DMR Weekend Produces Collegiate Record

Friday, February 21

Fayetteville, AR

All Day

University of Oregon

Arkansas Qualifier

wDMR, post race CR at BU DMR Challenge (Feb. 21)

Photo by: Eliza Nuestro

02/21/25 | Track and Field

Julia Nielsen, Moriah Oliveira, Mia Barnett and Silan Ayyildiz ran 10:42.05 in Boston.

EUGENE, Ore. – With their eyes on a season best to improve their NCAA ranking in the distance medley relay, the Women of Oregon did just that with a collegiate-record performance at the Terrier Challenge in Boston. The quartet of Julia Nielsen, Moriah Oliveira, Mia Barnett and Silan Ayyildiz ran 10:42.05 in a two-second victory at the BU Track & Tennis Center.

The Ducks entered the weekend with a season best of 10:48.45 but were nearly six seconds behind the group of teams that ran 10:42 and faster last week in Seattle. With Friday's performance, Oregon is up into fifth on the national descending order list.

Nielsen, Oliveira, Barnett and Ayyildiz took more than a full second off the previous collegiate record of 10:43.39 set by Washington a season ago, also on the BU track. The Oregon school record of 10:47.50 was also replaced Friday, a time just over a year old.

The NCAA-leading time of 10:37.58 by BYU was run last week on the oversize track in Seattle. Lap races on oversized tracks are not eligible for collegiate records.

In the first result of the day, the UO men clocked a time of 9:21.23 in their first distance medley relay of the season at the Arkansas qualifier in Fayetteville, Ark. Based on times entering the weekend, Oregon moved to fourth nationally with several meets on the chaotic 'DMR Weekend' schedule still to come.

**Update: The Oregon men sit ninth after Friday evening's Terrier DMR Challenge in Boston.

The team of James Harding, Fuad Omer, Matthew Erickson and Elliott Cook becomes the No. 3 quartet in program history in the event, and the UO men's first new top-10 entry since the 2021 season.

Later in the meet, Erickson led a group of four Ducks to top-10 finishes in the 800 meters. He clocked a time of 1:47.28 for a third-place result followed by Koitatoi Kidali (1:48.01) in sixth, Cook (1:48.15 SB) in seventh and Harding (1:48.38) in eighth.

The Oregon men also added an eighth sub-4:00 performer with Evan Bishop dipping below the barrier for the first time in his career. Bishop crossed the line in 3:59.28 to finish sixth overall and fifth among collegians in the Arkansas Qualifier field. Two weeks ago, Bishop just missed the mark with his 4:00.35 during the Razorback Invitational, also in Fayetteville.

The Ducks' postseason begins next weekend with the Big Ten Indoor Championships (Feb. 28-March 1) at the Fall Creek Pavilion in Indianapolis, Ind. At the end of the NCAA qualifying window which includes the conference meet, the top 16 declared athletes in each event and top 12 relays advance to the 2025 NCAA Indoor Championships (March 14-15) in Virginia Beach, Va.

Arkansas Qualifier (Fayetteville, Ark.)
MEN
800 Meters
3. Matthew Erickson – 1:47.28
6. Koitatoi Kidali – 1:48.01
7. Elliott Cook – 1:48.15 (SB)
8. James Harding – 1:48.38
14. Ben Greene – 1:50.37 (SB)

Mile
6. Evan Bishop – 3:59.28 (PB)

Distance Medley Relay
3. James Harding, Fuad Omer, Matthew Erickson, Elliott Cook – 9:21.23 (UO #3)

Terrier DMR Challenge (Boston, Mass.)
WOMEN
Distance Medley Relay
1. Julia Nielsen, Moriah Oliveira, Mia Barnett, Silan Ayyildiz – 10:42.05 (UO #1, CR)

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