School Record in the 4x100 at Desert Heat

Saturday, May 2

Corvallis, OR

All Day

University of Oregon

OSU High Performance

Kai Graves-Blanks, Oregon Team Invitational 4x100 lead off (April 18, 2026)

Photo by: GoDucks.com

05/02/26 | Track and Field

The Ducks racked up eight wins Saturday at the Desert Heat Classic.

EUGENE, Ore. – Highlighted by a school record in the men's 4x100-meter relay, the Oregon track and field team collected eight wins and seven top-10 program marks Saturday at the Desert Heat Classic in Tucson, Ariz. Kai Graves-Blanks, PJ Ize-Iyamu, Grant Valley and Jaelon Barbarin combined for a time of 38.59 to establish the new program standard.

The quartet replaced the previous UO school record of 38.72 set by Spenser Schmidt, Cravon Gillespie, Rieker Daniel and Oraine Palmer at the 2019 Pac-12 Championships, also run at the same track. Based on times entering the weekend, Oregon also takes over the NCAA lead in the 4x100 relay.

In the next race, the UO women combined for a season-best time of 43.66 to secure a victory of their own to out-pace Grand Canyon (43.90) and host Arizona (43.96) as the only teams under 44 seconds. The team of Brazil Neal, Amirah Shaheed, Niya Clayton and Lily Jones took nearly half a second off its previous best this year.

Shaheed (11.33 PB), Jones and Neal all finished in the top 10 of the 100 meters later in the schedule.

Graves-Blanks added his second win of the day with a new lifetime best in the 110-meter hurdles. He stopped the clock in 13.28—down from his previous best of 13.42—to become the No. 2 performer in school history in the event. Graves-Blanks switched spots with Eric Mitchum (13.38, 2004) on the UO list. The Oregon junior also moves into the top five nationally based on times entering the day.

To cap his standout day, Graves-Blanks added another personal best at 200 meters of 20.59 (-1.1) and the No. 9 spot on the program's all-time outdoor list.

Ize-Iyamu was another double winner Saturday. He established a new wind-legal personal best with a time of 10.06 (-0.2), just off his all-conditions best of 10.04 (+2.6) from his 2024 campaign. Ize-Iyamu now ranks among the top 10 nationally. Valley won his heat and finished eighth overall in the 100 with his new best of 10.30, down from his 10.44 from the Oregon Team Invitational.

Daniel Thrana led a 1-3-4 UO finish in the javelin, good for the Ducks' first win of the day. He posted a day's best of 76.29m/250-3 on his first attempt of the competition. Coupled with his outing two weeks ago at the Oregon Team Invitational, Thrana now has seven measures beyond 75 meters this year. Pat Vialva and Vlad Turcu both let go of season bests Saturday to finish third and fourth, respectively.

Vialva posted a mark of 70.30m/230-7 on his third attempt, good for his first throw over 70 meters this season. Turcu added a best of 66.91m/219-6 in the fourth round.

The Ducks swept the Desert Heat long jump with Titouan Bizet and Liisa-Maria Lusti. On his final-round jump, Bizet moved from third to first with a new all-conditions best of 7.78m/25-6.25 (+3.3). That mark also puts him inside the top 20 in the NCAA this season.

Lusti, the NCAA indoor pentathlon champion, sat in sixth place through the first three rounds of jumps but on her fourth pass down the runway, she got out to a measure of 6.40m/21-0. With that mark, she becomes the seventh woman in program history to jump 21 feet outdoors. Cassandra Atkins was third with a new personal best of 6.21m/20-4.5 which she registered on her last jump of the day.

The jumps crew got a third win Saturday when Tre Betts took the top spot in the triple jump. He sat in second place entering the fifth round before posting a season's best of 15.64m/51-3.75 to move into first place. The mark stood up through the final round attempts and Betts added a near-identical 15.63 on his final jump.

Micaela De Mello improved to a season's best of 13.09 in the 100-meter hurdles. She finished second overall and first among collegiate entries. With the time, she moves from eighth to sixth on the UO all-time list. De Mello capped her day with a personal-best effort of 23.89 in the 200 meters.

Including De Mello, five Oregon women were under 24 seconds in the 200 including Shaheed (23.25), Neal (23.61), Jones (23.81) and Lakely Doht-Barron (23.82). Saturday was a double PR meet for Doht-Barron who knocked more than a second off her personal best in the 400 meters, down from 53.98 to 52.71.

Notable: Alicia Khunou posted a personal best of 16.66m/54-8—UO #5—in the shot put … Annaleise Taylor lowered her personal best to 58.43 in the 400-meter hurdles; finished third … Ben Smith and Kobe Lawrence finished second and fourth, respectively, in the shot put … Lawrence tallied a season-best toss of 19.74m/64-9.25 … Smith (20.02m/65-8.25) has thrown beyond 20 meters in his last four shot put competitions, dating back to the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Up Next: The Ducks return to Hayward Field next Friday, May 8, for the Oregon Twilight. In addition to Senior Day ceremonies, the meet also features the Kids Half Lapper and Middle School Mile presented by TrackTownUSA Kids Club, the OTC Masters' Mile and the Warsaw Costume Relay for UO students.

Ticket packages for the Oregon home schedule are on sale, including all-session and single-day options for the NCAA Championships in June.

Saturday Results
Desert Heat Classic | Tucson, Ariz.
MEN
100 Meters
1. PJ Ize-Iyamu – 10.06 (-0.2) (PB, UO #4*)
8. Grant Valley – 10.30 (PB)
23. Jaelon Barbarin – 10.57 (-0.5) (=SB)

200 Meters
4. Kai Graves-Blanks – 20.59 (-1.1) (PB, UO #9)
9. Grant Valley – 20.79 (-0.8)
18. Jaelon Barbarin – 21.20 (-1.1)

400 Meters
17. Fuad Omer – 47.12

110m Hurdles
1. Kai Graves-Blanks – 13.28 (PB, UO #2)
10. Aiden Carter – 14.21

4x100m Relay
1. Graves-Blanks, Ize-Iyamu, Valley, Blanks – 38.59 (UO #1)

Long Jump
1. Titouan Bizet – 7.78m/25-6.25w
12. Dakorien Moore – 7.10m/23-3.5

Triple Jump
1. Tre Betts – 15.64m/51-3.75 (SB)

Shot Put
2. Ben Smith – 20.02m/65-8.25
4. Kobe Lawrence – 19.74m/64-9.25 (SB)

Discus
25. Aiden Carter – 35.15m/115-4 (PB)

Javelin
1. Daniel Thrana – 76.29m/250-3
3. Pat Vialva – 70.30m/230-7 (SB)
4. Vlad Turcu – 66.91m/219-6 (SB)

WOMEN
100 Meters
4. Amirah Shaheed – 11.33 (PB)
6. Lily Jones – 11.45 (SB)
10. Brazil Neal – 11.54
18. Niya Clayton – 11.68 (SB)

200 Meters
5. Amirah Shaheed – 23.25 (PB)
10. Brazil Neal – 23.61 (SB)
18. Lily Jones – 23.81 (SB)
19. Lakely Doht-Barron – 23.82 (PB)
22. Micaela De Mello – 23.89 (PB)

400 Meters
5. Lakely Doht-Barron – 52.71 (PB)

100m Hurdles
2. Micaela De Mello – 13.09 (SB, UO #6)
7. Annaleise Taylor – 13.68 (SB)

400m Hurdles
3. Annaleise Taylor – 58.43 (PB)

4x100m Relay
1. Neal, Shaheed, Clayton, Jones – 43.66 (SB)

Long Jump
1. Liisa-Maria Lusti – 6.40m/21-0 (UO #7)
3. Cassandra Atkins – 6.21m/20-4.5 (PB)

Triple Jump
3. Maleigha Canaday-Elliott – 12.68m/41-7.25

Shot Put
4. Alicia Khunou – 16.66m/54-8 (PB, UO #5)

Discus
3. Alicia Khunou – 52.16m/171-1
--. Marie Josee Bovele-Linaka – NM

Javelin
6. Greyson Glivinski – 50.21m/164-8

OSU High Performance | Corvallis, Ore.
MEN
800 Meters, Inv.
5. Ben Greene – 1:49.68 (SB)
6. Elliott Cook – 1:49.87
7. Will Heslam – 1:50.42 (SB)

WOMEN
Shot Put
4. Taylor Wiseman – 14.85m/48-8.75

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