Oregon junior Simeon Birnbaum set a new collegiate record in the 1500 meters during the second day of the Oregon Team Invitational at Hayward Field, according to an April 18 announcement from the university. Birnbaum finished with a time of 3:31.69, surpassing the previous mark of 3:33.02 set by Villanova’s Liam Murphy in March last year.
Birnbaum’s performance was part of a strong showing for the Ducks, who collected twelve event wins and seven top-10 program marks on Saturday. Emily Fitzsimmons also broke a school record in pole vault, clearing 4.48 meters to eclipse Becky Holliday’s previous mark that had stood since 2003.
The meet featured standout performances from several Oregon athletes. Kai Graves-Blanks and PJ Ize-Iyamu were double winners and helped lead their men’s relay team to a season-best time of 38.94 seconds in the 4×100 meter relay—ranking sixth all-time for Oregon. On the women’s side, Amirah Shaheed contributed as part of both victorious relay teams and led a strong finish in the individual sprints.
Other notable results included Daniel Thrana’s debut javelin throw of over seventy-eight meters, making him third all-time at Oregon and fifth nationally this season; Ben Smith won shot put with a personal best that moved him to fourth on Oregon’s all-time list; Silan Ayyildiz and Ben Smith each claimed their second victories of the weekend; Marie Josée Bovele-Linaka secured first place in women’s discus.
In team scoring, Oregon women took first place with three hundred three points while men finished third with one hundred sixty-eight points against teams including Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Utah, Weber State and Wichita State.
Ticket packages are available for upcoming home meets including next month’s Oregon Twilight and June’s NCAA Championships.
