PORTLAND, Ore. — Bring out the ball gowns and the long white gloves. The Portland State track & field program could see as many as 21 athletes make their season debuts Sunday at the Portland Indoor One.
 
The Vikings' debutantes will have an intimate venue for their first races of the season. The University of Portland hosts the meet on the upper level of the Chiles Center, putting fans right on top of the action.
 
That should add to the excitement for the first-time competitors, who will be looking to prove themselves in front of new head coach Joseph Blue and his assistants.
 
"These kids show up and do something that shows they deserve a spot, then those are things we have to consider. This is the opportunity for them to do that," Blue said of what Sunday's meet means to those competing.
 
Several of the Vikings who have already competed for the Vikings between the Silver & Blue Invitational (Jan. 9-10) and UW Preview (Jan. 16-17) will be taking Sunday off. That's intentional. Blue said that crew could use the rest as the Vikings look to build up their athletes' strength over the early part of the season.
 
Blue also said he's looking for more technical precision from his athletes, both the group competing this Sunday as well as the group that competed last week.
 
"You can't race like you're in the street racing somebody. You've got to be very strategic with how you plan out your race. Them being able to take those cues from their coaches and executing them will bring them results," Blue said.
 
Tactical racing should be at the forefront Sunday. The intimate venue means the field sizes should be small, making the athlete-to-athlete moves and countermoves all the more important.
 
No race Sunday will be longer than a mile. A women's and men's section of the 200 meters open the meet at 12 p.m., followed by women's and men's sections at 600 meters, 800 meters, the mile and 4x400-meter relay.
 
Out of those, the 600 meters should be ripest for new top 10 marks for the Vikings. Two of the top five times in the women's 600 meters came at the Chiles Center at last year's PSU vs. UP Dual Meet. Wendy Hare broke a 17-year-old record with her finish in 1:36.98 at the meet – a record since broken by Irene Montoliu Tio (1:33.75) – while Irina López finished right behind her in 1:37.52 (currently No. 4 all-time).
 
López is entered in the 600 again Sunday alongside Hannah Butterfield, Addison Capozzi and Ashley Peterson (currently No. 8 all-time).
 
On the men's side, Amir Ahmed – currently ranked third in the 600 meters off his time of 1:20.85 at the 2025 UW Preview – is entered alongside his brother Mohamed Ahmed as well as JD Arthur, Aidan Brown, Zach Payne and James Timmins.
 
Blue is quick to put the thoughts of records and top 10 marks out of his athletes' minds, however.
 
"Expectations are to just do your best," Blue said. "Go out and execute whatever your coach told you. If you take care of business, you run a good time, then that's great. I'm not going to say, 'you need to run this, or duh, duh, duh. I want to see the effort, the execution, the process part of it. Are you doing things correctly? Are you coachable during the meet? Those things."
 
Just come down the stairs without tripping and you've successfully made your debut. All the rest is gravy.
 
MEET INFO
Sunday, Jan. 25 – Portland Indoor 1 – Portland, Ore. (Chiles Center)
 
FOLLOW ALONG
Live Results
 
MEET SCHEDULE
Sunday, Jan. 25
Time (PT) – Events (PSU Entries)
Rolling schedule after first event starts at 12 p.m.
Women's 200 Meters (Abdel Halim, Beasley, Butterfield, Latu-Alves, Medina, Olivier, Rideout, Rosario, Wheat)
Men's 200 Meters (Ahmed, A., Bakkum, Parrow, Schall)
Women's 600 Meters (Butterfield, Capozzi, López, Peterson)
Men's 600 Meters (Ahmed, A., Ahmed, M., Arthur, Brown, Payne, Timmins)
Women's 800 Meters (Wapsheli)
Men's 800 Meters (Garcia, Ibrahim, Ramirez, Sarver Huber, Walsh)
Women's Mile (Schmitke, Zarrin)
Men's Mile (Estrada, Muradas, Parks, Sandoval, Sarver Huber, Smith)
Women's 4x400-Meter Relay (Portland State 'A' – Butterfield, López, Capozzi, Wapsheli)
Men's 4x400-Meter Relay (Portland State 'A' – Arthur, Garcia, Estada, Sandoval; Portland State 'B' – Smith, Muradas, Ahmed, M., Ahmed, A.)