Bianca Martin has returned to the Park Blocks. A runner for the Vikings in 2013, Martin now serves as a assistant coach for the Portland State cross country and track & field teams, beginning with the 2023 indoor and outdoor track seasons.
In her first season working with the Vikings, Martin helped lead the Vikings to historic finishes at both the Big Sky Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Outdoors, a trio of Vikings posted historic finishes at the conference meet.
Bára Stýblová became the first Viking to score in both the women's 800 and 1,500 meters at a single conference meet since 2013, placing sixth in the 800 and fifth in the 1,500. On the men's side,
Dom Morganti became the first Viking ever to score in the men's 10k, placing fourth overall.
Jordan MacIntosh, meanwhile, became the first Viking since 2006 to score in the men's 1,500 meters, placing fifth overall.
Stýblová was also part of a trio of qualifiers for the NCAA West Prelims. Stýblová, Alex Barbour and Tatum Miller all qualified in the women's steeplechase, giving the Vikings the most qualifiers in the event outside of BYU. Miller and Stýblová traded off the school record in the steeplechase during the regular season. Stýblová initially set the record at the Bryan Clay Invitational on April 13, breaking Sarah Medved's five-year-old mark with a time of 10:17.05. Miller then passed that two weeks later, finishing in 10:14.62 at the OSU High Performance Meet on April 28.
The trio of Barbour, Miller and Stýblová also ran three of the four legs on the Vikings' distance medley relay that placed second at the Big Sky Indoor Championships. That finish followed a school record in the DMR earlier in the season, when those three plus Wendy Hare broke a 16-year-old record in the event with their finish in 11:36.53 at the UW Invitational.
In her one year as a Viking, Martin set the No. 2 all-time marks in the outdoor 800, 3,000 and 5,000 meters. She broke the school record in the 1,500 meters while finishing in 4:23.89 at the Stanford Invitational. Her record would fall the following year, but she still went on to place second in the 1,500 meters at the 2013 Big Sky Outdoor Championships, and compete in the event at the NCAA West Prelims.
Martin went on to compete post-collegiately with Atlanta Track Club Elite, where she’s also volunteered as a coach for Andrew and Amy Yoder Begley. As a coach for ATC Elite, Martin worked closely with Allie Wilson, who placed fourth in the 800 meters at the 2022 USATF Outdoor Championships. Martin also worked with Yolanda Ngarambe, the Swedish record holder in the indoor mile, who finished 2022 with a seasonal best of 4:05 in the 1,500 meters.
Martin started coaching at 19 years old, when she started coaching at Westview High School. Martin assisted at Westview from 2010-14, then again from 2019-21.
Martin’s passion for coaching extends to the mental side of the sport. Martin has worked specifically with injured student-athletes, and created the
Comeback Academy for Injured Athletes to that end.
Portland is in Martin’s roots. She ran for Westview High School in Beaverton from 2004-08. She then competed at the University of New Mexico from 2008-10, before eventually competing and graduating from Portland State in 2013.
Martin came from an athletic family. Her father, Oliver Martin, was a two-time Olympic cyclist (1964 and 1968) and Olympic coach, while her mother, Rebecca Martin, was a two-time national champion cyclist herself. She also has a brother, Nick, who competes as an MMA fighter.
