RESULTS
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Bára Stýblová did her best to extend her and the Portland State track & field team's season Saturday at the NCAA West Prelims. Racing in what turned out to be by far the fastest heat of the day in the women's steeplechase, Stýblová put herself in the chase pack early and tried to hang on for one of the time qualifier spots.
It didn't work out in the end as Stýblová finished 10th in her heat, out of the top three auto qualifiers and next three that would qualify on time. Still, her reward for the gutsy effort was a new personal best of 10:15.92, as well as a 21st overall finish in the event.
Stýblová's 21st overall finish marked a new Portland State record in the women's steeplechase at the NCAA West Prelims, and by some distance. Sarah Medved, whose record time in the steeplechase Stýblová initially broke earlier in the season, held the previous record with a 40th-place finish in 2018. Additionally, Stýblová beat her ranking coming into the meet by 20 spots, as she finished the regular season ranked 41st in the NCAA west region in the steeplechase.
Stýblová broke Medved's record time in the steeplechase six weeks earlier at the Bryan Clay Invitational, where she finished in 10:17.05. Teammate
Tatum Miller surpassed that two weeks later, as Miller finished in 10:14.62 at the OSU High Performance Meet.
Miller didn't have the same magic Saturday, however, as she finished 42nd overall in 10:37.90 while running in the same heat as Stýblová.
Alex Barbour, who ran in the heat after Stýblová and Miller, finished 46th overall in 10:45.38.
Barbour came into Saturday with a personal and seasonal best of 10:19:67, which she set at the OSU High Performance Meet. That time ranked Barbour 49th in the west – just outside of the West Prelims field – but she qualified after two people ranked above her scratched out of the meet.
None of the Viking trio will advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Austin, Texas. Only the top three in each heat plus the next three fastest times across all three heats advance, so it was a tall order to begin with considering Miller was the highest ranked of the three coming into the meet at 35th in the west.
Even still, the trio gave the Vikings the most qualifiers in the women's steeplechase field outside of BYU. The accomplishment capped a standout season for the three that saw them…
- Finish 1-2-3 in the Vikings' lineup at the NCAA West Regional during the fall cross country season.
- Run three of the four legs on the Vikings' record-setting DMR team that placed second at the Big Sky Indoor Championships, tying the program's highest finish ever in the event.
- Rewrite the PSU record book in the 3k steeplechase, as they now rank first (Miller), second (Stýblová) and third (Barbour) in the event.
Barbour and Stýblová are out of eligibility after this season. Miller has a year left so could be back to set more records for the Vikings next year.
NCAA West Prelims
Hornet Stadium
Sacramento, Calif.
May 27, 2023
Women's Results:
3,000m Steeplechase (Quarterfinals): 21.
Bára Stýblová, 10:15.92; 42.
Tatum Miller, 10:37.90; 46.
Alex Barbour, 10:45.38.
