Ducks Host Two Meets at Hayward Field

EUGENE, Ore. – The Oregon track and field team will host two meets in as many days this weekend at Hayward Field beginning Friday with the Oregon Open. The home stand will carry over into Saturday's Oregon Team Invitational, a seven-team meet that will air live on the Big Ten Network.

The Oregon Team Invitational will feature Oregon, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Texas A&M, Utah and Wichita State. Friday's Open meet will include those same teams along with additional teams from the region.

"I think team competition used to be a bigger part of track and field, collegiately," UO head coach Jerry Schumacher said during Thursday's media availability. "I feel very strongly about it…we're kind of losing that a little bit, collegiately. We feel that any time we can put together a team competition where your entire team gets to participate and compete as a group, that's an important thing for track.

"We want to make sure we do our part to keep that part of track and field alive. This is just our chance to do that here at Oregon."

The Oregon Open gets started Friday with men's javelin up first at 12:50 p.m. Running events, starting with the steeplechase, get going just before 4 p.m. Attendance for the weekend opener is free.

A quartet of Ducks ranked inside the national top 20 of their respective events will be competing Friday. Kyle Gibbs, ranked fourth in the NCAA in the pole vault, will take on his signature event at 5:45 p.m. He became just the eighth man in program history to clear 18 feet—and first since 2017—during the Battle at the Beach (April 4). The event also includes Texas A&M's Aleksandr Solovev and Jack Man III, ranked eighth and 15^th in the country, respectively.

Big weekend at Hayward loading ?? #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/VCLrltsg33
— oregontf (@OregonTF) April 18, 2025

Aidan Elbettar (discus) and Safin Wills (triple jump) enter the weekend ranked 14^th nationally with Kobe Lawrence holding down the No. 18 spot in the NCAA in the shot put. All three will be in action both days of the home weekend.

On the track, Klaudia Kazimierska is set to make her season debut Friday in the women's 800 meters at 6:26 p.m. She'll be joined in section two by teammates Mia Barnett, an NCAA indoor qualifier this past March in the mile, and Samantha McDonnell.

"I'm super excited to open my season at Hayward," Kazimierska said Thursday. "It's a special place for me and I'm excited to be around my teammates and compete for the team. I missed the indoor season so I'm super excited to get back into it and put the uniform on."

Indoor national champion Matthew Erickson will also make his outdoor debut Friday in the men's 1500 meters at 5:03 p.m. He is one of six Ducks entered in the race, along with Simeon Birnbaum, Rheinhart Harrison, Evan Dorenkamp, Koitatoi Kidali and Jeffery Rogers. Erickson and Kidali will then double back for the 800 meters during Saturday's Team Invitational.

The Oregon Team Invitational will play out over a four-hour window and a truncated schedule that will include 11 events in both men's and women's competitions. Field events start at 4 p.m. with the discus followed by running events starting just after 5 p.m., beginning with the 1500 meters.

Our Best vs Their Best??

The Oregon Team Invitational is coming to Hayward Field!

??? Saturday, April 19
?? 5-8 p.m.
??? https://t.co/YsFZ0UWRAb

Fan-friendly, team competition in the PNW.#GoDucks pic.twitter.com/DlTTIGbslW
— oregontf (@OregonTF) April 7, 2025

The head-to-head format will see two entries per team in each event with points on the line toward an unofficial team score.

Tickets for the Oregon Team Invitational are currently on sale. Fans can click HERE for more details.

For more news and information about Oregon cross country and track and field, follow @OregonTF on Facebook, Instagram and X.