Oregon keeps stacking trophies.
For the second year in a row, the Ducks swept the team titles at the Big Ten Indoor Championships, with both the men and women leaving Indianapolis as conference champions. The Men of Oregon piled up 114 points to finish ahead of Penn State’s 96, while the women scored 101 to hold off Illinois at 93 and USC at 81.
That kind of dominance is becoming the standard. Since joining the Big Ten, Oregon has claimed
eight of the 10 available conference titles across cross country and track and field. Both programs now own four Big Ten team championships, and three of those have come as full-on sweeps.
The men got there by scoring in 12 of 18 events across the three-day meet, delivering the kind of depth that wins championships. Oregon’s biggest late punch came in the 3,000 meters, where the Ducks racked up 20 points in the second-to-last track event of the weekend. Simeon Birnbaum led a 1-3-5 finish and picked up his second Big Ten title of the meet after already winning the 5,000 on Thursday. Combined with an 11-point showing in the shot put, Oregon built a lead heading into the 4×400 relay that Penn State could not erase.
There was plenty more behind that push. Tomas Palfrey finished second in the mile, Kai Graves-Blanks was runner-up in the 60-meter hurdles, and Ben Smith placed second in the shot put. Palfrey and Elliott Cook went 2-3 in the mile, while Benjamin Balazs added a third-place finish in the 3,000 and Tre Betts took third in the triple jump.
The women had a little more drama, but the ending was the same.
Locked in a tight fight with No. 1 Illinois, Oregon delivered 59 points on the final day and flipped the meet with three event titles. Silan Ayyildiz won the mile, Juliet Cherubet captured the 3,000, and Aaliyah McCormick defended her title in the 60 hurdles.
Ayyildiz was spectacular all weekend, adding the mile crown to the 5,000-meter title she won Thursday. Oregon also got a second-place finish from Wilma Nielsen in the mile, with Cherubet taking sixth in that race before coming back to win the 3,000. Her time of 8:53.81 set a meet record, just ahead of Ayyildiz at 8:53.87, and gave Cherubet her first conference title as a Duck and the second of her career.
That 3,000 turned the entire meet.
Oregon entered the race trailing Illinois by 12 points, then exploded for 22 points to swing that deficit into a 10-point lead with only the 4×400 relay left. Illinois managed just two points in the relay, finishing seventh, and the Ducks closed it out from there.
McCormick added another record-breaking moment, running 7.89 in the 60 hurdles to break the Big Ten Indoor Championships meet record of 7.95 that had stood since 2012. The win gave her three Big Ten titles overall, including two indoor crowns and one outdoor title in the 100-meter hurdles.
At this point, Oregon is not just adjusting to life in the Big Ten. The Ducks are owning it.
Up Next
Oregon waits for the NCAA Indoor Championships field to be finalized. The top 16 declared athletes in each event, along with the top 12 relays, will advance to the national meet March 13-14 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Thursday Results
MEN
200 Meters
13. Grant Valley – 21.27
600 Meters – prelims
7. Matthew Erickson – 1:16.52q (PB)
24. Ben Greene – 1:20.53 (PB)
5,000 Meters
1. Simeon Birnbaum – 13:45.78 [10 points]
4. Abdel Laadjel – 13:51.74 [5 points]
5. Benjamin Balazs – 13:56.44 [4 points]
7. Evan Bishop – 13:59.95 [2 point]
–. Connor Burns – DQ (interference)
Distance Medley Relay
2. Palfrey/Omer/Evans/Cook – 9:38.85 [8 points]
Heptathlon – Day 1
1. Aiden Carter – 3,297 points
3. 60 Meters – 7.01 [879]
2. Long Jump – 7.36m/24-1.75 [900]
4. Shot Put – 12.71m/41-8.5 (PB) [650]
1. High Jump – 2.07m/6-9.5 (PB) [868]
WOMEN
200 Meters – prelims
12. Amirah Shaheed – 23.88
14. Brazil Neal – 24.12
5,000 Meters
1. Silan Ayyildiz – 15:37.90 (PB, FR, UO #5) [10 points]
2. Diana Cherotich – 15:39.45 [8 points]
3. Juliet Cherubet – 15:42.39 [6 points]
10. Katie Clute – 16:10.72
Distance Medley Relay
6. McDonnell/Doht-Barron/Markow/Nielsen – 10:59.74 [3 points]
Pole Vault
–. Emily Fitzsimmons – NH
Pentathlon
4. Liisa-Maria Lusti – 4,252 points [5 points]
5. 60m Hurdles – 8.49 [1,019]
4. High Jump – 1.70m/5-7 [855]
14. Shot Put – 10.94m/35-10.75 [591]
1. Long Jump – 6.38m/20-11.25 [969]
7. 800 Meters – 2:20.44 (SB) [818]
Friday Results
MEN
60 Meters – prelims
4. PJ Ize-Iyamu – 6.61q (PB, =UO #4)
15. Grant Valley – 6.77
800 Meters – prelims
7. Matthew Erickson – 1:47.55Q
13. James Harding – 1:49.04
–. Cain Evans – DNS
Mile – prelims
1. Elliott Cook – 4:00.67Q
14. Tomas Palfrey – 4:04.40Q
60m Hurdles – prelims
1. Kai Graves-Blanks – 7.63Q (PB, UO #2)
Long Jump
4. Peyton Bair – 7.56m/24-9.75 [5 points]
5. Titouan Bizet – 7.54m/24-9 [4 points]
Heptathlon – Day 2/Final
1. Aiden Carter – 5,815 points (PB, UO #6^) [10 points]
1. 60m Hurdles – 7.99 [984]
2. Pole Vault – 4.80m/15-9 (PB) [849]
12. 1,000 Meters – 2:57.88 [685]
WOMEN
60 Meters – prelims
6. Brazil Neal – 7.37Q (=PB)
9. Lily Jones – 7.40 (SB)
16. Amirah Shaheed – 7.46
800 Meters – prelims
13. Samantha McDonnell – 2:06.93 (PB)
20. Allura Markow – 2:08.87
Mile – prelims
1. Wilma Nielsen – 4:33.08Q (FR)
2. Silan Ayyildiz – 4:37.57Q
6. Juliet Cherubet – 4:39.59Q
60m Hurdles – prelims
1. Aaliyah McCormick – 8.00Q
High Jump
16. Toby Stolberg – 1.70m/5-7
Long Jump
2. Liisa-Maria Lusti – 6.40m/21-0 [8 points]
7. Loren Webster – 6.29m/20-7.75 (PB, UO #7) [2 points]
12. Cassandra Atkins – 6.00m/19-8.25 (PB)
Saturday Results
MEN (top 5)
1. Oregon – 114
2. Penn State – 96
3. Iowa – 61
4. Michigan – 52.5
5. Wisconsin – 47
60 Meters
5. PJ Ize-Iyamu – 6.63 [4 points]
600 Meters
8. Matthew Erickson – 1:17.20 [1 point]
800 Meters
7. Matthew Erickson – 1:48.35 [2 points]
Mile
2. Tomas Palfrey – 4:11.61 [8 points]
3. Elliott Cook – 4:12.49 [6 points]
3,000 Meters
1. Simeon Birnbaum – 7:59.87 [10 points]
3. Benjamin Balazs – 8:01.47 [6 points]
5. Connor Burns – 8:02.22 [4 points]
10. Tomas Palfrey – 8:06.03
15. Elliott Cook – 8:09.87
60m Hurdles
2. Kai Graves-Blanks – 7.62 (PB) [8 points]
4x400m Relay
12. Omer/Harding/Valley/Carter – 3:14.69
Pole Vault
–. Tyler Burns – NH
Triple Jump
3. Tre Betts – 15.98m/52-5.25 (PB, UO #5) [6 points]
Shot Put
2. Ben Smith – 19.93m/65-4.75 (PB) [8 points]
6. Kobe Lawrence – 19.29m/63-3.5 [3 points]
WOMEN (top 5)
1. Oregon – 101
2. Illinois – 93
3. USC – 81
4. Nebraska – 63.5
5. Washington – 54
60 Meters
6. Brazil Neal – 7.37 (=PB) [3 points]
Mile
1. Silan Ayyildiz – 4:37.88 [10 points]
2. Wilma Nielsen – 4:38.05 [8 points]
6. Juliet Cherubet – 4:41.93 [3 points]
3,000 Meters
1. Juliet Cherubet – 8:53.81 (MR, FR) [10 points]
2. Silan Ayyildiz – 8:53.87 [8 points]
5. Diana Cherotich – 8:59.61 [4 points]
15. Katie Clute – 9:21.41
60m Hurdles
1. Aaliyah McCormick – 7.89 (MR, FR, PB) [10 points]
Triple Jump
6. Cassandra Atkins – 13.07m/42-10.75 [3 points]
17. Maleigha Canaday-Elliott – 12.54m/41-1.75
