PORTLAND, Ore. — There will be no expectations versus reality social media post for the Portland State track & field team after the Big Sky Indoor Championships this week, Feb. 27-28, in Pocatello, Idaho.
 
That's because head coach Joseph Blue is setting no expectations for his team. The Vikings have goals, sure, but Blue will not put added pressure on his athletes to perform at a certain level.
 
Instead, Blue's directive to his athletes centers on three C's: confidence, composure, competition.
 
"Be confident in what you're doing. We did all the work. This is where it counts now. And then, have composure. You don't have to do anything out of your body to win this. You've got to just execute what you've been working on. And then, compete. At the end of the day, it's not about your PR anymore, it's about beating the person next to you to make those finals and win those finals," Blue said of what his message will be before the conference meet.
 
"If they do those things, the chips will fall where they need to."
 
Conference meets are unique within track & field. Unlike regular-season meets, times or marks hardly matter. Placement is paramount.
 
That serves the Vikings, to a degree. Times and marks from throughout the year leave the Vikings further down on the form chart in most events entering the weekend. But those get thrown out at a conference meet. The only marks that matter are the ones set that weekend.
 
"They've got to show up that day and be the better person. It doesn't matter what the rankings say, it comes down to that day. I've seen the top throwers all foul that day and they didn't make it. That stuff happens. You have to be that good that day, and we're preparing our kids to be that good that day," Blue said.
 
Emma Stolte is a rare Viking who ranks highly within her given events. She ranks third in the mile, fourth in the 800 meters and sixth in the 3k. Her 800-meter time of 2:08.51 at the Inland Northwest Invitational on Jan. 31 broke the school record by three seconds. Additionally, she ranks second all-time in the mile and 3k with her times of 4:39.65 and 9:17.97, respectively, from earlier this season.
 
Stolte figures to be a podium or title contender in whatever combination of events she runs this weekend.
 
"She's already done the work. She knows she can do it. She's just got to go rise to the occasion and she does that every week. This is going to be another week that she does that," Blue said of Stolte.
 
Freshman Isaiah Cadengo ranks fifth in the men's 400 meters entering the weekend. He moved up in the rankings after finishing in 47.99 seconds at the Inland Northwest Invitational, a time that ranks him second all-time in the event indoors.
 
The Vikings' men's and women's distance medley relays are the only other two who currently rank among the top eight in their respective events. They both rank fourth after their times at the Husky Classic where the men finished in 10:19.18 and the women in 12:45.04.
 
Everyone else will have to beat the form chart in order to score for the Vikings.
 
The first step in that regard will be getting out of the prelims. For the majority of track events, those come Friday with finals scheduled for Saturday. Each event has its own qualifying procedure, so the simplest way to ensure you make it out of prelims is to do what track athletes do best: run fast.
 
"We have to make it to the final. We're not in a position where we're top three and we can just cruise and make the top whatever. We're in a position where we have to run our fastest race that day. So when prelims come, we have to run our fastest to make the final so we can put ourselves in position to score points," Blue said.
 
Confidence will help in that regard. That'll be the biggest piece, according to Blue, because the competition is going to take a step up for the Vikings.
 
"This is the biggest meet we've had throughout the year with the most competition. It's something close to Spokane, and when we went to Spokane [for the Inland Northwest Invitational on Jan. 31], we did well. So, we want a repeat of that and more. That's what we're hoping for," Blue said.
 
Five school records fell that day at the Inland Northwest Invitational. So, exceeding that would be quite the accomplishment for the Vikings. But if they do, it'll come from being confident, composed and competitive. Not burdened with the weight of expectations.
 
MEET INFO
Feb. 27-28 – Big Sky Indoor Championships – Pocatello, Idaho (ICCU Dome)
 
FOLLOW ALONG
Live Results | Live Video (Friday, Saturday)
 
MEET SCHEDULE
Friday, Feb. 27
Start (PT) – Event (PSU Entries)
9 a.m. – Men's Weight Throw (Flight 1 of 2 – Coppedge)
11:30 a.m. – Women's Weight Throw (Flight 1 of 2 – Edwards, Fisher)
1:30 p.m. – Men's Long Jump (Flight 1 of 2 – Mathers)
2 p.m. – Women's 60-Meter Hurdles – Prelims (Heat 3 of 4 – Beasley)
2:25 p.m. – Men's 60-Meter Hurdles – Prelims (Heat 2 of 3 – Sweeney)
2:45 p.m. – Women's 400 Meters – Prelims (Heat 3 of 5 – Peterson)
3:10 p.m. – Men's 400 Meters – Prelims (Heat 2 of 7 – Cadengo; Heat 3 of 7 – Payne)
3:35 p.m. – Women's 60 Meters – Prelims (Heat 4 of 5 – Rideout; Heat 5 of 5 – Rosario)
3:55 p.m. – Men's 60 Meters – Prelims (Heat 2 of 6 – Macdonald; Heat 3 of 6 – Bakkum; Heat 5 of 6 – Sweeney; Heat 6 of 6 – Brost)
4:15 p.m. – Women's 800 Meters – Prelims (Heat 1 of 3 – Stolte; Heat 2 of 3 – Butterfield, López; Heat 3 of 3 – Capozzi)
4:30 p.m. – Women's Long Jump (Flight 1 of 2 – Latu-Alves, Rideout)
4:35 p.m. – Men's 800 Meters – Prelims (Heat 1 of 3 – Ahmed; Heat 2 of 3 – Abade)
4:50 p.m. – Women's 200 Meters – Prelims (Heat 3 of 8 – Rosario; Heat 5 of 8 – Rideout; Heat 6 of 8 – Beasley)
5:10 p.m. – Men's 200 Meters – Prelims (Heat 3 of 9 – Macdonald, Payne; Heat 4 of 9 – Brost; Heat 8 of 9 – Cadengo)
6:20 p.m. – Women's Distance Medley Relay – Final (Heat 1 of 1 – Portland State 'A' – Nichols, Peterson, Capozzi, López)
6:40 p.m. – Men's Distance Medley Relay – Final (Heat 1 of 1 – Portland State 'A' – Abade, Payne, Arthur, Smith)
 
Saturday, Feb. 28 (Every Event is a Final)
Start (PT) – Event (PSU Entries)
9 a.m. – Men's High Jump (Flight 1 of 1 – Mathers)
9 a.m. – Men's Triple Jump (Flight 1 of 1 – Mathers)
10 a.m. – Women's Mile (Heat 1 of 2 – Zarrin; Heat 2 of 2 – Stolte)
10:20 a.m. – Men's Mile (Heat 1 of 2 – Abade, Gillingham, Smith)
11:40 a.m. – Women's 800 Meters (Heat 1 of 1 – Stolte)
12 p.m. – Women's Shot Put (Flight 1 of 2 – Edwards, Fisher, Sayler)
12:20 p.m. – Women's 3,000 Meters (Heat 1 of 2 – Zarrin)
12:50 p.m. – Men's 3,000 Meters (Heat 1 of 2 – Abade, Ibrahim)
1:10 p.m. – Women's 4x400-Meter Relay (Heat 1 of 3 – Portland State 'A' – Peterson, Rosario, Beasley, Capozzi)
1:30 p.m. – Men's 4x400-Meter Relay (Heat 1 of 3 – Portland State 'A' – Payne, Macdonald, Brost, Cadengo)