Men of Oregon Add Six NCAA Qualifiers

Friday, May 30

Bryan-College Station, TX

All Day

University of Oregon

NCAA West First Round

Simeon Birnbaum, men's 1500 at NCAA West (May 30)

05/30/25 | Track and Field

The UO men will have eight entries at the NCAA Championships in Eugene.

BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Oregon men's track and field team added six national qualifiers on day three of the NCAA West First Round, and will have eight total entries at the NCAA Championships in two week's time in Eugene.

NCAA Championships men's qualifiers
Benjamin Balazs – steeplechase
Simeon Birnbaum – 1500 meters
Aidan Elbettar – discus
Matthew Erickson – 800 meters
Koitatoi Kidali – 800 meters
Kobe Lawrence – shot put (from Wednesday)
Safin Wills – long jump (from Wednesday)
Saffin Wills – triple jump

Tickets for 2025 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships are currently on sale.

In the first individual event on the track, Simeon Birnbaum was the fastest-overall qualifier in the 1500 meters. He stopped the clock in 3:39.79—the only runner in the field under 3:40—to secure his spot at Hayward Field for the national meet. Birnbaum stuck to the inside of lane one to just pull ahead of the pack. The top seven times, including the two at-large bids, came from that first of two quarterfinals.

In a lifetime-best performance, Benjamin Balazs clinched his first trip to the NCAA Championships in the steeplechase. He entered the day with a best of 8:34.72 from the Oregon Open (April 18) but took more than three seconds off that time with Friday's 8:31.13 outing. That time also moves Balazs to No. 7 in UO history in the event. He secured a top-three automatic finish in his section and was fourth overall.

Matthew Erickson, the NCAA indoor champion, and Koitatoi Kidali both booked their lanes for nationals with their respective efforts Friday. Erickson was the sixth-fastest qualifier with his time of 1:47.07, just out-leaning Dugion Blackman of Iowa State for the third automatic bid in heat two. Kidali followed with a time of 1:47.17, good for second in his heat and ninth overall.

The two-lap duo also represented the Ducks at the NCAA Indoor Championships this past March.

The first two qualifiers of the day, secured almost simultaneously, came by the slimmest of the margins with 12^th-place finishes.

Competing in flight three of four in the discus, Aidan Elbetter posted a day's best of 58.25m/191-1 on his final toss of the day. That measure put him into third place overall with the final flight still ahead. He was in eighth entering the last round of throws and was surpassed by four competitors but held on for a top-12 position.

Elbettar will be making his second appearance at the NCAA Championships, and first as a Duck. He made it to the national meet a season ago while at UCLA.

For the second time in his career, Safin Wills will compete in both horizontal jumps at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. He got out to a measure of 15.88m/52-1.25 on his final attempt of the triple jump. With the mark, Wills moved into the top 12 but had to sit through a majority of the final-round marks. He was bumped a couple spots but secured the final qualifying bid.

Wills is the first UO man to advance to the NCAA Championships in the long and triple jumps since the 2005 season when Leonidas Watson accomplished the feat.

Notable: Shaun Miller Jr. cleared a season's best of 2.14m/7-0.25, finished 14^th in the high jump … in the quarterfinal round of the 100 meters, Rodrick Pleasant ran 10.16 to move to No. 7 on the Oregon top-10 list.

Friday Results – Day 3 | NCAA West First Round
Q – advances to NCAA Championships
MEN
100 Meters | quarterfinal
15. Rodrick Pleasant – 10.16 (PB, UO #7)

800 Meters | quarterfinal
6. Matthew Erickson – 1:47.07Q
9. Koitatoi Kidali – 1:47.17Q

1500 Meters | quarterfinal
1. Simeon Birnbaum – 3:39.79Q
19. Rheinhardt Harrison – 3:47.81
22. Evan Dorenkamp – 3:50.61

5,000 Meters | semifinal
37. Simeon Birnbaum – 14:10.98

3,000m Steeplechase | quarterfinal
4. Benjamin Balazs – 8:31.13Q (PB, UO #7)
26. Sergio Del Barrio – 8:57.86

High Jump
14. Shaun Miller Jr. – 2.14m/7-0.25 (SB)

Triple Jump
12. Safin Wills – 15.88m/52-1.25Q (+2.1w)

Discus
12. Aidan Elbettar – 58.25m/191-1Q

Up Next: The Women of Oregon, already with three national qualifiers, will have 11 additional chances to advance on day four of the NCAA West First Round meet. Ryann Porter and Cassandra Atkins will be first up Saturday with the triple jump starting at 12:30 p.m. PT. The ESPN+ broadcast of running events starts at 3 p.m. PT.

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