Oregon Qualifies 17 for NCAA Outdoor Championships After Strong Showing at West Prelims
Oregon track and field wrapped up a productive weekend at the NCAA West First Round, earning 17 entries eight men and nine women for the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Championships, which will be held June 11–14 at Hayward Field in Eugene. The Ducks’ performance over the four-day regional meet was highlighted by clutch efforts, personal bests, and dramatic late-round surges across a wide range of events including sprints, distance races, field events, and relays.
Early Momentum from Wills and Lawrence
The competition kicked off in Texas with strong showings from Safin Wills and Kobe Lawrence, who each secured early bids to nationals. Wills, a seasoned senior making his fourth NCAA Outdoor appearance, landed a final-round long jump of 7.67m (25-2), catapulting him from 18th to 10th place. Lawrence, competing in his first NCAA postseason, opened with a 19.38m (63-7) shot put mark to place sixth and qualify for his first national championship.
Wills later doubled in the triple jump, leaping 15.88m (52-1.25) on his final attempt to claim the 12th and final qualifying spot, making him the first Oregon athlete since 2005 to qualify in both horizontal jumps in the same season.
Distance Strength Shines for Oregon Men
Oregon’s depth in the middle-distance events was on full display, with three 1500 meter runners and two in the 800 meters earning national spots. Freshman Simeon Birnbaum led the way with a 3:39.79 in the 1500, the only sub-3:40 time in the quarterfinals. NCAA indoor champ Matthew Erickson (1:47.07) and Koitatoi Kidali (1:47.17) both moved on in the 800 with solid heat performances.
In the distance events, Benjamin Balazs turned in a standout effort in the steeplechase, running a personal-best 8:31.13 more than three seconds faster than his previous best to earn his first NCAA berth and climb to No. 7 on Oregon’s all-time list.
Aidan Elbettar also qualified in the field events, recording a 58.25m (191-1) discus throw to take the final spot in the top 12. The UCLA transfer will be making his second career NCAA Outdoor appearance.
Women Add Nine Qualifiers, Led by Record Efforts
The Oregon women secured three early entries and added six more in the final two days of the meet. Heptathlete Annika Williams had already qualified thanks to her 5,914-point personal best. On Thursday, she was joined by Diana Cherotich, who finished second in the 10,000 meters in 33:43.18, and Emily Fitzsimmons, who cleared a lifetime best 4.42m (14-6) in the pole vault becoming Oregon’s first women’s qualifier in the event since 2014.
Saturday’s events brought a surge of qualifiers. Aaliyah McCormick delivered a standout 12.74 in the 100-meter hurdles, a personal best that ranks No. 2 in Oregon history and No. 2 in the NCAA this season.
Three Ducks advanced in the 1500 meters: Klaudia Kazimierska (4:06.53), Silan Ayyildiz (4:06.61, a personal best and No. 4 in UO history), and Mia Barnett (4:10.88), who qualified for the third year in a row.
In the triple jump, senior Ryann Porter moved into 12th place with a clutch final jump of 13.42m (44-0.5), winning the tiebreaker with her superior second-best mark.
Oregon’s 4×100-meter relay team of Shaniya Hall, Lily Jones, Brazil Neal, and Amirah Shaheed capped the weekend by qualifying in 43.89 just .02 off their season best. Hall and Jones return from last year’s NCAA finalist squad.
Oregon NCAA Championships Qualifiers
Men (8 Entries):
Safin Wills – Long Jump, Triple Jump
Kobe Lawrence – Shot Put
Aidan Elbettar – Discus
Simeon Birnbaum – 1500 Meters
Matthew Erickson – 800 Meters
Koitatoi Kidali – 800 Meters
Benjamin Balazs – Steeplechase
Women (9 Entries):
Annika Williams – Heptathlon
Diana Cherotich – 10,000 Meters
Emily Fitzsimmons – Pole Vault
Aaliyah McCormick – 100m Hurdles
Klaudia Kazimierska – 1500 Meters
Silan Ayyildiz – 1500 Meters
Mia Barnett – 1500 Meters
Ryann Porter – Triple Jump
Hall, Jones, Neal, Shaheed – 4x100m Relay
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