Wednesday, June 11
Eugene, OR
All Day
University of Oregon
vs
NCAA Championships
Photo by: GoDucks.com
Lawrence Fourth To Open NCAA Outdoors
06/11/25 | Track and Field
The Men of Oregon experienced some dramatic moments Wednesday, none bigger than Kobe Lawrence's effort in the shot put.
A couple of Ducks had to sweat out results Wednesday. A couple others took things into their own hands.
Kobe Lawrence in the shot put and Koitatoi Kidali in the 800 vaulted up the all-time UO performance lists Wednesday at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, with Lawrence finishing fourth to give the Men of Oregon their first points of the meet this week. Lawrence threw the shot 66 feet, 8 inches, moving up to No. 4 on the all-time UO performance list, while Kidali is now No. 6 in the 800 after finishing second in his heat Wednesday to automatically advance to Friday's final.
Lawrence opened his day with a put of 63-9, and improved with each of his next four efforts. His fifth throw, the 66-8, moved him into second in the field, before two other competitors ultimately improved their marks to give Lawrence a fourth-place finish.
"I was just staying calm," Lawrence said. "It's my best competition ever, on the biggest stage. So it's great. It was like, keep going, I got this; like, I can maybe win this thing. So it was great going through it. A very fun competition — a dream."
He became the first UO male to finish in the top eight of the shot put since Jose De Souza in 1989, and had the program's best finish in the event since Dean Crouser was third in 1983. Lawrence's 66-8 was the farthest in program history since Crouser, who set the UO record of 69-1.5 in 1982.
"It just diversifies the program, shows that we're invested in different areas now, and I'm glad that I got to show that investment to the country," Lawrence said. "I'm blessed to be here, and I'm happy this is going to be great for Oregon."
Simeon Birnbaum also qualified automatically for a Friday final, taking second in his heat of the 1,500. Meanwhile, Matthew Erickson in the 800 and Benjamin Balazs in the 3,000 steeplechase advanced on time, Erickson doing so in the first of three heats before watching the other two in hopes his time would stand up.
The only disappointment for the Ducks on Wednesday came in the long jump, where Safin Wills followed two scratches with a top-five mark of 25-9.25. But a protest was filed and that attempt also went into the official results as a scratch; Wills will get a chance at redemption in Friday's triple jump.
Birnbaum was in the second of two 1,500 heats. He ran from the back of the pack until a strong move with 500 meters to go that put him in third at the bell, and ended up finishing second in 3:41.77.
"That's exactly how I wanted it to unfold," Birnbaum said of his tactics after watching a relatively slow first heat. "… I could feel the pace was good enough. I knew some of the guys like to front-run in my heat, so I was just trusting them to do that."
Erickson took a different approach in his 800 heat. Not wanting to get stuck in traffic, he went to the front for the first lap, then fell back before finishing fourth in a season-best 1:45.89.
"Usually I liked to be the hunter; today I was getting hunted," Erickson said. "… I hate losing; it's not how I want to make the final. But, checked the box."
Kidali took second in the same heat, in a season-best 1:45.31. He took a fall at the finish and received medical attention for an apparent shoulder issue.
Like Birnbaum, Balazs was in the second heat of his event, and was confident his fellow steeplechasers would set a faster pace than the first heat. He ran from the back of the pack most of the race, even as the field began to stretch out. But as the race progressed he began methodically moving up and picking off competitors, ultimately finishing seventh in 8:29.87 and snagging the final qualifying spot on time.
Balazs became the seventh man in UO history to run under 8:30.
"I kind of always knew I'd have to run a PR to make the final," he said. "But when I saw (the first heat) was like 8:37, 8:38, I was like, OK, I can sit further back, can relax a little bit more. …
"I knew that I needed that seventh spot, and they kind of got far away. But I was just running an even pace, still running pretty quick — quick enough where I knew, OK, someone will blow up. They're going really fast. I'll just keep pressing on, keep pressing on."
Tickets for the 2025 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships are currently on sale.
Wednesday Results | NCAA Championships – Day 1
q – advance to finals
MEN
800 Meters, semifinals
2. Koitatoi Kidali – 1:45.31q (SB, UO #6)
4. Matthew Erickson – 1:45.89q (SB)
1500 Meters, semifinals
2. Simeon Birnbaum – 3:41.77q
3,000m Steeplechase, semifinals
7. Benjamin Balazs – 8:29.87q (PB, UO #7)
Long Jump
--. Safin Wills – NM
Shot Put
4. Kobe Lawrence – 20.32m/66-8 (PB, UO #4) [5 points]
Up Next: Day two of the 2025 NCAA Championships marks the beginning of the women's competition. Thursday's schedule will include UO preliminary runs in the 4x100 relay, 1500 meters and 100 hurdles, and scoring opportunities for Diana Cherotich (10,000m) and Emily Fitzsimmons (pole vault).
For more news and information about Oregon cross country and track and field, follow @OregonTF on Facebook, Instagram and X.
Kobe Lawrence in the shot put and Koitatoi Kidali in the 800 vaulted up the all-time UO performance lists Wednesday at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, with Lawrence finishing fourth to give the Men of Oregon their first points of the meet this week. Lawrence threw the shot 66 feet, 8 inches, moving up to No. 4 on the all-time UO performance list, while Kidali is now No. 6 in the 800 after finishing second in his heat Wednesday to automatically advance to Friday's final.
Lawrence opened his day with a put of 63-9, and improved with each of his next four efforts. His fifth throw, the 66-8, moved him into second in the field, before two other competitors ultimately improved their marks to give Lawrence a fourth-place finish.
"I was just staying calm," Lawrence said. "It's my best competition ever, on the biggest stage. So it's great. It was like, keep going, I got this; like, I can maybe win this thing. So it was great going through it. A very fun competition — a dream."
He became the first UO male to finish in the top eight of the shot put since Jose De Souza in 1989, and had the program's best finish in the event since Dean Crouser was third in 1983. Lawrence's 66-8 was the farthest in program history since Crouser, who set the UO record of 69-1.5 in 1982.
"It just diversifies the program, shows that we're invested in different areas now, and I'm glad that I got to show that investment to the country," Lawrence said. "I'm blessed to be here, and I'm happy this is going to be great for Oregon."
Simeon Birnbaum also qualified automatically for a Friday final, taking second in his heat of the 1,500. Meanwhile, Matthew Erickson in the 800 and Benjamin Balazs in the 3,000 steeplechase advanced on time, Erickson doing so in the first of three heats before watching the other two in hopes his time would stand up.
The only disappointment for the Ducks on Wednesday came in the long jump, where Safin Wills followed two scratches with a top-five mark of 25-9.25. But a protest was filed and that attempt also went into the official results as a scratch; Wills will get a chance at redemption in Friday's triple jump.
Birnbaum was in the second of two 1,500 heats. He ran from the back of the pack until a strong move with 500 meters to go that put him in third at the bell, and ended up finishing second in 3:41.77.
"That's exactly how I wanted it to unfold," Birnbaum said of his tactics after watching a relatively slow first heat. "… I could feel the pace was good enough. I knew some of the guys like to front-run in my heat, so I was just trusting them to do that."
Erickson took a different approach in his 800 heat. Not wanting to get stuck in traffic, he went to the front for the first lap, then fell back before finishing fourth in a season-best 1:45.89.
"Usually I liked to be the hunter; today I was getting hunted," Erickson said. "… I hate losing; it's not how I want to make the final. But, checked the box."
Kidali took second in the same heat, in a season-best 1:45.31. He took a fall at the finish and received medical attention for an apparent shoulder issue.
Like Birnbaum, Balazs was in the second heat of his event, and was confident his fellow steeplechasers would set a faster pace than the first heat. He ran from the back of the pack most of the race, even as the field began to stretch out. But as the race progressed he began methodically moving up and picking off competitors, ultimately finishing seventh in 8:29.87 and snagging the final qualifying spot on time.
Balazs became the seventh man in UO history to run under 8:30.
"I kind of always knew I'd have to run a PR to make the final," he said. "But when I saw (the first heat) was like 8:37, 8:38, I was like, OK, I can sit further back, can relax a little bit more. …
"I knew that I needed that seventh spot, and they kind of got far away. But I was just running an even pace, still running pretty quick — quick enough where I knew, OK, someone will blow up. They're going really fast. I'll just keep pressing on, keep pressing on."
Tickets for the 2025 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships are currently on sale.
Wednesday Results | NCAA Championships – Day 1
q – advance to finals
MEN
800 Meters, semifinals
2. Koitatoi Kidali – 1:45.31q (SB, UO #6)
4. Matthew Erickson – 1:45.89q (SB)
1500 Meters, semifinals
2. Simeon Birnbaum – 3:41.77q
3,000m Steeplechase, semifinals
7. Benjamin Balazs – 8:29.87q (PB, UO #7)
Long Jump
--. Safin Wills – NM
Shot Put
4. Kobe Lawrence – 20.32m/66-8 (PB, UO #4) [5 points]
Up Next: Day two of the 2025 NCAA Championships marks the beginning of the women's competition. Thursday's schedule will include UO preliminary runs in the 4x100 relay, 1500 meters and 100 hurdles, and scoring opportunities for Diana Cherotich (10,000m) and Emily Fitzsimmons (pole vault).
For more news and information about Oregon cross country and track and field, follow @OregonTF on Facebook, Instagram and X.
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Distance
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Distance
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