PORTLAND, Ore. — Emma Stolte turned the 2025-26 school year into a season of rewriting the Portland State track & field record book. She added one more line item of history Thursday, becoming the first Viking since 2013 – and only the third ever – to qualify for the NCAA West First Round in the 1,500 meters.
Stolte will now head to Fayetteville, Ark., next week. She'll race in the first round of the women's 1,500 meters at 4:30 p.m. PT / 6:30 p.m. CT Thursday. Should she advance, she will run in the quarterfinals Saturday (3:15 p.m. PT / 5:15 p.m. CT) with the chance to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, June 10-13, in Eugene, Ore.
Stolte qualified on the back of her school record of 4:20.17 at the Bryan Clay Invitational on April 18. That was her second school record in the 1,500 meters of the season. She initially broke a 12-year-old record in the event with her time of 4:21.80 at the PNW Invite on March 20.
The 1,500-meter record was one of three Stolte set this season. She also set the school records in the indoor 800 meters and outdoor 5k (twice).
The records served as preface for Stolte's biggest accomplishment of the season, as she became the first Viking in school history to win the Big Sky Conference title in the outdoor 5k. It was the first individual title for the Vikings in any event since 2019.
The title came in front of Stolte's home fans at last week's Big Sky Outdoor Championships – the Vikings' first home conference meet in 13 seasons – and followed a second-place finish in the 1,500 meters. Stolte was the first Viking since 2017 to make the conference podium in two different events. Additionally, her 18 points were the most since Genna Settle scored 20 at the 2017 conference outdoor meet.
Stolte's two podium finishes outdoors followed an all-conference finish at the Big Sky Cross Country Championships in the fall. Her three all-Big Sky honors over the course of the 2025-26 academic year are the most by a Viking in 10 seasons.
Stolte heads into next week's NCAA West First Round as an underdog. She's 48th in a 48-runner field in the 1,500 meters where only 12 will advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
But don't be surprised if Stolte sets more history next week. She's done it all year.
