PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland State cross country team will meet a new stage (the Big Sky Championships) that's on a new course (Riverside Golf Course in Pocatello, Idaho) with a new cast of characters Friday. Out of the 13 Vikings racing in the men's and women's races, nine will be new to the conference stage.
 
Five of those nine newcomers are freshmen for the Vikings this season, giving the program a fresh perspective as the Vikings enter the postseason swing of their 2024 cross country season.
 
The newcomers have performed well for the Vikings up to this point. Freshman Nick Moore has consistently run in the Viking men's top three this season, behind veterans Abdi Ibrahim and Abdinajib Abade. He'll join classmates Kyle Chen and Luis Muradas among a group of six Vikings in the men's 8k Friday (10 a.m. PT / 11 a.m. MT start).
 
Tom Thake will be the other newcomer on the men's side. Thake joined the Vikings in January and has run in the Vikings' top five at each of the last three meets of the season.
 
Ibrahim and Abade have been a clear top two for the Viking men. Ibrahim posted two top 10 finishes in the Vikings' first two meets of the season, when he also set the 6k school record with a finish in 17:33.10 at the Gator Cross Invitational on Sept. 14. Abade took over the top spot in the lineup from Ibrahim for the Charles Bowles Invitational on Oct. 5, which Ibrahim didn't finish. He set his 8k personal best at that meet, finishing in 25:01.0.
 
On the women's side, freshmen Viola Alessandrini and Emily Schmitke join veterans Campbell Faust, Wendy Hare, Ania Kapustka, Taylor Nichols and Emma Stolte. Alessandrini has finished as high as second in the Vikings' lineup, which she did at the Charles Bowles Invitational, finishing the 5k in 19:02.5. Schmitke also had her best finish at the Charles Bowles Invitational, where she placed third in the Vikings' lineup in a time of 19:23.1.
 
Out of the veterans, only Taylor Nichols and Campbell Faust have competed at the Big Sky Championships before, which they did for the first time last season. It'll be a new stage for the rest of the veterans, including the women's team's top two runners in Stolte and Kapustka. Stotle has led the Vikings at all three meets she's run this season, while Kapustka has been second behind her. Stolte didn't run at the Charles Bowles Invitational, with Kapustka taking over the top spot from her while placing 20th overall in 18:04.9.
 
Nichols has finished third behind Stolte and Kapustka in two of the three meets she's competed at. Hare's best place in the Vikings' lineup came at the Charles Bowles Invitational where she placed fourth in 19:26.9. Faust's best finish came at the Bill Dellinger Invitational, where she finished fifth in the team's lineup while running the 6k in 24:08.20.
 
The women will run their second 5k of the season at the Big Sky Championships, following the Charles Bowles Invitational. The men will run their third 8k.
 
Last year's Big Sky Championships felt a lot longer than the list distances. A snow-covered course in Missoula, Mont., made sure of that. It'll still be cold Friday morning in Pocatello, where the high temperature is expected to be in the upper 40s, but the Vikings still hope they don't have to run over snow.
 
If it did happen, though, then just add it to the list of new things this new group of Vikings will experience Friday. One more new thing couldn't hurt them. They'll be ready for it.
 
MEET INFO
Friday, Nov. 1 – Big Sky Championships – Pocatello, Idaho (Riverside Golf Course)
 
MEET SCHEDULE
Race – Time
Men's 8k – 10 a.m. PT / 11 a.m. MT
Women's 5k – 11 a.m. PT / 12 p.m. MT
 
FOLLOW ALONG
Live Results | Live Video
 
PSU ENTRIES:
Women: Viola Alessandrini, Campbell Faust, Wendy Hare, Ania Kapustka, Taylor Nichols, Emily Schmitke, Emma Stolte
Men: Abdinajib Abade, Kyle Chen, Abdi Ibrahim, Nick Moore, Luis Muradas, Tom Thake