School Record, Top-15 NCAA Marks Highlight Busy Friday

Friday, February 13

Boston, MA

All Day

University of Oregon

David Hemery Valentine Invitational

Balazs, Burns and Palfrey at BU Valentine (Feb. 13)

School Record, Top-15 NCAA Marks Highlight Busy Friday

02/13/26 | Track and Field

Tomas Palfrey broke the school record for 3,000 meters at the BU Valentine Invitational.

EUGENE, Ore. – The Oregon track and field team posted eight top-10 program marks Friday including a school record by Tomas Palfrey in the 3,000 meters at the BU Valentine Invitational. Day one of the split weekend featured results from the distance crew in Boston and team's sprinters and jumpers at the Don Kirby Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M.

Palfrey, in his first indoor 3,000 meters, led a trio of Ducks into the program's top 10. He crossed the finish line in 7:39.03 followed closely by Benjamin Balazs' 7:39.31, the No. 1 and 2 time in UO history. The duo surpassed the previous school record of 7:39.65 set by Simeon Birnbaum at the BU Colyear-Danville Opener in December.

Just a few strides back in Friday's race was Connor Burns in 7:40.80, good for the No. 5 performer at Oregon. The Ducks currently have five men inside the top 15 nationally at 3,000 meters in addition to Birnbaum and Elliott Cook (7:41.57), also from the BU opener.

Already a top-10 national performer in the mile this season, Cook dropped a lifetime best of 3:52.32 to move into the top five on the season's NCAA list. The Oregon senior also moves to No. 9 on the all-time collegiate list with Friday's performance. Cook becomes the fourth UO man in the NCAA top 10, joining Cooper Teare (No. 3, 3:50.39), Cole Hocker (No. 5, 3:50.55) and Edward Cheserek (No. 6, 3:52.01).

Cook was sixth overall and second among collegians in Friday's BU race.

Across town at the Harvard Crimson Open, the team of Silan Ayyildiz, Lakely Doht-Barron, Samantha McDonnell and Wilma Nielsen combined for a time of 10:49.73 in its first DMR of the season. The time stands as the No. 7 relay quartet in school history. With a slightly oversized track size at Gordon Indoor, the Ducks' time will adjust to roughly 10:45.9 for national qualifying purposes.

Reigning NCAA indoor champion Matthew Erickson ran a season's best 1:46.88 at BU in the invitational section of the 800 meters. With that time, he moved into the top 16 nationally based on marks entering the weekend results from Friday's race. Erickson and teammate James Harding (1:47.08) finished fourth and seventh, respectively.

Harding sits just ahead of Erickson on the NCAA descending order list with his time of 1:46.83 from the Razorback Invitational (Jan. 30).

At the Don Kirby Invitational in Albuquerque, freshman Grant Valley got the Ducks started by becoming just the fifth UO man to run a sub-21 indoor 200, and first to do so since 2019. The Portland native won his section and finished second overall in 20.86, good for No. 4 on the program's top-10 list. Valley held a season's best of 21.34 coming into the weekend.

Due to the altitude in Albuquerque, the time will adjust to 20.93 on the NCAA qualifying list.

On the women's side of the 200 meters at the Don Kirby meet, Amirah Shaheed lowered her lifetime best to 23.64 and finished in fourth place overall in the open section.

The Men of Oregon added another new entry to the program's top 10 with newcomer Titouan Bizet in the long jump. On his second attempt, Bizet got out to a day's best of 7.65m/25-1.25 which places him 10^th in Oregon history. He finished second overall, tying with Jayden Williams of UTSA for the best mark of the day but Williams got the top spot with a better second measure.

Notable: Liisa-Maria Lusti (6.32m/20-9) and Loren Webster (6.23m/20-5.25) finished in third and fifth, respectively, in the Don Kirby long jump … Webster's mark is an improvement on her season's best and keeps her at the No. 8 spot in UO history

Up Next: Day two of the Ducks' split weekend will feature the women's distance events at the Valentine meet in Boston, the men's shot put—Kobe Lawrence, Ben Smith—at the Jarvis Scott Invitational in Texas and continued action for the sprints and jumps crews at Don Kirby in Albuquerque.

Friday Results
Crimson Open (Cambridge, Mass.)
WOMEN
Distance Medley Relay
1. Ayyildiz, Doht-Barron, McDonnell, Nielsen – 10:49.73 (UO #7)

David Hemery Valentine Invitational (Boston, Mass.)
MEN
800 Meters, invite
4. Matthew Erickson – 1:46.88 (SB)
7. James Harding – 1:47.08

800 Meters
3. Cain Evans – 1:49.91
26. Ben Greene – 1:52.05

Mile, invite
6. Elliott Cook – 3:52.32 (PB, UO #4, NCAA #9)

3,000 Meters, invite
4. Tomas Palfrey – 7:39.03 (UO #1)
5. Benjamin Balazs – 7:39.31 (PB, UO #2)
7. Connor Burns – 7:40.80 (PB, UO #5)
13. Abdel Laadjel – 7:48.74 (PB)

3,000 Meters
35. Anthony Fast Horse – 8:00.00

5,000 Meters
44. Evan Bishop – 13:54.88
148. Jack Meier – 14:33.15

Don Kirby Invitational (Albuquerque, N.M.)
MEN
200 Meters, unseeded
2. Grant Valley – 20.86 (PB, UO #4)
16. Jaelon Barbarin – 21.55 (PB)

400 Meters, unseeded
18. Fuad Omer – 48.50

Pole Vault 'A'
T7. Tyler Burns – 5.31m/17-5

Long Jump
2. Titouan Bizet – 7.65m/25-1.25 (UO #10)

WOMEN
200 Meters, unseeded
4. Amirah Shaheed – 23.64 (PB)
14. Brazil Neal – 24.10 (PB)

400 Meters, unseeded
35. Annaleise Taylor – 57.34

High Jump
T6. Toby Stolberg – 1.71m/5-7.25

Long Jump
3. Liisa-Maria Lusti – 6.32m/20-9
5. Loren Webster – 6.23m/20-5.25 (PB, UO #8)

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