PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland State head track & field coach Joseph Blue said his Vikings left last week's Husky Classic feeling like they could have done more.
 
"We weren't satisfied with how we performed," Blue said of the meet.
 
But Blue was quick to point out that the Vikings' lack of satisfaction may not be such a bad thing. It'll leave the Vikings hungry to prove themselves going into the final indoor regular season meet of 2026. The Vikings head to the GFU Indoor #2 Saturday in Newberg, Ore.
 
Decisions on who goes to the conference meet will be finalized after Saturday, according to Blue. That leaves a pretty tasty carrot in front of the faces of those competing this weekend.
 
If we were going to trust any Viking to catch up to that carrot, it'd be Jack Macdonald. The freshman will be coming off an overall win in the 200 meters at the Husky Classic last weekend, finishing in a personal best of 21.89 seconds.
 
Macdonald also competed in the 60 meters last weekend, though he didn't better his personal best of 6.93 seconds – a time that ranks him sixth all-time at Portland State – from the Silver & Blue Invitational. He'll get another attempt at doing that Saturday, as he's entered in the fastest of 18 preliminary heats in the 60 meters.
 
Teammates Beckett Stolp, Dillon Brost, Aidan Sweeney, Carson Schall, Phoenix Bakkum and Damien Parrow will join Macdonald in later heats of the 60 meters.
 
Sweeney, if he runs the open 60, would be doubling back after the prelims of the 60-meter hurdles. Sweeney and Savannah Beasley – the two leading hurdlers for the Viking men and women, respectively – have each lowered their personal best in the 60-meter hurdles at four straight meets to start the season. Sweeney set his latest best at 8.53 seconds at the Husky Classic this past weekend, while Beasley lowered hers to 9.29 seconds.
 
Sweeney now sits outside of the all-time top 10 in the men's indoor 60-meter hurdles by only two-hundredths of a second. Crack 8.50 Saturday, and Sweeney will be the first new entrant into the top 10 since Jordan Gloden in 2022.
 
The open 60 and 60-meter hurdles will be the lone events on the track Saturday. The rest of the meet will take place in the field where the Vikings will look to add to their conference roster.
 
Daniel Coppedge figures to have earned his spot at conference after breaking his own school record in the weight throw at the Inland Northwest Invitational on Jan. 31. Coppedge added two feet to his old record with a personal-best throw of 57-11.00 (17.65m). Even still, he will compete one more time in the weight throw before heading to the Big Sky Indoor Championships next week.
 
The Vikings' female throwers will also be active Saturday. Avonlea Edwards and Natalie Fisher are entered in both the women's weight throw and shot put Saturday, while Jaelyn Sayler will join them in the shot put.
 
Out of those three, Fisher set the freshman record in the shot put with a mark of 42-07.00 (12.98m). She hasn't competed in the weight throw since the team's season opener at the Silver & Blue Invitational. Edwards boasts the top mark in the weight throw for the Viking women this season, though even she's only competed in the event once this season. That came at the Inland Northwest Invitational, where Edwards threw 41-06.50 (12.66m).
 
Blue singled out Sayler as someone who could see a big improvement this week.
 
"Jaelyn had one of her best practices the whole year today. She gets another opportunity. She had her first opportunity last week. She did okay. But now she gets another opportunity this week, close to home," Blue said of the junior thrower.
 
Sayler made her PSU debut last week at the Husky Classic, throwing 35-10.50 (10.93m) in the shot put. She came into the meet with a personal best close to 20 inches beyond that, though, meaning she should have more in the tank.
 
Outside of the throws, Ocean Rideout and Akanesi Latu-Alves will compete in the long jump after setting personal bests last week at the Husky Classic. Jackson Mathers will also double in the men's high jump and long jump, joining Parrow in the latter.
 
All of them have opportunities to prove themselves Saturday. Do so, and they'll not only see their ticket punched for the Big Sky Indoor Championships, Feb. 26-28, in Pocatello, Idaho, but they can also finally be satisfied.
 
At least, for another week.
 
MEET INFO
Saturday, Feb. 21 – GFU Indoor #2 – Newberg, Ore. (Multi-Use Facility)
 
FOLLOW ALONG
Live Results
 
TENTATIVE MEET SCHEDULE
Saturday, Feb. 21
Time (PT) – Event (PSU Entries)
10 a.m. – Women's Weight Throw (Flight 1 of 1 – Edwards, Fisher)
10 a.m. – Men's Long Jump (Flight 1 of 1 – Mathers, Parrow)
~11 a.m. – Men's Weight Throw (Flight 1 of 1 – Coppedge)
~11 a.m. – Women's Shot Put (Flight 1 of 1 – Edwards, Fisher, Sayler)
~11:15 a.m. – Women's Long Jump (Flight 1 of 1 – Latu-Alves, Rideout)
~11:30 a.m. – Men's High Jump (Flight 1 of 1 – Mathers)
1 p.m. – Men's 60-Meter Hurdles – Prelims (Heat 1 of 4 – Sweeney; Heat 3 of 4 – Timmins; Heat 4 of 4 – Schall)
1:10 p.m. – Women's 60-Meter Hurdles – Prelims (Heat 1 of 7 – Beasley)
1:30 p.m. – Men's 60-Meter Hurdles – Final
1:40 p.m. – Women's 60-Meter Hurdles – Final
1:45 p.m. – Men's 60 Meters – Prelims (Heat 1 of 18 – Macdonald; Heat 2 of 18 – Stolp; Heat 3 of 18 – Brost; Heat 4 of 18 – Sweeney; Heat 6 of 18 – Schall; Heat 7 of 18 – Bakkum; Heat 17 of 18 – Parrow)
2:10 p.m. – Women's 60 Meters – Prelims (Heat 5 of 11 – Medina; Heat 10 of 11 – Abdel Halim)
2:25 p.m. – Men's 60 Meters – Final
2:40 p.m. – Women's 60 Meters – Final