PORTLAND, Ore. — Like an Oregonian who forgot whether they turned their stove off or not just as they start a road trip, the Portland State track & field program is doing a U-turn on I-5 as the Vikings head back down to Corvallis for the second straight week. The Vikings will compete at the Pac-12 Open Saturday, a week after they were last at Whyte Track and Field Center for the OSU High Performance Meet.
 
Last week’s trip to the Beavers’ home track was kind to the Vikings, especially to Edward Niyongere, who set a top 10 mark in the triple jump. Niyongere sat eighth in the triple jump standings going into his sixth and final attempt in the competition. That’s when he uncorked a personal best of 48-00.75 (14.65m) to move up to fifth all-time in the event at Portland State.
 
Niyongere will return to the triple jump Saturday while also competing in the men’s long jump.
 
The other two Vikings to set top 10 marks last week – Dieumerci Migani in the men’s long jump, Ania Kapustka in the women’s 3k steeplechase – won’t be in action Saturday. Neither will Emma Stolte, who was a double heat winner between the women’s 800 and 1,500 meters last weekend. Those three will wait for their return the following week at the Big Sky Outdoor Championships in Sacramento.
 
Daniel Coppedge – the school record holder in the weight throw and hammer – figures to join them there, though he’ll first return to action this weekend. Coppedge took last weekend off but is entered in the hammer and discus Saturday.
 

Coppedge set the school record in the hammer at the Oregon Preview on March 21, throwing 186-10 (56.96m). He approached that mark at the last two meets at which he competed, throwing 183-10 (56.05m) at the John Knight Twilight on April 11 and 183-08 (56.00m) at the L&C Larry Byerly Invitational on April 18. Coppedge still has the ability to throw farther, as his personal best remains 193-02 (58.87m) when he was throwing for Clackamas Community College at the 2023 NWAC Championships.
 
Another Viking scheduled to return Saturday will be Portland State football player Micah Avery. With spring practices over for the Viking football team, Avery could make his return to the track in the 100 and 200 meters this weekend.
 

Avery’s only appearance so far during the outdoor season came before spring practices started for the football team at the L&C Electric Forest Opener on March 8. Avery cracked 11 seconds in the 100 meters at that meet, finishing in 10.98 seconds. He also ran the 200 meters in 22.74 seconds.
 
Phoenix Bakkum, Dillon Brost, Ty Hawkins and Braden Latscha will join Avery in the men’s 100 meters. That crew has shown improvements recently. Latscha set personal bests in the 100 and 200 meters last weekend at the OSU High Performance Meet, finishing in 11.20 and 22.91 seconds, respectively. Brost set a seasonal best in the 200 meters with his finish in 22.47 seconds, while Bakkum did the same with his finish in 22.91 seconds.
 
The women’s 800-meter crew also showed out for the Vikings last Saturday. With Stolte leading the way, that group produced two heat wins and three personal or seasonal bests at the OSU High Performance Meet.
 
While Stotle won’t be back this weekend, the Vikings’ other heat winner – Addison Capozzi – will be. Capozzi won her heat by more than a second and a half while finishing in 2:22.98. Taylor Nichols will also be back after cracking 2:20 in the 800 meters for the first time outdoors, setting a personal best with her finish in 2:19.64.
 
Run a good time again Saturday, and the Vikings’ trip back up I-5 to Portland will be a happy one. As long as they’re sure they turned off their burners.
 
MEET INFO
May 10 – Pac-12 Open – Corvallis, Ore. (Whyte Track and Field Center)
 
FOLLOW ALONG
Live Results | Live Video
 
MEET SCHEDULE
Saturday, May 10
Time (PT) – Event (PSU Entries)
10 a.m. – Men’s Javelin (Green)
~11 a.m. – Women’s Javelin (Garcia)
~12 p.m. – Men’s Hammer (Coppedge, Green, LaGris)
1 p.m. – Men’s Long Jump (Becker, Hawkins, Niyongere)
~1 p.m. – Men’s High Jump (Mathers)
2:15 p.m. – Women’s 1,500 Meters (Capozzi, Nichols, Schmitke, Wapsheli)
2:30 p.m. – Men’s 1,500 Meters (Brown, Chen)
2:55 p.m. – Women’s 100-Meter Hurdles (Olivier)
~3 p.m. – Men’s Discus (Coppedge, LaGris)
~3 p.m. – Women’s Shot Put (Garcia)
3:10 p.m. – Men’s 110-Meter Hurdles (Sweeney)
3:25 p.m. – Women’s 400 Meters (Coté, Faust)
3:30 p.m. – Men’s 400 Meters (Olubisi)
3:40 p.m. – Women’s 100 Meters (Wheat)
3:52 p.m. – Men’s 100 Meters (Avery, Bakkum, Brost, Hawkins, Latscha)
4 p.m. – Men’s Triple Jump (Niyongere, Sharps)
4:15 p.m. – Women’s 800 Meters (Brown, Capozzi, Nichols, Schmitke)
4:25 p.m. – Men’s 800 Meters (Brown, Chen, Ramirez, Walsh)
5:20 p.m. – Women’s 200 Meters (Coté, Wheat)
5:30 p.m. – Men’s 200 Meters (Avery, Bakkum, Brost, Kargbo, Latscha, Olubisi)
7:45 p.m. – Men’s 5,000 Meters (Moore, Muradas)
8:10 p.m. – Men’s 10,000 Meters (Ota, Sarver Huber)
 

It began as some informal pickup games three years ago in Manteno’s auxiliary gym.

Now, it’s Manteno’s newest sport: boys volleyball.

“It originally started as some students inviting us out … we would just go out to play some volleyball out in ‘The Palace,’” senior Mason McElroy said. “And eventually we realized that we could turn it into like, a thing. And me, Ben (Milton) and (coach Matt) Clymer kept on bugging staff. Last year we had jerseys, we had a game and this year it’s an actual thing.

“It’s pretty fun to see it all come together.”

“A lot of us started joining club volleyball at Elevate (in Bourbonnais) last year,” Milton said. “And then as the season ended, there were people going back to their high-school teams, getting ready to play. And we realized that we didn’t have a (school) team. That was just the main inspiration to get things going.”

They needed a coach, and Clymer stepped up despite not having much experience with the sport other than watching his daughters play.

“I haven’t been a coach,” he said. “I didn’t play in college. We didn’t have high-school teams back in my day. So that’s been the hardest part …. the learning curve of the stuff that isn’t the volleyball … (like) how to warm up.”

The lack of a feeder program was another hurdle.

“My daughters have been playing since they were 6,” Clymer said. “Most of these boys have just been playing in P.E. and learning all sorts of bad habits and playing in backyards and pools. And so trying to get them to look and act like a real volleyball team has also been a challenge.”

But the Panthers persevered after last spring’s soft launch of the program.

“This year (we thought), let’s turn up the heat and actually get uniforms,” Clymer said. “We have 10 games on the schedule. So it’s been a real whirlwind.”

All the games are nonconference because no other Illinois Central Eight school plays boys volleyball. The Panthers fielded two teams, with the higher-level squad earning wins against JV teams from St. Rita, IC Catholic, Bradley-Bourbonnais and Kankakee Trinity.

The first win, against IC Catholic, “kind of showed us that we can actually do this,” McElroy said. “We had no idea what we were walking into. We didn’t even see any of these teams before.”

The program is senior-heavy with more than half the players graduating this year.

“But I can’t be more proud of these boys (coming) from not even being a thing,” Clymer said. 

Now the challenge will be sustaining and growing the program.

“We’re hoping by showing what we’re doing here (that) we’re gonna inspire people to come out and try out next year, especially eighth-graders coming into high school,” Milton said.

“With no feeder (system), I don’t know that we’re ready to play varsity-level volleyball quite yet,” Clymer said. “I’d love to be (ready) in two, three years and I’ve got a couple of promising freshmen. … So yeah, it’s growing a program from scratch. We’re gonna do it, it’s gonna be awesome.”

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By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director

PIEDMONT – Piedmont track and field coach Patrick Walker said he recently came across a photo of senior Katie Brown’s first year on the Bulldog track and field team.

Walker recalled Brown being in seventh grade then. She was small in stature, but through the years she grew into a big-time talent for the Bulldogs.

“Coach Grace Cantrell was the one who got her out for track. She kind of recruited the middle school for us,” Walker said. “Just to watch her grow up and succeed, do everything she’s been asked to do, if every athlete was like her, it would be the most enjoyable job in the world.

“She’s a great student. She does everything right. She just does everything you wished everybody would do. She’s pretty hard-nosed.”

Being that hard-nosed hurdler, runner and jumper has served Brown and the Bulldog program well through the years. Now it’s led to Brown signing a scholarship with Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss. She’ll join former Bulldog Claudia Dempsey on the Majors’ track and field team.

“I’ve been doing this since seventh grade, and then all of a sudden, my senior year hit,” Brown said. “Indoor ended and outdoor started getting toward the end, and I was like ‘I cannot stop running.’”

Brown decided to apply to Millsaps College after talking with Dempsey.  Dempsey helped get her in touch with Millsaps men’s and women’s cross country and track and field head coach Brandon Becket, and the rest was history.

“Claudia graduated from Piedmont last year. She was on the relay teams with me. She went down there and ran this year, and she told their coach about me. He was like ‘She sounds great’ so I went down there for a visit and stayed with Claudia. I went to their practices. Their coach really wanted me. I’m super excited to go there because I love running and hurdling and jumping. I’ve wanted to do this for a while now.”

Brown won a gold medal in the 300-meter hurdles at the Class 3A, Section 3 meet two weeks ago in Lincoln. Her time was 52.66 seconds. She also placed third in the high jump (4-10.00) and was part of the Lady Bulldog 4×100, 4×400 and 4×800 meter relay teams.

“People don’t realize she’s really fast. She was the anchor leg on our 4×1 team,” Walker said. “She hasn’t run a lot of sprints for me because I always needed her to jump, but she’s always done everything she’s been asked to do. It’s gratifying to see her go on (to college).”

Brown gave thanks to her Piedmont track and field coaches, especially Walker, for believing in her.

“Our coaches are always pushing us to run to the best of our abilities,” she said. “At the end of the day, I don’t think I could do this without Coach Walker. He believes in me. He’s put me in events I say I don’t think I can do, but he puts me in them because he knows I can. He’s the reason why I’m good at hurdles.

“I was like ‘No way am I going to do hurdles’ but he was like ‘Just go and practice them.’ Ever since then I’ve been doing good at them.”

Better than just good, Walker said.

“Track doesn’t come easy to a lot of people. I won’t say it came easy for her, but she was willing to sacrifice and work hard to get it. I think she’s got a lot of upside when she goes down there (to Millsaps). If she continues to do the things she’s done. There’s no telling what she can accomplish. I know she’ll go off and make our school and our community proud. She’ll represent us with a lot of class.”

Brown said she’s up for the challenge.

“It’s a hard sport. It’s an individual sport. You’ve got to push yourself, but that’s why I like track,” she said. “I think it’s pretty cool I can sign and go somewhere for it. I can find myself there, find what I’m going to do with my life and run at the same time. It’s bittersweet to leave here, but I’m excited for it.”

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The high school boys volleyball state tournament continues Thursday.

This year, the top four teams all enter with undefeated records.

Hilo has the ideal resume: a perfect record of 14-0, newly crowned BIIF Champs, and extra motivation.

The Vikings are in the exact same spot they found themselves in last year, facing Kamehameha Schools Kapalama in the quarterfinals.

Except one year ago, they were swept while the Warriors went on to win it all.

“Boys volleyball is traditionally dominated by the Oahu teams, and we’re trying to crack into that,” said Vikings head coach Adam Tuifagu.

He makes a valid point. The last time a neighbor island school won the DI state title was in 1969.

Ironically enough, that team was Hilo.

Since then, it’s been long dominated by the powerhouse school of Punahou with 39 state titles.

“In the past, maybe league championship woulda been the goal. Okay we can go home happy, all pau, but for these guys having been there before, knowing that their goals are set higher is something that I’ve been fortunate enough to witness,” said Tuifagu.

Just by watching film, the Vikings don’t have the height that some of these other teams do. But what they lack in one department, they make up for it in another.

“You don’t have to be tall to be good or to demolish on the court,” said outside hitter Maluhia Tandal.

Tuifagu added, “We know height is a factor. That does impact the game, but it’s not a factor that we can control so we focus on the things that we can control.”

For a scrappy team like Hilo, the state tournament is more than just crowning a champion at the end of it.

It’s a way to get exposure for hidden gems like Tandal.

“I think he’s one of the best volleyball players we’ve ever had come out of this island,” said Tuifagu.

Tuifagu says Tandal is a player that has the skills, but just needs the opportunity to shine.

“We’re going to train for one year straight so we can at least get a scholarship for DIII or DII colleges out there,” said Tandal.

Tuifagu added, “Malu, he’s gonna take the year to train, but yeah, any school, I’m still trying to convince him, you know, give Charlie Wade a call or next time you see Charlie Wade have him call me.”

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This weekend the University of Minnesota Duluth track and field teams will compete in the 2025 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Outdoor Conference Championships. The best part? All the action, from Thursday May 8, through Saturday May 10, will take place right here on the University of Minnesota Duluth’s campus at Malosky Stadium. 

UMD will play host to all schools within the NSIC, which is a total of 14 programs for the women, and 11 for the men. 

Decathlon and Heptathlon events will kick off on Thursday, but the first event of the meet for a Bulldog student athlete will be the men’s hammer throw Friday morning at 11:00 a.m.

“We have 60 student athletes that have qualified for this conference meet and we are excited because we believe each and every one of them can have an impact,” said head coach Karly Brautigam. “I think we have as well rounded a team as we’ve had at the conference level and with it being at home, I know the energy is incredibly high!” 

Brautigam is especially excited about both the men’s and women’s 4x100m and 4x400m relays. This is the first time since she has taken over the program that all Bulldog relays are ranked top-four in the NSIC.

Leading the charge in the women’s 800m event group with the ninth-best average times among all NCAA Division II programs, Savannah Schley will be looking to put a bow on her succesfull outdoor season so far. The senior has been a consistent All-Conference performer over the past four seasons, and is currently second in the NSIC and 25th nationally.

In the women’s triple jump, sophomore Erin Steinman and freshman Alyssah Larson are expected to have strong showings. Both women placed in the indoor conference championship a few months ago. 

Junior Jackson Weston is also an athlete that Brautigam expects will have a great weekend. He is seeded fourth in shot put and ninth in the hammer throw. 

Distance coach Brette Jensen is looking forward to graduate student Shae Hostager’s race in the women’s 10k. She is currently ranked third in the NSIC and 22nd nationally in the event. Shae recently broke the school record in the 10k at the Drake relay, and is also seeded top 10 in the NSIC 5k. 

Additionally, Jensen is excited for reigning 5k indoor conference champion fifth year Jack Van Kempen. He will race in both the men’s steeplechase (ranked third), as well as the 5k, in which he is also ranked in the top 10 in the conference. In the 5k, Van Kempen is currently the school record holder, and also holds the second all-time spot at UMD in the steeplechase. 

Coming off a runner-up all-conference finish in the men’s 3k at the indoor conference championships, fellow fifth year Owen Dickenson is also expected to show up big this weekend. He is currently ranked fourth in the 1500m and fifth in the 800m in the NSIC. 

Follow along with the events of the weekend here.