GRESHAM, Ore. — Emma Stolte weathered the lightning, thunder, and whatever else Mother Nature could throw at her and everyone else at Mt. Hood Community College's Earl L. Klapstein Stadium Saturday to produce the best performance by a Portland State track & field athlete in recent history at the Big Sky Outdoor Championships.
 
In between three lightning delays, off-and-on rain, and a hailstorm that interrupted the trophy ceremony, Stolte won the women's 5k title – becoming the Vikings' first-ever 5k champion in the process – after also making the podium with a second-place finish in the 1,500 meters.
 
Her 5k title snapped a seven-year cold spell for the Vikings, who hadn't won an individual title at either the Big Sky Indoor or Outdoor Championships since Sarah Medved won the steeplechase in 2019.
 
Stolte's 18 points at the championships represented the most by a Viking since Genna Settle scored 20 at the 2017 conference outdoor meet. She also was the Vikings' first double podium finisher since Settle that same year.
 
The 5k title came after the second of the three lightning breaks. Stolte took advantage of the extra rest after her second-place finish in the 1,500 meters, attaching herself to the lead pack throughout the race. She and Northern Arizona's Addie Engel – the Big Sky champion in the 10k Friday night – separated themselves from the pack after four and a half laps. Stolte ran on Engel's shoulder until taking the lead shortly after the bell with 350 meters to go. Engel tried to push back in front down the back stretch, but Stolte held her off to win in 16:13.38, two and a half seconds ahead of Engel in 16:15.85.
 
Stolte took a similar aggressive style into her second-place finish in the 1,500 meters. It was a lesson learned, perhaps, from the Big Sky Indoor Championships in February when she was pushed to the back in the finals of the 800 meters and finished eighth. Stolte didn't let that happen this time around, going to the front from the gun and holding on until eventual 1,500-meter champion Hayley Burns of Northern Arizona passed her with 500 meters to go. Stolte still held on for second, finishing in 4:22.03 ahead of Northern Colorado's Regina Mpigachai in third in 4:23.10.
 
Stolte's second-place finish in the 1,500 marked her second straight season scoring in the event. No Viking had scored in the 1,500 meters at back-to-back Big Sky Outdoor Championships since Amanda Kamm did so in 2006 and 2007.
 
Stolte wasn't the only scorer for the Vikings Saturday. Jack Macdonald, Edward Niyongere and Isaiah Cadengo all scored as individuals for the Viking men, while the Vikings also got points from the men's and women's 4x100-meter relay.
 
Macdonald finished highest among the Viking men, placing fifth in the finals of the 200 meters in 21.41 seconds. It was the highest finish by a Viking in the 200 meters since Ryon Edwards placed second in 1999. Additionally, the top-eight finish capped a standout freshman season in which Macdonald set overall school records in the outdoor 200 (20.91) and indoor 300 (34.94) meters, while also setting the freshman mark in the 100 meters (10.62).
 
Macdonald was also part of the Vikings' 4x100-meter relay that placed seventh in 41.59 seconds despite running in the first of two heats. Dillon Brost, Cadengo and Beckett Stolp passed the baton to Macdonald, who anchored the Vikings to their second-best time of the season.
 
Niyongere matched the 4x100 relay with a seventh-place finish while jumping 46-03.25 (14.10m) in the triple jump. The top-eight finish was a pleasant surprise for the Vikings. Not for a lack of talent from Niyongere, but more because he hadn't competed since the Husky Classic on Feb. 13 before competing in the long jump Friday. The long jump didn't go nearly as well as the triple jump, either, as Niyongere fouled on all three attempts. But Saturday, he opened with a jump of 45-05.25 (13.85m), then pushed that to what would be his best mark of 46-03.25 (14.10m) on his second attempt.
 
Cadengo, meanwhile, placed eighth in the men's 400 meters with a time of 48.74 seconds. It may have not been as high as Cadengo would have liked to finish, but he still became the first Viking to score in the 400 since Mitchell Gable placed fourth in 2017.
 
Like the Viking men, the Viking women scored in the 4x100-meter relay despite competing in the slower of the two heats. Sienna Rosario, Olivia Jolivette, Savannah Beasley and Ocean Rideout combined to finish in 47.58 seconds, the team's second-best time of the season.
 
Rideout's anchor leg meant she contributed three different times to the team score between a fifth-place finish in the long jump, a seventh-place finish in the heptathlon, and Saturday's relay. All three snapped cold spells. The Viking women hadn't scored in the heptathlon since 2019, the long jump since 2017, and the 4x100 since 2016. The Viking men also hadn't scored in the 4x100 since 2018.
 
That's what a home championship is supposed to do. The Vikings were hosting the Big Sky Outdoor Championships for the first time in 13 years this week. And while the rest of the conference got used to the Portland weather, Stolte and her teammates took advantage.
 
Big Sky Outdoor Championships
Earl L. Klapstein Stadium
Gresham, Ore.
May 13-16, 2026
 
Women's Results:
100m (Prelims): 16. Ocean Rideout, 12.43; 19. Olivia Jolivette, 12.59; 20. Sienna Rosario, 12.73. 200m (Prelims): 22. Sienna Rosario, 25.79. 400m (Prelims): 17. Norhan Abdel Halim, 1:00.00. 800m (Prelims): 18. Irina López, 2:14.60; 22. Hannah Butterfield, 2:17.19. 1,500m (Prelims): 1. Emma Stolte, 4:30.29; 16. Taylor Nichols, 4:51.15. 1,500m (Final): 2. Emma Stolte, 4:22.03. 5,000m: 1. Emma Stolte, 16:13.38; 21. Taylor Nichols, 18:31.69. 100H (Prelims): 17. Savannah Beasley, 15.25. 400H (Prelims): 10. Ashley Peterson, 1:03.38; 13. Savannah Beasley, 1:04.58. 4x100m Relay: 8. Portland State 'A' (Rosario, Jolivette, Beasley, Rideout), 47.58. 4x400m Relay: 9. Portland State 'A' (Beasley, Butterfield, López, Peterson), 3:59.27. Long Jump: 5. Ocean Rideout, 18-09.75 (5.73m); 21. Akanesi Latu-Alves, 16-11.25 (5.16m). Shot Put: 21. Jaelyn Sayler, 36-10.50 (11.24m); 22. Natalie Fisher, 36-05.00 (11.10m). Discus: 9. Princess Fletcher, 133-07 (40.73m); Avonlea Edwards, ND. Hammer: 23. Princess Fletcher, 140-07 (42.85m); 24. Avonlea Edwards, 139-11 (42.66m). 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).
 
Men's Results:
100m (Prelims): 11. Jack Macdonald, 10.74. 200m (Prelims): 5. Jack Macdonald, 21.43; 21. Isaiah Cadengo, 22.71. 200m (Final): 5. Jack Macdonald, 21.41. 400m (Prelims): 6. Isaiah Cadengo, 47.76; 23. Zach Payne, 50.41. 400m (Final): 8. Isaiah Cadengo, 48.74. 800m (Prelims): 19. Ari Smith, 1:53.78; 22. Amir Ahmed, 1:55.59; 24. JD Arthur, 1:57.14; 26. Abdinajib Abade, 1:58.99. 1,500m: 14. Abdinajib Abade, 4:01.17. 5,000m: 17. Farhan Ibrahim, 14:36.00. 10,000m: 13. Luke Gillingham, 33:11.77. 110H (Prelims): 10. Aidan Sweeney, 15.14; 12. Carson Schall, 16.07. 400H (Prelims): 12. James Timmins, 55.68. 4x100m Relay: 7. Portland State 'A' (Brost, Cadengo, Stolp, Macdonald), 41.59. High Jump: Jackson Mathers, NH. Long Jump: 13. Jackson Mathers, 21-00.50 (6.41m); Edward Niyongere, ND; Damien Parrow, ND. Triple Jump: 7. Edward Niyongere, 46-03.25 (14.10m); 11. Jackson Mathers, 44-01.50 (13.45m); 12. Damien Parrow, 42-11.00 (13.08m). Javelin: 10. Henry Glad, 179-06 (54.73m); 12. Carter Green, 144-09 (44.14m).