Portland State head track and field coach Joseph Blue said on March 20 that his team focused on execution during the first day of the PNW Invite at Whyte Track and Field Center in Corvallis, Oregon. The Vikings responded by breaking two school records, setting a freshman record, achieving four overall top 10 marks, and earning six freshman marks.
The significance of these achievements lies in the continued progress of Portland State’s athletes as they approach NCAA qualifying standards. Blue said before the meet, “If we can do that [execute], everything else will take care of itself.”
Daniel Coppedge broke his own men’s hammer throw record for the fourth time in his career, surpassing 60 meters for the first time with a mark of 197-10 (60.32m). He exceeded his previous record on five out of six attempts during the event. Emma Stolte set a new women’s 1,500-meter record with a time of 4:21.80 despite recovering from the flu earlier in the week. This was her second school record of 2026 after previously setting an indoor 800-meter mark.
Freshman Jack Macdonald established a new freshman record in the men’s 200 meters with a time of 21.46 seconds, moving up to fourth all-time at Portland State. Avonlea Edwards improved her personal best by more than ten feet in the women’s hammer throw, now ranking third among freshmen and fifth overall at Portland State.
Other notable performances included Ari Smith placing third overall in the men’s 1,500 meters with a personal best that moved him to second among freshmen at Portland State. Several other athletes achieved personal bests across various events.
The Vikings are scheduled to continue competition at the PNW Invite on Saturday, with Henry Glad opening events for men’s javelin and Savannah Beasley starting on track with women’s hurdles. Blue’s message remains consistent: “Execute.”
