Ducks Set for the Razorback Invitational

Friday, January 30

Fayetteville, AR

All Day

University of Oregon

Razorback Invitational

Bair, Carter - 60H at K-State (Jan. 2026)

01/29/26 | Track and Field

Photo Gallery | Pre-Meet Practice

The meet begins Friday at 9:45 a.m. PT with the start of the heptathlon.

EUGENE, Ore. – The Oregon track and field team continues its indoor campaign this weekend with the Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark. Competition at the two-day meet begins Friday at 9:45 a.m. PT with the first event of the heptathlon followed by the start of the pentathlon.

Both days of the Razorback Invitational will be streamed on SEC Network+ available on the ESPN app.

Oregon is one of three Big Ten teams—Illinois, Michigan—in the loaded, 14-team Razorback field. The competition will also include host Arkansas, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Miami (Fla.), Oklahoma State, South Carolina, Texas and Texas Tech.

In the first USTFCCCA coaches poll of the indoor season, the UO women and men check in at No. 9 and 13 in the nation, respectively.

The Ducks enter the final weekend of January with a combined nine top-10 national marks including a pair of top-two times for the women and two top-three efforts for the men.

Oregon in the NCAA Top 10
2 – Wilma Nielsen (mile) – 4:26.74
2 – Silan Ayyildiz (3,000m) – 8:42.29
3 – Simeon Birnbaum (3,000m) – 7:39.65
3 – Kobe Lawrence (shot put) – 19.81m/65-0
5 – Elliott Cook (3,000m) – 7:41.57
6 – Juliet Cherubet (3,000m) – 8:52.30
7 – Dalia Frias (3,000m) – 8:55.78
9 – Benjamin Balazs (3,000m) – 7:47.65
9 – Abdel Laadjel (5,000m) – 13:24.17

The marks for Ayyildiz, Birnbaum and Lawrence are school records. Ayyildiz and Lawrence improved on their own records while Birnbaum eclipsed the 10-year-old Oregon standard previously held by Edward Cheserek.

All three are scheduled to compete at the Razorback Invitational with Ayyildiz and Birnbaum entered in the mile.

Reigning NCAA indoor champion Matthew Erickson (800m) is set to make this season debut, entered in both the 800 meters and mile. The men's 800 will be the first event on the oval Friday, going off at 3:40 p.m. PT.

The combined events group opens with Peyton Bair Aiden Carter in the heptathlon, and newcomer Liisa-Maria Lusti in the pentathlon. Bair swept the NCAA indoor and outdoor combined events titles a season ago for Mississippi State, and is one of three Ducks on The Bowerman preseason watch list with Ayyildiz and Mykolas Alekna.

Lusti join Tre Betts and Titouan Bizet are set to make their debuts at the Razorback Invitational. Betts and Bizet are both entered in the long jump with Betts also scheduled to compete in the triple jump.

Nielsen won the elite section of the Dr. Sander Scorcher mile last weekend, and will take on the famed Wannamaker Mile this Sunday (3:40 p.m. PT, NBC) at the 118^th Millrose Games in New York. Nielsen is the reigning NCAA indoor mile champion for the Ducks, and Wednesday, was named the Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week.

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