GRESHAM, Ore. — Any beach goer in Oregon knows the one rule of the coast: Never underestimate the Ocean. That extends to Portland State track & field athlete Ocean Rideout, who despite competing in her first-ever heptathlon, became the first Viking to score in the event at the Big Sky Outdoor Championships since 2019.
 
Standing 16th overall after the first day of the heptathlon, Rideout jumped nine spots over the course of Thursday to finish seventh with 4,498 points. She snapped a cold spell for the Vikings in the multi-events since Kristen O'Handley placed fifth in the heptathlon in 2019. Additionally, her score moved her up to ninth all-time in the heptathlon at Portland State.
 
Rideout's scoring position came after she set overall bests in three of the five events in which she had previously competed. She set heptathlon top 10 marks in six of the seven events, including all three Thursday.
 
She made her biggest jump in the standings after the first event of the day, the long jump, going from 16th up to ninth. Rideout placed third in the long jump – her highest finish in any individual event of the heptathlon – while adding 6.25 inches to her personal best with a mark of 18-10.75 (5.76m). The mark moved her up to third all-time in the heptathlon long jump and put her only 1.25 inches away from entering the overall top 10 in the event.
 
Rideout stayed in ninth after the javelin – an event she hadn't competed in before Thursday – while placing eighth in the event with a best throw of 94-05 (28.79m). All three of Rideout's throws were over 94 feet, with her best mark moving her up to seventh all-time in the heptathlon javelin.
 
The javelin still left Rideout out of scoring position, however. She needed to beat at least one person ahead of her in the 800 meters by a wide enough margin to move up to eighth and score for the Vikings. She passed two for good measure, beating Sacramento State's Jessi Barry and Idaho State's Brynn Bider by seven and nine seconds, respectively. Rideout's finish in 2:29.37 represented a 10-second personal best and moved her up to ninth all-time in the heptathlon 800 meters at Portland State.
 
Rideout is entered in two other individual events at the Big Sky Championships between the long jump and 100 meters. She's also part of the relay pool for the Vikings in the 4x100-meter relay. Athletes in those events – from landlocked states like Arizona, Idaho, Montana and Utah, among others – should know the one rule about the Ocean by now.
 
Rideout proved that Thursday.
 
Big Sky Outdoor Championships
Earl L. Klapstein Stadium
Gresham, Ore.
May 13-14, 2026
 
Women's Results:
Heptathlon: 7. Ocean Rideout, 4,498 points (100H: 16. 16.25, 684 points; HJ: 7. 5-00.50 (1.54m), 666 points; SP: 15. 26-05.00 (8.05m), 403 points; 200m: 6. 25.82, 813 points; LJ: 3. 18-10.75 (5.76m), 777 points; Javelin: 8. 94-05 (28.79m), 454 points; 800m: 7. 2:29.37, 701 points).