PORTLAND, Ore. — After kicking off their season at the Lewis & Clark Opener on Aug. 29, the Portland State men's and women's cross country teams did what any of us would want to do. They went to the beach.
 
It wasn't just for relaxing. The Vikings still did that, to be clear. But in addition to sunbathing and beach volleyball, the Vikings volunteered together at The Ultimook Race in Tillamook on Sept. 6.
 
What's more, the student-athletes organized the trip themselves. There were no coaches there. And for new head coach Joseph Blue, who has stressed repeatedly since being hired that the culture comes from the athletes, that fact makes him prouder than anything within a race.
 
 "They're really tight-knit. They help each other out. I'm having no issues making them do anything as far as the team. They want to do it. They love being Vikings," Blue said.
 
"I've been on teams where people are like, 'eh, I've got other stuff to do.' But [the volunteer event] was important to them. Those are the kind of kids we need and that's the kind of spirit that we want to bring to our program."
 
The Vikings take that spirit now into their second race of the season Friday at the Ash Creek Collegiate in Monmouth, Ore. The women will run a 5k around Ash Creek Preserve at 5 p.m., while the men follow with a 6k at 5:45 p.m. The 5k distance represents a repeat from the Lewis & Clark Opener for the Viking women. The men also ran 5k at the Lewis & Clark meet, but Friday's 6k will still be well under their championship race distances of 8k and 10k later in the season.
 
The slow buildup in distance should help a young Viking squad. The freshmen men took advantage of the shorter distance at Lewis & Clark, as four freshmen placed in the men's team's top five. Freshman Ari Smith led the way, placing eighth overall in 15:32.03 to become the first freshman on the men's team to place in the top 10 at any meet since 2018. Benjamin Sanchez nearly gave the Vikings a second freshman in the top 10, as he placed 11th overall in 15:46.84. Sophomore Luke Gillingham placed as the Viking men's third runner at 16th overall, but then two more freshmen followed him in JD Arthur and Jorge Garcia at 22nd and 33rd overall, respectively.
 
The strong showing from the Viking freshmen meant the Vikings placed third out of 11 teams at the meet.
 
"Them showing up and getting third, it showed a lot of team improvement, but it also showed that we have even more in the tank because Nick [Moore] and Abdi [Abdinajib Abade] and some of our other guys aren't even competing yet," Blue said.
 
The Vikings may get one or two more runners back as early as this Friday, which would only add depth for the men.
 
Youth played an important role for the Viking women, too. While veterans Emma Stolte and Taylor Nichols finished 1-2 in the Vikings' lineup, the rest of the women's team's finishers were all freshmen or sophomores. Out of that group, freshman Sam Sharp placed third in the PSU lineup and 16th overall in 18:45.21, setting a new personal best in the cross country 5k by 10 seconds. Freshman Sonja Jones followed at 24th overall in 19:26.52, while sophomore Irina López rounded out the top five at 40th overall.
 
The Vikings figure to add freshman Libby Fox into the mix Friday, which should give the Vikings more depth behind Stolte and Nichols up front.
 
Stolte and Nichols, for their part, set a good example for the Vikings' young runners at the Lewis & Clark Opener. Stolte placed sixth overall for the highest individual finish in her PSU career. The personal-best finish came with a personal-best time, too, as Stolte finished in 17:21.11. Nichols also set a new personal best with her finish in 18:19.71, placing her 13th overall.
 
"Everybody ran together. There was no negativity. It was good vibes. It was good to be out there for my first time as a head coach," Blue said of the first race of the season.
 
Blue said he'll have a similar message to his team before Friday's races. With the season barely two weeks old, the Vikings aren't looking to lock in their conference squads yet. Blue and his assistant coaches just want to see a good, hard effort from each of their runners.
 
"Our message to the team is: continue to get better. That's what we're doing. We're taking it meet by meet, continuing to get better and continuing to run as a team. If they can keep building that bond and running hard, they're going to be a team that people don't want to go against."
 
Do that, and the Vikings can reward themselves with another trip to the beach.
 
MEET INFO
Friday, Sept. 12 – Ash Creek Collegiate – Monmouth, Ore. (Ash Creek Preserve)
 
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Live Results
 
MEET SCHEDULE
Time (PT) – Event
5 p.m. – Women's 5k
5:45 p.m. – Men's 6k