadian Track & Field Championships last summer.
 
So, the pressure's off Friday. The race just represents a chance for some fine tuning.
 
"He's just going there to run another race for experience so when he gets to the NCAAs, he can make it through the first round. Make it through the second round," Portland State head track & field coach David Hepburn said of the approach to this weekend's race.
 
"I don't have any expectations other than just another good race. I don't think he should be swinging for the fences yet. There may be a bit of a sense of 'okay, let's have some fun with this' but as long as it's not a distraction."
 
MacIntosh raced well during his last time out. He placed second in the invitational section of the steeplechase at the Stanford Invitational, ahead of professional and collegiate runners from the University of Washington, University of Portland, and Big Sky-rival Weber State.
 
 Even still, Hepburn and MacIntosh agree there's more on the table for him Friday.
 
"He came off the track and he felt like he still had plenty left in the tank," Hepburn said of MacIntosh's last race. "It was early in the season. We hadn't touched as much speed as we have now. We'd gone over some barriers, but now we've gone over a lot more.
 
"It was a rust buster. It was the first time he had run [the steeplechase] in a minute. So, it was a very appropriate time. Hopefully, he gets in there and trusts himself more."
 
The field for Friday's race includes Colombian Olympian Carlos San Martín as well as a slew of professional runners. The group of professionals includes Alec Basten of Under Armour, who placed second in the steeplechase at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships back when he was a teammate of MacIntosh's at the University of Minnesota.
 
The field also includes rematches against Washington's Ed Trippas and Oklahoma State's Victor Shitsama, who placed fourth and fifth, respectively, behind MacIntosh at the Stanford Invitational.
 
Friday's race will be on the same track, of course, but Hepburn downplayed how much that familiarity would factor into MacIntosh's performance.
 
"A track is a track is a track. They're all 400 meters. You go fast and turn left," Hepburn said.
 
Just add a few barriers and MacIntosh will be ready to go, then. Even if he's the only Viking racing this week.
 
MEET INFO
April 21-22 – Payton Jordan Invitational – Stanford, Calif. (Cobb Track and Angell Field)
 
FOLLOW
Live Results | Live Video
 
TENTATIVE MEET SCHEDULE
Friday, April 21
Time                Event (PSU entries)
6:50 p.m.         Men's 3,000m Steeplechase (Section 1 of 2 – MacIntosh)