Men of Oregon Sending 15 Entries to NCAAs

Friday, May 29

Fayetteville, AR

All Day

University of Oregon

NCAA West First Round

Palfrey, Cook - NCAA West 1500 celebration (May 29, 2026)

Photo by: Rian Yamasaki

05/29/26 | Track and Field

Meet Results

The Ducks added 10 national qualifiers Friday at the NCAA West First Round meet.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Oregon men's track and field team collected 10 national qualifiers Friday at the NCAA West First Round meet at John McDonnell Field in Fayetteville, Ark. Along with its haul from day one, the Men of Oregon are sending 15 entries in 10 events to the NCAA Championships

Among the Ducks' qualifiers, Simeon Birnbaum and Ben Smith advanced in two individual events while Kai Graves-Blanks qualified in the 110-meter hurdles and as part of the 4x100 relay. Birnbaum qualified in the 1500 and 5,000 meters Friday and Smith added the discus to his NCAA schedule that already has the shot put.

The top 12 from each regional site then advances to the 2026 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships (June 10-13) at Hayward Field in Eugene. All-sessions and single-day ticket packages for the NCAA Championships are currently on sale.

NCAA Championships men's qualifiers
Simeon Birnbaum – 1500 meters + 5,000 meters
Elliott Cook – 1500 meters
Tomas Palfrey – 1500 meters
Luke Tewalt – 5,000 meters
Evan Burke – 10,000 meters
Kai Greaves-Blanks – 110m hurdles
Benjamin Balazs – 3,000m steeplechase
Kai Graves-Blanks, PJ Ize-Iyamu, Grant Valley, Jaelon Barbarin – 4x100m relay
Tre Betts – triple jump
Kobe Lawrence – shot put
Ben Smith – shot put + discus
Daniel Thrana – javelin
Pat Vialva – javelin

Competing in the third of four flights, Smith let go of a lifetime-best toss of 58.99m/193-6 to move into first place with 12 throwers still to come. That measure was only surpassed by four athletes in the next flight and held up for the qualifying bid. Smith's first-round effort—57.84m—would have also qualified for the NCAA spot.

Smith, now ranked No. 10 in program history in the discus, also qualified for the shot put on day one of the meet. The Fremont, Wis., native becomes the fourth man in program history ranked among the top 10 in both the shot put and discus, joining past UO greats Dean Crouser, Mac Wilkins and Dave Vorhees.

The Ducks got started on the track with a qualifying performance in the 4x100-meter relay. The quartet of Graves-Blanks, PJ Ize-Iyamu, Grant Valley and Jaelon Barbarin got the baton around the track in 38.90, winning heat two and securing a lane back on their home track in Eugene.

Graves-Blanks returned to the track about 75 minutes to collect an individual qualifier in the 110-meter hurdles. The Oregon junior crossed the finish line in 13.42, good for third in his heat and eighth overall. Graves-Blanks will be making his NCAA Championships debut.

Birnbaum was the top-overall qualifier with this time of 3:37.00 to win the second of two heats. Palfrey (3:44.67) and Cook (3:45.24), finished second and third, respectively, in heat one to automatically move on to the NCAA Championships. Cook will be making his third NCAA Outdoor appearance with Birnbaum and Palfrey advancing to the meet for a second time.

Birnbaum and Luke Tewalt closed out the men's qualifying weekend by adding two final bids over 5,000 meters. Both finished fifth in their respective heats to grab a big Q and automatic placement in Eugene. Tewalt will be making his third-career appearance at the NCAA Outdoor meet, and his first as a Duck. He was fourth over the distance in 2023 during his career at Wake Forest.

Sophomore Tayson Echohawk just missed advancing in the 1500 by one spot. He finished eighth overall in 3:38.49 but was the third among the on-time pool which was only taking two to the national meet.

Balazs is back at the NCAA Championships for a second-consecutive year with Friday's qualifying outing in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. The two-time Big Ten champion clocked a season-best time of 8:29.30 to finish second in his heat and third overall.

In the final field event of the men's program, Betts posted a season's best of 16.04m/52-7.5 to advance out of flight two in the triple jump. After a foul in the first round, the Mobile, Ala., posted back-to-back measures of 16.04 and 16.03 for his first two 16-meter jumps in an Oregon kit. That qualifying mark also made Betts the No. 8 outdoor performer in program history.

Betts is the reigning NCAA Division II champion in the triple jump from his career at Pittsburg State.

Up Next: Day four of the NCAA West First Round features 14 qualifying chances in six events for the UO women. The Ducks have three entries each in the 1500 meters, 5,000 meters and triple jump.

Friday Results – Day 3 | NCAA West First Round
Q – advances to NCAA Championships
MEN
800 Meters
19. Bodey Lutes – 1:48.00

1500 Meters
1. Simeon Birnbaum – 3:37.00Q
8. Tayson Echohawk – 3:38.49
13. Tomas Palfrey – 3:44.67Q
14. Elliott Cook – 3:45.24Q

5,000 Meters
7. Simeon Birnbaum – 13:42.69Q
13. Luke Tewalt – 13:47.55Q
28. Evan Bishop – 14:10.37
29. Tayson Echohawk – 14:14.90
36. Juan Gonzalez – 14:20.91
38. Connor Burns – 14:26.76
43. Evan Burke – 14:43.75

110m Hurdles
8. Kai Graves-Blanks – 13.42Q

3,000m Steeplechase
3. Benjamin Balazs – 8:29.30Q (SB)

4x100m Relay
4. Graves-Blanks, Ize-Iyamu, Valley, Barbarin – 38.90Q

Triple Jump
12. Tre Betts – 16.04m/52-7.5Q (SB, UO #8)

Discus
5. Ben Smith – 58.99m/193-6Q (PB, UO #10)

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