Kaila Gibson

Title

Volunteer Assistant Coach

Kaila Gibson elevated the Vikings' cross country and track & field programs as a runner, so it's only appropriate she do so as a volunteer assistant coach. In her first year in a coaching capacity, the Vikings took a huge leap forward during the 2021 cross country season. For the first time in program history, the Vikings had representation at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships. Katie Camarena inserted some Viking green into the national meet after placing fifth at the NCAA West Regional, and finished 70th overall out of 250 of the best runners in the country.

Camarena’s appearance at nationals tied the bow around a season that included the:

Best men’s team finish at NCAA West Regional (8th)
Best women’s team finish at NCAA West Regional (11th, tied)
Best women’s team finish at Big Sky Championships (3rd)
Best individual finishes for a Viking woman at the Big Sky (3rd), NCAA West Regional (5th) and NCAA D1 National meets (70th, Katie Camarena every time)
Best individual finish for a Viking man at the Big Sky Championships (14th, tied, by Jordan MacIntosh)
First Top 10 regional ranking in USTFCCCA West Region (men ranked ninth on Oct. 18)

The Viking men’s eighth-place finish at the NCAA West Regional halved their previous best finish of 16th. Additionally, the Viking women’s third-place finish at conference beat their previous best finish by two spots.

The Viking women’s entire top five finished among the first 30 runners at the Big Sky meet, as depth was a theme throughout the season. The Vikings had never placed more than three runners in the top 30 before the 2021 meet, let alone five. The Vikings accomplished a similar feat at the NCAA West Regional where both teams placed their entire top five among the first 100 finishers. The men nearly placed their entire top five among the first 75 finishers, missing out by only two spots, while the women were one spot away from putting six runners in the top 100 of their race.

The highlight of the 2021 cross country season remained Camarena’s accomplishments, however. A transfer from UC Santa Barbara, Camarena made a quick impact in her time on the Park Blocks, as she would either set or become the Vikings’:

First national cross country qualifier in Division I program history
First USTFCCCA All-Region honoree in cross country
Best individual finish at Big Sky Championships (4th)
Best individual finish at NCAA West Regional (5th)
4k school record (at Viking Rust Buster, Sept. 3)
5k school record (at Big Sky Championships, Oct. 29)
6k school record (at Santa Clara Bronco Invitational, Oct. 16)

Camarena's success continued into the 2022 track & field indoor season in which she swept the Portland State school records in the 800 meters, mile, 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters. Camarena's records in the mile and 3k also set new standards within the Big Sky Conference, and came on back-to-back days at the Husky Classic. Camarena became the first woman ever in the Big Sky Conference ever to crack nine minutes in the 3k while finishing in 8:57.08. Camarena then followed with an even-more-impressive mile race the following day as she beat out a deep field that included BYU's Courtney Wayment and Elizabeth Bird, a 2020 Olympic Finalist in the steeplechase for Great Britain. Camarena's winning time of 4:32.27 broke a 19-year-old conference record that Northern Arizona's Johanna Nilsson set in 2003.

Camarena went on to become the Vikings' first-ever double qualifier for the NCAA Indoor Championships, as she finished the regular season ranked third and 11th nationally in the mile and 3k, respectively. Camarena finished ninth and 13th in the finals of both events, making her the Vikings' first-ever two-time NCAA Second-Team All-American.

The NCAA Indoor Championships wrapped up Camarena's Viking career, which was admittedly short but incredibly impactful. In just one cross country and one indoor track & field season, Camarena:

Set 7 school records (Cross Country: 4k, 5k, 6k; Indoor: 800m, mile, 3k, 5k)
Set 2 Big Sky Conference Records (indoor mile, 3k)
Became the first woman in Big Sky Conference history to crack nine minutes in the indoor 3k (8:57.08 at the Husky Classic on Feb. 11)
Became the first Viking to qualify for the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships
Became the Vikings' first qualifier for the NCAA Indoor Championships since Geronne Black in 2013, and the only Viking ever to qualify in two different events in the same year
Became the Vikings' first two-time NCAA second-team All-American during the Division I era

Outside of Camarena, the Viking men set three school records during the 2022 indoor track & field season between two for Jordan MacIntosh and another for Keynan Abdi. MacIntosh and Abdi both went under the old record in the indoor 3k at the UW Indoor Preview, with MacIntosh finishing in 8:07.94 and Abdi in 8:14.04. MacIntosh then set the indoor mile record at 4:04.28 at the UW Invitational, while Abdi followed with the indoor 5k record (14:17.70) at the Husky Classic.

The 2022 outdoor season saw Chase Lovercheck return to the Big Sky podium in the 800 meters. Lovercheck made a surprise podium appearance as a freshman in 2019, but then battled the pandemic and a foot injury over the next two years before returning to the podium as a senior. Lovercheck placed second in the conference in a new personal best of 1:50.24. His time, which got altitude-adjusted down to sub-1:50, qualified him for the NCAA West Prelims, making him the first Viking to qualify in the 800 meters since Tony Crisofulli in 2011.

MacIntosh added another school record late in the outdoor season at the Bell Canadian Track & Field Championships. MacIntosh finished fourth at the Canadian national meet in a time of 8:35.44, which bettered the record Josh Snyder set a year before. MacIntosh's time would have ranked him 13th in the NCAA had he competed during the collegiate season.