RESULTS

SEATTLE, Wash. — A top 10 mark is impressive under any circumstance for a track & field athlete. A top 10 mark your first time out? That's drop-the-jaw worthy. And yet, five Vikings did just that across four events Saturday, as the Portland State track & field program opened its 2024 schedule at the UW Indoor Preview.
 
Noah Meucci (men's weight throw), Ania Kapustka (women's 600 meters), Abdinajib Abade (men's 600 meters) and Amir Ahmed (men's 600 meters), and Dieumerci Migani (men's long jump) were the five Vikings to set top 10 marks at Dempsey Indoor Saturday.
 
Meucci put down the first 10 mark of the day, as he posted a best of 42-01.50 (12.84m) in the weight throw. The mark came on Meucci's sixth and final attempt of the day and bettered his previous best attempt by close to two and a half feet.
 
The weight throw has been a relatively rare event for the Vikings in the past, especially on the men's side. To that point, Meucci became the first Viking since Tyler Dent in 2016 to enter the all-time top 10, as he moved up to eighth all time.
 
Meucci nearly set a second top 10 mark later in the day, as he returned to the field for the men's shot put. Meucci bettered his previous indoor best by close to six feet with a mark of 41-08.75 (12.72m). Fellow newcomer Mikey LaGris also competed in the shot put and finished with a mark of 30-03.50 (9.23m).

A second top 10 mark from the field came from Migani in the long jump. Migani, who also set a personal best in the men's 60 meters with his finish in 7.12 seconds, jumped 22-06.25 (6.86m) on his second attempt of the day. That moves Migani into a tie with Donté Robinson for eighth all time in the indoor men's long jump.

Ania Kapustka added the first top 10 mark of the day on the track, as she finished the women's 600 meters in 1:45.93. Similar to the men's weight throw, the 600 meters has been a relatively rare event for the Vikings, but Kapustka still moved up to ninth all time with her finish Saturday. Meg DeVall, a women's soccer player for Portland State in the fall, joined Kapustka in the women's 600 meters for her track & field debut, and finished in 1:56.27.
 
Abdinajib Abade and Amir Ahmed both entered the all-time top 10 in the men's 600 meters. Abade moved up to seventh all time with his finish in 1:23.23, while Ahmed set the new No. 9 mark with his finish in 1:24.08.
 
Other standout marks for the Vikings included several debuts from dual-sport athletes like DeVall. Women's soccer players Ocean Rideout (27.88 seconds), Liv Frazier (29.42), Elle Frazier (29.72), Kainani Jacang (29.97) and Kiara Van Deusen (31.10) all ran the 200 meters for the Vikings. Ashley Peterson, who competed for the women's soccer team in the fall but is now a full-time track athlete, joined them, finishing second among the PSU athletes in 28.57 seconds.
 
Peterson had one of the busier days of any Viking as she also competed in the 400 meters (1:03.57) and long jump (4.27m) Saturday.
 
The Viking men also saw dual-sport athlete Travis West, who competes for the Portland State football team primarily, finish behind Migani in the 60 meters in 7.37 seconds.
 
Veteran mid-distance runner Laura Beghin won her heat of the women's 800 meters while dropping her personal best by more than a second with her finish in 2:19.08. Fellow veteran Zach Grams nearly added a second heat win for the Vikings, as he placed second in his section of the men's mile in 4:25.76.
 
Edward Niyongere – back to his favored jumping events after filling a need for the Viking men's cross country team in the fall – bettered his outdoor best in the triple jump while opening his season. Niyongere jumped 44-03.50 (13.50m) on his sixth and final attempt of the day, placing him fourth overall. That beat Niyongere's outdoor best in the event by 9.5 inches.
 
The UW Indoor Preview saw the Vikings jump back into competition after a six-week holiday break following the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener on Dec. 2. The Vikings will continue across two meets next weekend between the Lauren McCluskey Memorial Open, Jan. 19-20, in Moscow, Idaho, and the Portland Indoor One on Jan. 21 at the University of Portland's Chiles Center.
 
UW Indoor Preview
Dempsey Indoor
Seattle, Wash.
Jan. 13, 2024
 
Women's Results:
200m: 51. Ocean Rideout, 27.88; 54. Ashley Peterson, 28.57; 56. Liv Frazier, 29.42; 57. Elle Frazier, 29.72; 58. Kainani Jacang, 29.97; 59. Kiara Van Deusen, 31.10. 400m: 22. Ashley Peterson, 1:03.50; 24. Ahmeah Brown, 1:05.09. 600m: 13. Ania Kapustka, 1:45.93; 14. Meg DeVall, 1:56.27. 800m: 14. Laura Beghin, 2:19.08; 22. Addison Capozzi, 2:29.81. 1,000m: 11. Campbell Faust, 3:23.40; 12. Dyllan Newville, 3:28.81. Mile: 44. Abi Swain, 5:33.05. High Jump: 12. Alison Calvin-Stupfel, 5-01.00 (1.55m). Long Jump: 19. Alison Calvin-Stupfel, 15-08.25 (4.78m); 31. Ashley Peterson, 14-00.25 (4.27m).
 
Men's Results:
60m (Prelims): 21. Dieumerci Migani, 7.12; 34. Travis West, 7.37. 200m: 22. Khari Dawson, 23.89; 23. Eman Kargbo, 23.91; 24. GG Nitunga, 24.68; 25. Hunter Leeder, 24.71. 600m: 7. Abdinajib Abade, 1:23.23; 9. Amir Ahmed, 1:24.08; 14. Lyness Ota, 1:38.23. 1,000m: 32. Ian Parks, 2:53.12; 33. Tom Thake, 2:53.46. Mile: 53. Zach Grams, 4:25.76. Long Jump: 6. Dieumerci Migani, 22-06.25 (6.86m); 13. Edward Niyongere, 20-10.50 (6.36m); 19. Aleks Braich, 20-02.25 (6.15m). Triple Jump: 4. Edward Niyongere, 44-03.50 (13.50m). Shot Put: 9. Noah Meucci, 41-08.75 (12.72m); 12. Mikey LaGris, 30-03.50 (9.23m). Weight Throw: 9. Noah Meucci, 42-01.50 (12.84m).