PORTLAND, Ore. — The Portland State cross country program will triple its total miles traveled this Saturday when the Vikings make their first trip out of state for the Bronco Invitational, hosted by Santa Clara University at Baylands Park in Sunnyvale, Calif.
 
The Vikings opened their 2025 season with four straight meets in Oregon, all of which were 60 miles or less from campus. Saturday's travel will give the Vikings a taste of the postseason two weeks before the Big Sky Championships, Nov. 1, in Bozeman, Mont.
 
"This is basically going to be a pre-conference feeling. Being able to sleep in a hotel, wake up, train, get one day of practice in and then it's time to go," Portland State head coach Joseph Blue said of the team's approach to the meet.
 
The travel gives the Vikings a chance to practice one of Blue's directives to his runners this season: Do the little things great. Be on time to the airport. Wake up ready to put in the work the day before the meet. And then take a business-like approach to the race on Saturday.
 
"When I talked to them after [the Mike Johnson Classic on Sept. 27] about doing the little things together like cooling down and all that stuff, they were better about it. So I want them to continue to get better at that. Because those things matter," Blue said.
 
"You can't just be lollygagging around. Your mind has to be centered. It's a balance. You can't be too serious, but you can't be out there just doing anything. They have to learn that. They have to learn that culture of, 'man, I got to be ready. I got to make sure that at this time I need to be ready to warm up.'"
 
It'll be a small crew traveling to Santa Clara this Saturday. Only six athletes on the men's and women's teams will race for the Vikings. That's a change from the program's first four meets of the season. The Viking men have had at least 14 runners compete for them at every meet so far, while the Viking women have had nine or more runners compete in three of their four meets.
 
But Saturday's pre-conference feeling means the Vikings want to see how their top runners compete against what promises to be the best field the Vikings have faced this season. Regionally ranked teams such as St. Mary's (Men: 13th in West) and San Francisco (Men: 14th; Women: 9th in West) will be in attendance. Additionally, athletes from Cal Poly (Men: 7th; Women: 10th in West) and California (Men: 12th; Women: 12th in West) will also give the meet a talented field.
 
"We want to go there and compete and let them know that Portland State is on the rise. And the only way to do that is by bringing our best athletes who are ready," Blue said of the decision to take a smaller roster to Saturday's meet.
 
Blue says he's particularly interested to see how Emma Stolte – the Viking women's top runner at their first three meets of the season – reacts to the step up in quality of opponents. Stolte has finished in the top 10 at all three meets at which she's run this season, including an individual win at the Ash Creek Festival on Sept. 12. Stolte was also the top collegiate runner while placing fourth overall at the Mike Johnson Classic on Sept. 27.
 
How Stolte reacts to the deeper field Saturday will be a good indicator for how she might handle the Big Sky or NCAA West Regional meets in November.
 
"She's always in the running to get top 10. But to get top 10 at this meet would really mean something. We're going against some of the best D1 schools out there and D2 schools also. If Emma gets top 10 there, it shows that she belongs there. She's one of those top-in-the-region girls," Blue said of Stolte.
 
"I think that competition will push her forward. She's not one to, when the competition comes, drop back. She's like, 'oh, we're running? Well then, I'm running with you.'"
 
The Viking men, meanwhile, have had a different runner lead them at all four meets so far this season. Blue and the coaches expect Abdinajib Abade to lead the Vikings the rest of the way, though. Abade made his season debut at the Charles Bowles Invitational on Oct. 4, placing 37th overall in the 8k in a personal-best time of 24:51.06.
 
"We want to see Abdi take a step forward," Blue said of Abade. "His first meet, he did well, but not as well as we thought he was going to do. But some that had to do with him not used to being in the front. He wasn't a guy like that before, but now his training is up there and he's running. He wasn't used to being up front most of the time and having to pace yourself at the front. But now he's had that experience and he's more confident in his training."
 
From a team perspective, Blue said he wants to see both teams show that they're ready for the Big Sky Championships that will come two weeks later.
 
The athletes appear confident they can do that. They actually pushed Blue to take the team to the Bronco Invitational when he was hired over the summer. Blue wasn't convinced but put it on his athletes to show him that they could handle the stiffer competition.
 
"I told them at the beginning of the year, 'I'm going to take you to this meet, but y'all got to show up. We can't get last.' And they told me, 'coach, we're way better than last year. We're going to do it.' So, I trusted them. They've been running well so far. They've been proving it. This is the ultimate test for them to show up and go, 'alright, I told ya, coach,'" Blue said.
 
If they're saying that to Blue after Saturday's race, then the travel back home should be a pleasant one. Even if it's longer than what the Vikings have been used to.
 
MEET INFO
Oct. 18 – Bronco Invitational – Sunnyvale, Calif. (Baylands Park)
 
FOLLOW ALONG
Live Results
 
MEET SCHEDULE
Time (PT) – Event
8:45 a.m. – Men's 8k Invitational
9:30 a.m. – Women's 6k Invitational
 
PSU ENTRIES
Men: Abdinajib Abade, JD Arthur, Luke Gillingham, Farhan Ibrahim, Benjamin Sanchez, Ari Smith
Women: Riley Amarillas, Sonja Jones, Irina López, Taylor Nichols, Sam Sharp, Emma Stolte