RESULTS

SPOKANE, Wash. — The Portland State track & field program did something it never has before Saturday at the Spokane Invitational. The Vikings competed in their first mixed 4x400-meter relay, winning their heat going away in a time of 3:46.69 at The Podium.
 
Jojo Clark Anderson, Ashley Peterson, Amir Ahmed and Wendy Hare combined for the Vikings' inaugural mixed relay. Their time will go down as the school record in an event that is relatively new to the highest stages of the sport between the World Championships and Olympics.
 
Peterson took the baton from Anderson for the second leg and quickly made up a 20-meter gap to take the lead. Ahmed held the lead throughout the third leg, while Hare extended it over the anchor leg as the Vikings beat the No. 2 finisher in their heat – one of six relay teams from Eastern Washington – by more than six seconds.
 
Clark Anderson set more history for the Vikings early in the day. Not in a brand-new event, but at least in another rare one in the men's 300 meters. Clark Anderson finished in 36.86 seconds Saturday to move up to eighth all-time in the event.
 
Clark Anderson also led a group of four Vikings to enter the top 10 in the freshman record books in the men's 300 meters. Clark Anderson moved up to No. 5 on the freshman list, just ahead of James Timmins, who entered at No. 6 on the list with his time of 37.42 seconds, Caiden Isaacson and Aidan Sweeney followed at No. 9 and No. 10 with their times of 39.37 and 40.04 seconds, respectively. GG Nitunga isn't a freshman, so couldn't make the list, but still bettered his previous best in the 300 meters by more than half a second with his finish in 38.57 seconds.
 
The Vikings also had three athletes move into the freshman record book in the women's 300 meters. Aida Wheat and Maile Yancey moved up to No. 4 and No. 5 in the freshman record book while leading the Vikings in the event with their times of 45.05 and 45.36 seconds, respectively. Sav Garcia finished in 46.24 seconds to move up to No. 7 on the all-time freshman list. Liv Frazier, not a freshman but one of the Vikings' dual-sport athletes between soccer and track, shaved nearly two and a half seconds off her previous best in the 300 meters while finishing in 45.63 seconds.
 
Wheat and Yancey also led a group of six Vikings in the women's 200 meters. Both runners shaved more than four-tenths of a second off their times at the PSU vs. UP Dual Meet on Nov. 25 while finishing in 26.55 and 27.91 seconds, respectively. Those were two of five personal bests for the Vikings in the event as, Savannah Beasley (28.46), Liv Frazier (28.85) and Elle Frazier (29.18) all added to the list.
 
The short sprints dominated the Vikings' entries at the Spokane Invite. Seven different Vikings competed in the women's 60 meters, for instance. Tori Forst led that group as she advanced out of the prelims with a time of 7.82 seconds. She lowered that to 7.76 seconds in the semifinals, but didn't advance to the finals.
 
Clark Anderson, meanwhile, led a group of three Vikings in the men's 60 meters while finishing in 7.24 seconds.
 
The bigger group on the men's side came in the 200 meters where nine different Vikings competed. Clark Anderson nearly led the Vikings in that event as well, as he finished in 23.31 seconds, setting a personal best by nearly eight-tenths of a second. Deghlan Johnson beat him out for the team's best time, however, as he finished in 23.30 seconds.
 
More personal bests came further down the list for the Vikings. Eman Kargbo shaved three-tenths of a second off his previous best while finishing in 23.45 seconds. Timmins didn't set a personal best but did shave nearly a second off his first time of the season at the PSU vs. UP Dual Meet while finishing in 23.45 seconds. Nitunga (23.77), Aidan Sweeney (24.24) and Phoenix Bakkum (24.25) all added to the personal best list for the Viking men.
 
Peterson set an indoor best in the women's 400 meters while cracking 60 seconds for the first time indoors with a finish in 59.54 seconds. Forst also cracked 60 seconds with her finish in 59.62 seconds.
 
Johnson bettered his overall best on the men's side of the 400 meters while finishing in 51.15 seconds. That's three-tenths of a second better than his outdoor best in the 400, which he came into Portland State with.
 
Outside of the sprints, the Vikings got a win out of Taylor Nichols in the women's 800 meters. Nichols made up about a 10-meter gap over the final lap, passing Grand Canyon's Maliyah Ross over the final stretch while winning in 2:24.02.
 
Emma Stolte nearly gave the Vikings another win, as she placed second in the women's mile. She was shoulder-to-shoulder with Washington State's Riley Pyeatt down the home stretch but got out-leaned at the line as Pyeatt finished first in 5:07.08 to Stolte's 5:07.11. Nichols finished third in the mile in 5:19.48 before returning to the track for her 800-meter win later in the day.
 
Nick Moore delivered another entry into the freshman record book while competing in the men's 3,000 meters. He followed Abdi Ibrahim (8:35.31) and Abdinajib Abade (8:41.66) in 8:48.52. That was more than 11 seconds faster than his time at the PSU vs. UP Dual Meet and put him eighth on the freshman list.
 
Riley Sharps moved up to No. 10 within the freshman record book in the men's triple jump. Sharps finished sixth in the competition with a best mark of 42-06.25 (12.96m).
 
Jackson Wurz already ranked fifth in the freshman and 10th in the overall record books in the weight throw. While he didn't move up from those positions at all, he did better the mark he set two weeks ago at the PSU vs. UP Dual Meet. Wurz added 16.5 inches to his mark with a best throw of 38-04.25 (11.69m).
 
Elsewhere in the field events, Edward Niyongere competed for the first time in nearly a year after suffering an injury last indoor season. Despite the long absence, Niyongere still added two and half inches to his personal best in the men's high jump, clearing 6-02.75 (1.90m).
 
Garcia, meanwhile, added another personal best for the Vikings in the women's shot put. She improved her mark by nearly 18 inches from the PSU vs. UP Dual Meet while finishing with a best throw of 33-04.75 (10.18m). Mikey LaGris bettered his seasonal best in the men's shot put by nearly eight inches while finishing with a best throw of 27-11.00 (8.51m).
 
The Vikings will now have more than a month off before they return to the track for the UW Preview on Jan. 17-18.

Spokane Invitational
The Podium
Spokane, Wash.
Dec. 14, 2024
 
Women's Results:
60m (Prelims): 8. Tori Forst, 7.82; 17. Aida Wheat, 7.98; 25. Sienna Rosario, 8.15; 34. Maile Yancey, 8.36; 35. Sav Garcia, 8.40; 36. Akanesi Latu-Alves, 8.47; 38. Savannah Beasley, 8.64. 60m (Semis): 14. Tori Forst, 7.76. 200m: 19. Aida Wheat, 26.55; 28. Maile Yancey, 27.91; 30. Sienna Rosario, 28.22; 32. Savannah Beasley, 28.46; 35. Liv Frazier, 28.85; 36. Elle Frazier, 29.18. 300m: 16. Aida Wheat, 45.05; 18. Maile Yancey, 45.36; 20. Liv Frazier, 45.63; 21. Elle Frazier, 46.16; 22. Sav Garcia, 46.24. 400m: 7. Ashley Peterson, 59.54; 8. Tori Forst, 59.62; 15. Sienna Rosario, 1:08.09. 600m: 7. Irina López, 1:38.75; 15. Campbell Faust, 1:47.60; Wendy Hare, DNF. 800m: 1. Taylor Nichols, 2:24.02. Mile: 2. Emma Stolte, 5:07.11; 3. Taylor Nichols, 5:19.48; 12. Campbell Faust, 5:46.86; 13. Talise Wapsheli, 5:59.82. 3,000m: 9. Ania Kapustka, 10:41.03; 18. Talise Wapsheli, 11:54.71. 60H (Prelims): 30. Savannah Beasley, 10.24. High Jump: 11. Alison Calvin-Stupfel, 4-11.50 (1.51m); Savannah Beasley, NH. Long Jump: 20. Sav Garcia, 16-01.00 (4.90m); 28. Akanesi Latu-Alves, 15-00.75 (4.59m); 29. Alison Calvin-Stupfel, 14-10.50 (4.53m). Shot Put: 17. Sav Garcia, 33-04.75 (10.18m).
 
Men's Results:
60m (Prelims): 45. Jojo Clark Anderson, 7.24; 52. Caiden Isaacson, 7.34; 68. Braden Latscha, 7.53. 200m: 25. Deghlan Johnson, 23.30; 26. Jojo Clark Anderson, 23.31; 28. Eman Kargbo, 23.45; 33. James Timmins, 23.75; 35. GG Nitunga, 23.77; 37. Caiden Isaacson, 24.18; 38. Aidan Sweeney, 24.24; 39. Phoenix Bakkum, 24.25; 44. Braden Latscha, 25.21. 300m: 21. Jojo Clark Anderson, 36.86; 23. James Timmins, 37.42; 27. GG Nitunga, 38.57; 28. Caiden Isaacson, 39.37; 30. Aidan Sweeney, 40.04. 400m: 12. Deghlan Johnson, 51.15; 17. Eman Kargbo, 53.01; 19. Phoenix Bakkum, 55.05; Tommie Olubisi, DNF. 800m: 5. Amir Ahmed, 1:56.28; 13. Victor Ramirez, 2:05.31; 16. Simon Walsh, 2:09.01. 3,000m: 6. Abdi Ibrahim, 8:35.31; 8. Abdinajib Abade, 8:41.66; 11. Nick Moore, 8:48.52; 23. Tom Thake, 9:19.78; 26. Luis Muradas, 9:27.14; 28. Lyness Ota, 10:08.75. High Jump: 4. Edward Niyongere, 6-02.75 (1.90m); T-10. Jackson Mathers, 5-08.75 (1.75m). Long Jump: 12. Edward Niyongere, 20-07.25 (6.28m); 27. Jackson Mathers, 18-08.50 (5.70m); 30. Riley Sharps, 17-11.75 (5.48m). Triple Jump: 6. Riley Sharps, 42-06.25 (12.96m); 9. Jackson Mathers, 41-01.75 (12.54m). Shot Put: 29. Noah Meucci, 40-01.50 (12.23m); 33. Jackson Wurz, 35-11.25 (10.95m); 37. Mikey LaGris, 27-11.00 (8.51m). Weight Throw: 11. Noah Meucci, 48-03.50 (14.72m); 22. Jackson Wurz, 38-04.25 (11.69m).
 
Mixed Results
4x400m Relay: 3. Portland State 'A' (Clark Anderson, Peterson, Ahmed, Hare), 3:46.69.