Birnbaum Wins McChesney 1500 at Oregon Twilight

Friday, May 9

Eugene, OR

All Day

University of Oregon

Oregon Twilight

05/09/25 | Track and Field

The Ducks collected 11 wins Friday in the regular-season home finale.

EUGENE, Ore. – The Men and Women of Oregon combined for 11 wins Friday, closing out the regular-season home schedule with the Oregon Twilight. The Ducks also recognized and celebrated its senior class including a group victory lap at Hayward Field.

The Ducks' postseason begins in Eugene with the Big Ten Championships (May 16-18) followed by the NCAA West First Round (May 28-31) in College Station, Texas. The top 12 in each event at the regional meets will then advance to the NCAA Championships (June 11-14), also hosted at Hayward Field.

Tickets for both postseason meets in Eugene are currently on sale.

With their respective victories at 1500 meters Friday, sophomores Simeon Birnbaum and Ella Thorsett improved their west region standings. Birnbaum, in his first individual race of the outdoor season, put down a 3:37.02 marker to win the Bill McChesney Jr. 1500 meters, the final event of the night. He now sits eighth within the region with the top-20 national performance.

Birnbaum FTW??

Simeon Birnbaum wins the Bill McChesney Jr. 1500 meters to close out the Oregon Twilight.

?? 3:37.02 (first individual race of the season)#GoDucks

?? @runnerspace pic.twitter.com/cPWVH2SV3t
— oregontf (@OregonTF) May 10, 2025

Prior to Friday's race, Birnbaum had only run legs of the Ducks' 4x800 and distance medley relays two weeks ago at Penn Relays.

Thorsett, for a second-consecutive week, knocked several seconds off her lifetime best in the 1500. In the 'B' section of the event, she lowered her PB to 4:16.82 and moved inside the top 45 regionally; the top 48 qualify for the NCAA West First Round meet. The Sisters, Ore., native carried a previous best of 4:21.46 from last week's OSU High Performance. Thorsett began the year with a best of 4:28.58.

Smiles & hugs for a new PB??

Ella Thorsett lowers her lifetime best in the 1500 from 4:21.46 ?? 4:16.82 with Friday's performance at the Oregon Twilight.#GoDucks pic.twitter.com/tZVAaGCu84
— oregontf (@OregonTF) May 10, 2025

In a bit of speed work before the postseason schedule, Matthew Erickson ran 47.04 to win the 400 in a new lifetime best. He'd run 47.66 previously, a result from last year's Twilight meet. Erickson swept the Big Ten and NCAA Indoor titles at 800 meters.

Freshman Mihaly Akpamgbo was a double winner Friday, taking the top spots at 100 and 200 meters. The Salem, Ore., native neared his lifetime best with a 10.58 to win the 100 and returned to the track less than 30 minutes later to run a 21.37 to complete the sprint double in a new personal best.

Kyle Gibbs, winner of the Twilight pole vault, took three solid attempts at 18-2.75 which would have been a personal best for the UO senior. He need a third-attempt clearance at 5.37m/17-7.25 to keep jumping but had already secured the win with his first clearance at the previous height.

In the newly introduced Wade Bell 800 meters, redshirt freshman Will Heslam dove at the line for the win in 1:49.77, just getting past teammate Cain Evans (1:49.86) who was running unattached. Heslam now has a pair of sub-1:50 efforts in the 800 this year.

The rest of the Ducks' list of Twilight winners included Ethan Bartee (400H), Shaun Miller Jr. (HJ), Kobe Lawrence (DT) and Hannah Seubert (steeplechase).

Friday Results
MEN
100 Meters
1. Mihaly Akpamgbo – 10.58

200 Meters
1. Mihaly Akpamgbo – 21.37

400 Meters
1. Matthew Erickson – 47.04

Wade Bell 800 Meters
1. Will Heslam – 1:49.77
7. Ben Greene – 1:51.27

Bill McChesney Jr. 1500 Meters
1. Simeon Birnbaum – 3:37.02

1500 Meters, Inv.
2. Evan Dorenkamp – 3:42.04
3. Sergio Del Barrio – 3:42.84
4. Evan Bishop – 3:43.00
5. Quincy Norman – 3:43.65

400m Hurdles
1. Ethan Bartee – 55.05

High Jump
1. Shaun Miller Jr. – 2.07m/6-9.5
3. Trey Tintinger – 2.02m/6-7.5

Pole Vault
1. Kyle Gibbs – 5.37m/17-7.25
3. Arthur Katahdin – 4.93m/16-2
4. Joey Bonacci – 4.63m/15-2.25

Discus
1. Kobe Lawrence – 55.20m/181-1
2. Aidan Elbettar – 53.49m/175-6

Javelin
2. Zach Young – 62.32m/204-5

WOMEN
1500 Meters 'B'
1. Ella Thorsett – 4:16.82
5. Allura Markow – 4:25.08

3,000m Steeplechase
1. Hannah Seubert – 11:08.08

Pole Vault
2. Isabella Nilsen – 4.13m/13-6.5
3. Emily Fitzsimmons – 4.03m/13-2.5
5. Isabella Abrahams – 3.73m/12-2.75
--. Noreen Hussain – NH

Long Jump
--. Hannah Ganashamoorthy – NM

Javelin
2. Josephine Krohn – 44.32m/145-5

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