PORTLAND, Ore. — It seems incongruous with the physically taxing nature of a sport like cross country, that the days leading up to a big race are relatively calm. All the work has been done. There are no more opportunities to get fitter. It's just time to execute.
 
The Portland State cross country program finds itself in that anticipatory calm ahead of Friday's NCAA West Regional at Haggin Oaks Golf Course in Sacramento, Calif.
 
"There's no special potion, drink or workout that we can do that's going to make you more fit than you are at this moment. It's more of a mental thing. Just making sure that they're locked in, getting their rest. We haven't had weights for the people competing this week, just so that their bodies are feeling fresh," assistant coach Nick Merillana said of the wait before regionals.
 
The calmness before the race belies the fury with which the Vikings will attack Friday's 6k for the women (9 a.m. start) and 10k (10 a.m. start) for the men.
 
The seniors among them – Taylor Nichols and Emma Stolte on the women's side, Abdinajib Abade and Tom Thake on the men's side – want to make the most of what could be the final cross country races of their careers.
 
For Stolte, she's made good on a number of her goals this season. She went into the Big Sky Championships wanting to finish in the top 10 – no small feat in a field that included nationally ranked Northern Arizona among others – and she did it. The ninth-place finish earned Stolte All-Big Sky honors, making her just the eighth Viking – male or female – to earn all-conference honors in cross country.
 
Stolte finished the 5k in 16:56.9, a 25-second personal best despite the conference meet taking place at 4,800 feet of elevation.
 
What's more, Stolte's finish at the Big Sky meet marked her fifth straight top 10 finish this season. That tied her with Amber Rozcicha in 2012 and Melissa Telford in 1999 for the most top 10 finishes in a single season by a Viking, male or female.
 
A top 10 finish at Friday's NCAA West Regional would be something remarkable for Stolte. That's not her goal this time, though. She's shooting for an all-region spot – top 25 – which would make her eligible for an at-large spot at the NCAA Championships should she be one of the top four finishers not on a team going to nationals.
 
Stolte comes into the meet ranked 56th in the NCAA West Region according to the Cross Country Ratings Index. So, she'll have to outperform her predicted finish to get into the top 25, but she's done that throughout the fall.
 
"I'm only ever going to encourage her in whatever goals she wants to set for herself," Merillana said of Stolte. "She's slated to be in that range. If we just encourage her and let her know, 'yeah, you can do that,' then she's going to have a dang-good showing."
 
Abade represents the Vikings' top ranked athlete on the men's side, coming in at 162nd in the Cross Country Ratings Index within the West Region. Merillana said Abdi would like to disprove that ranking in his last race for the Vikings.
 
Abade led the Viking men to an eighth-place finish at the Big Sky Championships, their highest finish since 2022.
 
Abade and the Viking men will take a step up in distance at the NCAA West Regional, as they'll run their first 10k of the season. Merillana didn't express many concerns about the added distance, however. For one, Friday's regional will be sea level versus the conference meet, which may have been a shorter distance (8k) but came at 4,800 feet of elevation.
 
Merillana also noted that the Haggin Oaks Golf Course is a lot flatter than the one at which the Vikings raced at conference.
 
Both of those facts should give the Vikings a little confidence boost going into Friday's races. And that's where Merillana hopes to see his athletes focused mentally going into the final days and moments before race day.
 
"You never want to say, 'oh, I should have done this,' or 'I could have done this,' or 'if I would have done that.' We need to go into this weekend with the mindset of, 'I'm going to run this time.' 'I'm going to compete with these girls.' 'I can do it.' 'I will do this.' And I think if they do that and keep locking that into their heads, it's going to be a big weekend for all of them."
 
They just have to wait out the calm before the storm.
 
MEET INFO
Friday, Nov. 14 – NCAA West Regional – Sacramento, Calif. (Haggin Oaks Golf Course)
 
FOLLOW ALONG
Live Results
 
MEET SCHEDULE
Time (PT) – Event
9 a.m. – Women's 6k
10 a.m. – Men's 10k
 
PORTLAND STATE ENTRIES:
Women: Riley Amarillas, Sonja Jones, Irina López, Taylor Nichols, Sam Sharp, Emma Stolte
Men: Abdinajib Abade, Luke Gillingham, Farhan Ibrahim, Benjamin Sanchez, Ari Smith, Tom Thake