Wednesday, May 28
Bryan-College Station, TX
All Day
University of Oregon
at
NCAA West First Round
Wills, Lawrence Qualify for NCAA Championships
05/28/25 | Track and Field
The Men of Oregon advanced six into Friday’s quarterfinal rounds.
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – On day one of the NCAA West First Round, Oregon field standouts Safin Wills and Kobe Lawrence qualified for the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Wills, in his first of two events this week, qualified in the long jump while Lawrence secured a spot in the shot put. The UO men also advanced six into Friday's quarterfinal round.
Wills was the team's first NCAA Championships qualifier of the weekend with his top-12 showing in the long jump. On his final jump of the day, he got out to a measure of 7.67m/25-2 and moved from 18th to 10th in the overall standings. Wills' mark stood up through the remainder of the competition, surpassed by just one other jumper.
The Saint Andrew, Jamaica, native will be making his fourth appearance at the NCAA Outdoor meet, and second in the long jump (Purdue, '22). Wills is also entered in the triple jump which will take place Friday at 12:30 p.m. PT.
Lawrence will be making his NCAA Championships debut thanks to a qualifying effort in the shot put. On his first attempt of the evening, he got the implement out to 19.38m/63-7 which was good for sixth. The redshirt freshman started his postseason at Hayward Field, finishing third at the Big Ten Championships.
The Ducks went 3-for-3 in the opening round of the 1500 meters. Rheinhardt Harrison, Evan Dorenkamp and Simeon Birnbaum all grabbed a top-five finish in their respective heat to automatically advance into Friday's quarterfinal round (ESPN+, 3:15 p.m. PT).
Birnbaum is also entered in the 5,000 meters Friday which will start approximately 2.5 hours after those heats of the 1500.
Rodrick Pleasant ran his way into the quarterfinals of the 100 meters. He crossed the finish line in 10.37 to get one of the six on-time spots into the next round. Friday's heats will go off at 4:35 p.m. PT.
The UO men also advanced Koitatoi Kidali and Matthew Erickson into the quarterfinal round of the 800 meters. Kidali posted a season-best time of 1:47.12 while Erickson, the NCAA indoor champion, cruised through the line in 1:47.48 to win his heat. The three-heat quarterfinals are Friday at 5:05 p.m. PT with the top three in each plus the next three fastest advancing to Eugene.
In the final event of the night, the UO men placed four of its five entries inside the top 20 of the 10,000 meters. Evan Bishop (28:31.84) paced the group with a 14th-place finish, just two spots shy of a national bid. He was followed by Abdel Laadjel in 16th place, Evan Burke in 17th and Quincy Norman in 20th. That quartet was among the final seven regional selections into the field of 48.
Day two of the NCAA West First Round marks the beginning of the women's competition, following the same schedule as Wednesday. The UO women will have NCAA qualifying chances in the 10,000 meters, pole vault and javelin.
Wednesday Results – Day 1 | NCAA West First Round
Q – advances to NCAA Championships; q – advances to Friday's quarterfinals
MEN
100 Meters | first round
14. Rodrick Pleasant – 10.37q
800 Meters | first round
2. Koitatoi Kidali – 1:47.12q (SB)
4. Matthew Erickson – 1:47.48q
1500 Meters | first round
20. Rheinhardt Harrison – 3:50.87q
22. Evan Dorenkamp - 3:51.17q
36. Simeon Birnbaum – 3:55.83q
10,000 Meters | semifinal
14. Evan Bishop – 28:31.84
16. Abdel Laadjel – 28:44.14
17. Evan Burke – 28:47.56
20. Quincy Norman – 29:01.44
38. Aiden Smith – 29:48.62
Pole Vault
t15. Kyle Gibbs – 5.17m/16-11.5
Long Jump
11. Safin Wills – 7.67m/25-2Q
42. Cheikh M'Baye – 6.74m/22-1.5
Shot Put
6. Kobe Lawrence – 19.38m/63-7Q
Javelin
27. Pat Vialva – 64.63m/212-0
For more news and information about Oregon cross country and track and field, follow @OregonTF on Facebook, Instagram and X.
Wills was the team's first NCAA Championships qualifier of the weekend with his top-12 showing in the long jump. On his final jump of the day, he got out to a measure of 7.67m/25-2 and moved from 18th to 10th in the overall standings. Wills' mark stood up through the remainder of the competition, surpassed by just one other jumper.
The Saint Andrew, Jamaica, native will be making his fourth appearance at the NCAA Outdoor meet, and second in the long jump (Purdue, '22). Wills is also entered in the triple jump which will take place Friday at 12:30 p.m. PT.
Lawrence will be making his NCAA Championships debut thanks to a qualifying effort in the shot put. On his first attempt of the evening, he got the implement out to 19.38m/63-7 which was good for sixth. The redshirt freshman started his postseason at Hayward Field, finishing third at the Big Ten Championships.
The Ducks went 3-for-3 in the opening round of the 1500 meters. Rheinhardt Harrison, Evan Dorenkamp and Simeon Birnbaum all grabbed a top-five finish in their respective heat to automatically advance into Friday's quarterfinal round (ESPN+, 3:15 p.m. PT).
Birnbaum is also entered in the 5,000 meters Friday which will start approximately 2.5 hours after those heats of the 1500.
Rodrick Pleasant ran his way into the quarterfinals of the 100 meters. He crossed the finish line in 10.37 to get one of the six on-time spots into the next round. Friday's heats will go off at 4:35 p.m. PT.
The UO men also advanced Koitatoi Kidali and Matthew Erickson into the quarterfinal round of the 800 meters. Kidali posted a season-best time of 1:47.12 while Erickson, the NCAA indoor champion, cruised through the line in 1:47.48 to win his heat. The three-heat quarterfinals are Friday at 5:05 p.m. PT with the top three in each plus the next three fastest advancing to Eugene.
In the final event of the night, the UO men placed four of its five entries inside the top 20 of the 10,000 meters. Evan Bishop (28:31.84) paced the group with a 14th-place finish, just two spots shy of a national bid. He was followed by Abdel Laadjel in 16th place, Evan Burke in 17th and Quincy Norman in 20th. That quartet was among the final seven regional selections into the field of 48.
Day two of the NCAA West First Round marks the beginning of the women's competition, following the same schedule as Wednesday. The UO women will have NCAA qualifying chances in the 10,000 meters, pole vault and javelin.
Wednesday Results – Day 1 | NCAA West First Round
Q – advances to NCAA Championships; q – advances to Friday's quarterfinals
MEN
100 Meters | first round
14. Rodrick Pleasant – 10.37q
800 Meters | first round
2. Koitatoi Kidali – 1:47.12q (SB)
4. Matthew Erickson – 1:47.48q
1500 Meters | first round
20. Rheinhardt Harrison – 3:50.87q
22. Evan Dorenkamp - 3:51.17q
36. Simeon Birnbaum – 3:55.83q
10,000 Meters | semifinal
14. Evan Bishop – 28:31.84
16. Abdel Laadjel – 28:44.14
17. Evan Burke – 28:47.56
20. Quincy Norman – 29:01.44
38. Aiden Smith – 29:48.62
Pole Vault
t15. Kyle Gibbs – 5.17m/16-11.5
Long Jump
11. Safin Wills – 7.67m/25-2Q
42. Cheikh M'Baye – 6.74m/22-1.5
Shot Put
6. Kobe Lawrence – 19.38m/63-7Q
Javelin
27. Pat Vialva – 64.63m/212-0
For more news and information about Oregon cross country and track and field, follow @OregonTF on Facebook, Instagram and X.
Players Mentioned
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Distance
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Distance
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Distance
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Pole Vault
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Distance
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Distance
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Jumps
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Throws
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Jumps
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