Ocean Rideout of Portland State finished seventh in the heptathlon at the Big Sky Outdoor Championships on May 14, becoming the first Viking to score in the event since 2019.
This achievement is notable as it marks a return to scoring for Portland State athletes in the multi-events after several years. Rideout’s performance highlights her improvement throughout the competition and sets a new standard for future participants from her team.
Rideout began the second day of competition ranked sixteenth but improved her position by nine spots, finishing with 4,498 points. This score places her ninth all-time among Portland State athletes in the heptathlon. She achieved personal bests in three of five events she had previously competed in and set top ten marks for Portland State’s heptathlon history in six out of seven events during this meet.
Her strongest event was the long jump, where she placed third with a mark of 18-10.75 (5.76m), which moved her up to third all-time for Portland State’s heptathlon long jump results and brought her close to entering their overall top ten list for that event. In javelin—a discipline she had not attempted before—she placed eighth with a throw of 94-05 (28.79m), earning a spot as seventh all-time among Vikings’ heptathletes.
Rideout secured scoring position by running a personal best time of 2:29.37 in the 800 meters, overtaking two competitors ahead of her and moving up to ninth all-time at Portland State for that event within a heptathlon context.
She is also entered into additional individual events at these championships, including long jump and 100 meters, as well as being part of Portland State’s relay pool for the women’s 4×100-meter relay.
