Lusti, Women’s DMR Win NCAA Titles

Friday, March 13

Fayetteville, AR

All Day

University of Oregon

NCAA Indoor Championships

Photo by: GoDucks.com

03/13/26 | Track and Field

Meet Results

The Ducks will have a combined 16 scoring chances on day two of the national meet.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Women of Oregon won two national titles Friday at the 2026 NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. Liisa-Maria Lusti got the Ducks' scoring started with a win in the pentathlon, while the quartet of Juliet Cherubet, Lakely Doht-Barron, Silan Ayyildiz and Wilma Nielsen combined for gold in the distance medley relay.

At the end of day one, the UO women sit in second place with those 20 points with five more scoring opportunities Saturday. The Men of Oregon picked up two points in the DMR and will have 11 chances to score on day two of the NCAA meet.

One of those 11 remaining scoring chances for the men's team is Peyton Bair who leads the heptathlon after day one with 3,675 points.

Lusti finished the five-event competition with a season-best 4,498 points, moving into a tie for the No. 15 performer in collegiate history. She sat in third place after three events but moved into the lead on the strength of a lifetime-best 6.63m/21-9 measure in the long jump. That doubles as No. 3 on the UO indoor list and the third-best jump ever in a collegiate pentathlon.

In the high jump, the second event of the day, Lusti cleared the high jump bar set at 1.81m/5-11.25 to move from ninth to second place in the overall standings. The Tallinn, Estonia, native is the second UO woman to win the NCAA title in the pentathlon, and the first since Brianne Theisen-Eaton won in 2012.

Cherubet led off the women's DMR for the Ducks before passing off to Doht-Barron for the 400-meter leg. Ayyildiz and Nielsen brought it home for the UO women on the 800 and 1600 legs, respectively. It was the second races of the day for Cherubet, Ayyildiz and Nielsen who all advanced to the mile final earlier in the day.

Oregon finished in a winning time of 10:48.76 with Nielsen pulling away over the final lap from runner-up South Carolina. The victory was the women's third NCAA title in the event in program history.

Bair got his day started with a 6.67 in the 60 meters, good for 1,003 points and a new meet and NCAA best for the heptathlon 60. He broke the previous meet record of 6.71 set by Ashton Eaton in 2010 and previous collegiate mark of 6.70 set by Grant Levesque (Houston) in 2024. Bair followed with a lifetime best of 7.70m/25-3.25 on his final attempt of the long jump, also becoming the No. 8 indoor performer in the event in UO history.

In another clutch last-attempt situation, Bair posted a new lifetime best of 16.07m/52-8.75 in the shot put. He had a then-day's best of 14.46 meters from the first round of throws, and eclipsed his prior best of 15.34m/50-4, an outdoor mark from the 2024 NCAA Championships. He closed out the first day with a near-best clearance of 2.03m/6-8 clearance in the high jump.

Aiden Carter, in his NCAA Championships debut, is currently in 10^th place with 3,232 points, just 10 shy of scoring position entering Saturday's events. He had a day's best event finish of fifth in the long jump with a measure of 7.49m/24-7 on his final attempt. Carter was also among the top 10 in the high jump, clearing 2.00m/6-6.75 in the last event of the day.

The heptathlon continues Saturday with the 60-meter hurdles at 9 a.m. PT followed by the pole vault and 1,000 meters.

Tomas Palfrey will represent the Men of Oregon in the mile final as the fourth-overall qualifier from the preliminary heats. He crossed the line in 3:56.20 to secure an automatic berth into the final. Palfrey will also contend in the 3,000 meters Saturday as one of five UO men in the field.

The mile finals will kick off track coverage on day two beginning with the women's race at 2:10 p.m. PT followed by the men's final. The 3,000-meter final will be the last individual event on the track and will go off at 4:25 p.m. PT.

Palfrey will be joined in the 3K by UO teammates Benjamin Balazs, Simeon Birnbaum, Connor Burns and Elliott Cook. Birnbaum will be coming off a 3:52 split on his anchor leg of the distance medley relay that got the Ducks back into scoring position.

The UO men picked up another finalist in James Harding in the 800 meters. The UO junior posted a time of 1:47.23 in heat one, fastest enough for one of the two on-time qualifying spots. Harding has the sixth-fastest time of the day. Saturday's final is set for 3:20 p.m. PT.

Aaliyah McCormick was the final individual qualifier of the day, stopping the clock in 7.96 to tie for the fastest time out of the heats. Now a four-time NCAA Indoor finalist, McCormick was last year's runner-up and is a two-time Big Ten Indoor champion. McCormick tied with UCLA's Yanla Ndjip-Nyemeck atop the preliminary standings.

Friday Results
NCAA Indoor Championships | Fayetteville, Ark.
MEN
800 Meters – prelims
6. James Harding – 1:47.23q
14. Matthew Erickson – 1:48.59

Mile – prelims
4. Tomas Palfrey – 3:56.20Q
14. Elliott Cook – 3:58.89

5,000 Meters
14. Abdel Laadjel – 14:00.11

Distance Medley Relay
7. Harding/Omer/Cook/Birnbaum – 9:27.49 [2 points]

Heptathlon – Day 1
1. Peyton Bair – 3,675 points
               1. 60 Meters – 6.67 [1,003]
               1. Long Jump – 7.70m/25-3.25 (PB, UO #8) [985]
               1. Shot Put – 16.07m/52-8.75 (PB) [856]
               8. High Jump – 2.03m/6-8 [831]
10. Aiden Carter – 3,232 points
               11. 60 Meters – 7.06 [861]
               5. Long Jump – 7.49m/24-7 [932]
               14. Shot Put – 12.48m/40-11.5 [636]
               10. High Jump – 2.00m/6-6.75[803]

WOMEN
Mile – prelims
2. Wilma Nielsen – 4:28.26Q
3. Silan Ayyildiz – 4:28.44Q
6. Juliet Cherubet – 4:30.12q

5,000 Meters
9. Diana Cherotich – 15:32.32

60m Hurdles – prelims
T1. Aaliyah McCormick – 7.96Q

Distance Medley Relay
1. Cherubet/Doht-Barron/Ayyildiz/Nielsen – 10:48.76 [10 points]

Pentathlon
1. Liisa-Maria Lusti – 4,498 points (SB) [10 points]
               9. 60m Hurdles – 8.49 [1,019]
               3. High Jump – 1.81m/5-11.25 (PB, UO #5) [991]
               9. Shot Put – 11.40m/37-5 [621]
               1. Long Jump – 6.63m/21-9 (PB, UO #3) [1,049]
               11. 800 Meters – 2:20.38 (SB) [818]

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