Daniel Coppedge Breaks His Own Record in the Hammer as Vikings Open Outdoor Season at LCC Open, Rich Allen Classic

EUGENE, Ore. — The only thrower in Portland State track & field program history who can beat Daniel Coppedge is … Daniel Coppedge.

The senior thrower bettered his own school record in the hammer – just like he did twice indoors with his record in the weight throw – to lead the Vikings as they kicked off their outdoor season Saturday at the LCC Open.

With the last of his six attempts Saturday, Coppedge threw 188-10 (57.56m), adding one inch to the record he set at last year's Big Sky Outdoor Championships. Coppedge has now re-set the hammer record three times, initially breaking a 54-year-old record with a throw of 186-10 (56.95m) at last season's Oregon Preview.

Coppedge's record came as part of seven event wins for the Vikings at Titan Stadium. Savannah Beasley claimed two of the seven for the Vikings, while she was part of another victory in the 4x100-meter relay.

Beasley swept the 100- and 400-meter hurdles while setting personal bests in both events. Beasley won the 100 hurdles in 15.46 seconds, shaving close to three-quarters of a second off her previous best in the event. She then edged teammate Ashley Peterson for the win in the 400 hurdles, finishing in 1:05.78 to Peterson's time of 1:05.82. Beasley's time represented a 10-second improvement over her previous attempt in the 400 hurdles from 2024. Peterson, meanwhile, shaved 1.5 seconds off her previous best at the John Knight Twilight last season.

Beasley also ran the third leg on the Viking women's 4x100-meter relay that won by three seconds in 47.31. Sienna Rosario, Tori Forst and Ocean Rideout joined Beasley on the winning relay. Their time of 47.31 seconds represented the best by the Viking women in the 4x100 since 2018.

The Viking men won their side of the 4x100-meter relay in 42.64 seconds. Dillon Brost, Zach Payne, Beckett Stolp and Aidan Sweeney combined for the victory, which came by close to a full second.

Rideout added another win in the women's long jump. Rideout jumped 17-11.50 (5.47m) on her last attempt of the day, adding 1.75 inches to the best she set indoors. Rideout also led the Viking women in the 100 and 200 meters, finishing third and second, respectively, in times of 12.42 and 26.09 seconds.

Lydia Medina was the other winner for the Vikings Saturday. She took the top spot in the women's 400 meters while finishing in 1:03.22. She also ran the anchor leg of the Vikings' other 4x100-meter relay that finished second in 50.30 seconds.

A number of other Vikings finished on the podium in their respective events. That group included Avonlea Edwards, who placed second in the women's hammer while setting a top 10 mark at Portland State. Edwards threw 132-06 (40.39m) on her final attempt, moving her up to ninth all-time in the event. Natalie Fisher set the No. 9 mark in the freshman record book with her throw of 112-11 (34.43m). Edwards' mark moved her up to fifth in the freshman record book.

Four other freshman top 10 marks came from the Viking men. That group included Beckett Stolp, who led the Vikings with a third-place finish in the 100 meters. Stolp dipped under 11 seconds with his finish in 10.98, tying him with Micah Avery last season for fourth in the freshman top 10.

Zach Payne set the No. 9 freshman mark in the 200 meters while placing sixth overall in 22.43 seconds.

Carson Schall set freshman marks in both hurdles events, finishing the 110 hurdles in 16.22 seconds and the 400 hurdles in 1:03.71. Schall now ranks eighth in the freshman top 10 in the 110 hurdles and ninth in the 400 hurdles.

LCC Open
Titan Stadium
Eugene, Ore.
March 14, 2026

Women's Results:
100m: 3. Ocean Rideout, 12.42; 5. Olivia Jolivette, 12.52; 8. Savannah Beasley, 12.65; 10. Ashley Peterson, 12.78; 17. Lydia Medina, 13.35; 18. Akanesi Latu-Alves, 13.37. 200m: 2. Ocean Rideout, 26.09; 4. Norhan Abdel Halim, 27.31; 10. Lydia Medina, 28.02; 15. Akanesi Latu-Alves, 28.82. 400m: 1. Lydia Medina, 1:03.22. 800m: 6. Riley Amarillas, 2:34.66. 1,500m: 4. Talise Wapsheli, 5:31.81. 100H: 1. Savannah Beasley, 15.46. 400H: 1. Savannah Beasley, 1:05.78; 2. Ashley Peterson, 1:05.82. 4x100m Relay: 1. Portland State 'A' (Rosario, Forst, Beasley, Rideout), 47.31; 2. Portland State 'B' (Latu-Alves, Peterson, Abdel Halim, Medina), 50.30. Long Jump: 1. Ocean Rideout, 17-11.50 (5.47m); 20. Akanesi Latu-Alves, 15-02.00 (4.62m). Shot Put: 3. Jaelyn Sayler, 35-11.50 (10.96m). Discus: 4. Avonlea Edwards, 114-00 (34.76m); 8. Jaelyn Sayler, 103-11 (31.68m); 13. Natalie Fisher, 96-01 (29.30m). Hammer: 2. Avonlea Edwards, 132-06 (40.39m); 8. Natalie Fisher, 112-11 (34.43m).

Men's Results:
100m: 3. Beckett Stolp, 10.98; 9. Dillon Brost, 11.04; 13. Zach Payne, 11.29; 15. Aidan Sweeney, 11.33; 19. Carson Schall, 11.48; 20. Phoenix Bakkum, 11.51. 200m: 6. Zach Payne, 22.43; 8. Dillon Brost, 22.57; 14. Beckett Stolp, 23.03; 21. Phoenix Bakkum, 23.56; 37. Carson Schall, 24.80. 400m: 8. Preston Jones, 53.38. 110H: 3. Aidan Sweeney, 15.74; 6. Carson Schall, 16.22. 400H: 6. Carson Schall, 1:03.71. 4x100m Relay: 1. Portland State 'A' (Brost, Payne, Stolp, Sweeney), 42.64. High Jump: 5. Jackson Mathers, 6-02.75 (1.90m). Long Jump: 15. Damien Parrow, 19-04.00 (5.89m). Triple Jump: 6. Damien Parrow, 41-11.50 (12.79m). Shot Put: 15. Mikey LaGris, 32-02.75 (9.82m). Discus: 15. Mikey LaGris, 100-10 (30.73m). Hammer: 1. Daniel Coppedge, 188-10 (57.56m). Javelin: 4. Henry Glad, 168-08 (51.41m); 10. Carter Green, 129-06 (39.47m).

Ari Smith celebrates his win in the 800 meters at the Rich Allen Classic.

NEWBERG, Ore. — It's been 23 years since David Beckham rocked cornrows while attending the Cannes Film Festival. That was before freshman Ari Smith was born. And yet, Smith appeared to draw inspiration from Becks with his own set of cornrows Saturday at the Rich Allen Classic.

They worked as the freshman christened his new do with a victory in the men's 800 meters, out-dueling teammate Amir Ahmed at Stoffer Family Stadium.

Smith and Ahmed traded the lead over the bell lap, with Smith passing Ahmed for good down the home stretch. Smith finished in 1:55.14 with Ahmed second in 1:55.35. Freshman teammate JD Arthur followed them in 1:56.80 to give the Viking men a podium sweep in the event.

The sweep highlighted the opening day of the outdoor season for the program's distance runners, who won three of the six events they entered at the Rich Allen Classic.

Irina López and Hannah Butterfield went 1-2 on the women's side of the 800 meters. López won in 2:16.38 while Butterfield finished in 2:19.97. López's time was just off her collegiate best in the event of 2:16.29, though it was five seconds faster than her season opener at the L&C Electric Forest Opener in 2025.

Smith's time of 1:55.14 in the men's 800 represented a two-second personal best. It also moved him up to ninth in the freshman top 10.

Taylor Nichols posted the other event win for the Vikings in the women's 1,500 meters. Nichols crushed the field, winning by nine and a half seconds with her time of 4:44.86. That represented a personal best by six-hundredths of a second over her final time last season.

Luke Gillingham made the podium in the men's 1,500 meters. He placed third in 4:00.28, shaving seven seconds off his prep best from the 2024 Oregon Relays.

Tom Thake added a personal best in the men's 5k later in the day. Thake finished seventh overall in 15:52.04, shaving 43 seconds off the time he set two years ago at the Pacific Open.

All event groups for the Vikings will reunite next week for the PNW Invitational, March 21, in Corvallis, Ore.

Rich Allen Classic
Stoffer Family Stadium
Newberg, Ore.
March 14, 2026

Women's Results:
800m: 1. Irina López, 2:16.38; 2. Hannah Butterfield, 2:19.97; 11. Emily Schmitke, 2:34.32. 1,500m: 1. Taylor Nichols, 4:44.86; 7. Shayda Zarrin, 5:00.51; 20. Emily Schmitke, 5:11.98.

Men's Results:
800m: 1. Ari Smith, 1:55.14; 2. Amir Ahmed, 1:55.35; 3. JD Arthur, 1:56.80; 14. Ian Parks, 2:04.83; 24. Aidan Brown, 2:17.82. 1,500m: 3. Luke Gillingham, 4:00.28; 17. Luis Muradas, 4:14.07; 18. Aidan Brown, 4:14.72; 22. Mika Sarver Huber, 4:19.91; 32. Simon Walsh, 4:24.03; 33. Ian Parks, 4:24.32; 35. Kyle Chen, 4:30.42. 5,000m: 7. Tom Thake, 15:52.04; 10. Landen Sandoval, 16:27.97; Luke Gillingham, DNF. 4x400m Relay: 5. Portland State 'A' (Arthur, Ahmed, Smith, Ibrahim), 3:30.51.

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