Cook and Palfrey are also two of the five UO men qualified in the 3,000, in addition to Benjamin Balazs, Simeon Birnbaum and Connor Burns. Ayyildiz is one of three Women of Oregon in the mile, along with Wilma Nielsen and Juliet Cherubet.
Final qualifiers—top 16 declared in each event and top 12 relays—were announced Tuesday.
NEWS | Ducks Sweep at Big Ten Indoor Championships
Events: Mile & 3,000 Meters
Qualifying Marks: 4:25.11 & 8:42.66
Third appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships at Oregon; fourth overall … two-time 2026 Big Ten Indoor champion (mile and 5,000 meters); runner-up at 3,000 meters … lowered own school record with time of 8:42.29 at the NB Indoor Grand Prix … qualifying mark of 8:42.66 at the BU Valentine Invitational … clocked a season-best 4:25.11 to win the mile at the Razorback Invitational … anchored DMR that was the 2025 NCAA Indoor runner-up; finished fourth in last year’s mile.
Peyton Bair
Event: Heptathlon
Qualifying Mark: 6,371 points
First appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships at Oregon; second overall … reigning NCAA Indoor champion (heptathlon) … tallied a lifetime-best 6,371 points to win the Razorback Invitational (Jan 31) … became the No. 4 performer in NCAA history; ranks second at Oregon … established indoor bests in all seven heptathlon events this season including top-10 program marks in the 60 meters (6.61, =UO #4) and 60-meter hurdles (7.83, UO #9).
Benjamin Balazs
Event: 3,000 Meters
Qualifying Mark: 7:39.31
First appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships … ran a lifetime best of 7:39.31 at the BU Valentine Invitational (Feb. 13); moved to No. 2 in UO history … also established indoor bests this year in the mile (3:57.75) and 5,000 meters (13:56.44) … two-time scorer at the 2026 Big Ten Indoor meet: third at 3,000 meters and fifth at 5,000 meters.
Simeon Birnbaum
Event: 3,000 Meters
Qualifying Mark: 7:39.65
Second appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships … two-time 2026 Big Ten Indoor champion (3,000 and 5,000 meters) … set a then-school record of 7:39.65 for 3,000 meters at the BU Colyear-Danville Opener in December; now ranks third at Oregon … cracked the UO top 10 at 800 meters (1:48.05) at the Razorback Invitational … also ran a season-best 3:55.88 in the mile at Razorback.
Connors Burns
Event: 3,000 Meters
Qualifying Mark: 7:40.80
First appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships … ran 7:40.80 in season debut at the BU Valentine Invitational; moved to No. 5 in UO history … finished fifth over 3,000 meters at the 2026 Big Ten Indoor Championships.
Aiden Carter
Event: Heptathlon
Qualifying Mark: 5,815 points
First appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships … 2026 Big Ten Indoor champion (heptathlon) … scored a lifetime best of 5,815 points at the conference meet with the help of indoor bests in the high jump (2.07m/6-9.5), pole vault (4.80m/15-9) and shot put (12.71m/41-8.5) … bettered previous best of 5,790 points from the Razorback Invitational in late January … ranks sixth all-time at Oregon.
Diana Cherotich
Event: 5,000 Meters
Qualifying Mark: 15:13.38
First appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships … 2026 Big Ten Indoor Championships runner-up (5,000m) … lowered own school record to 15:13.38 at the BU Valentine Invitational … first broke the UO record with a time of 15:16.72 at the BU Colyear-Danville Opener in December … established a lifetime best of 8:55.42 for 3,000 meters during the Razorback Invitational, good for No. 5 in program history.
Juliet Cherubet
Event: Mile
Qualifying Mark: 4:27.46
First appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships … 2026 Big Ten Indoor champion (3,000 meters) … clocked a mile best of 4:27.46 at the BU Valentine Invitational, becoming No. 3 performer in UO history … ran a then-best of 4:32.03 at the Razorback Invitational … had a previous best of 4:39.41 from 2024 Big 12 Indoor Championships while at Texas Tech … No. 3 in UO history in the 3,000 meters (8:52.30).
Event: Mile & 3,000 Meters
Qualifying Mark: 3:52.32 & 7:41.57
Third appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships; second in the mile … moved to fourth all-time at Oregon with 3:52.32 performance at the BU Valentine Invitational … ran lifetime-best 7:41.57 during the BU Colyear-Danville Opener in December; third in Oregon history at the time; now sixth … 2026 Big Ten runner-up with the distance medley relay and third in the mile … anchored the DMR to third place at the 2025 NCAA Indoor Championships.
Matthew Erickson
Event: 800 Meters
Qualifying Mark: 1:45.93
Second appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships … reigning NCAA Indoor champion (800 meters) … second man in program history to run sub-1:46 indoors (Charlie Hunter, 2021) with his 1:45.93 at the Arkansas Qualifier … two-time scorer at the 2026 Big Ten Indoor Championships: seventh in the 800 and eighth in the 600 … ran a 600-meter best of 1:16.52 in the prelims of the conference meet.
James Harding
Event: 800 Meters
Qualifying Mark: 1:46.44
Second appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships; first in the 800 … No. 4 indoor performer in the 800 with time of 1:46.44 at the Arkansas Qualifier … won the invitational section of the mile (3:55.92) at the BU Colyear-Danville Opener in December … lowered best in the mile to 3:55.78 during the Razorback Invitational … ran the 800-meter leg of last year’s DMR that finished third at the NCAA Indoor meet.
Abdel Laadjel
Event: 5,000 Meters
Qualifying Mark: 13:24.17
First appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships … established a lifetime best of 13:24.17 over 5,000 meters at the BU Colyear-Danville Opener in December … became the No. 4 indoor performer in Oregon history at the distance … ran a personal-best time of 7:48.74 for 3,000 meters at the BU Valentine Invite … finished fourth in the 5,000 meters at the 2026 Big Ten Indoor Championships.
Kobe Lawrence
Event: Shot Put
Qualifying Mark: 20.16m/66-1.75
First appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships … first time over 20 meters indoors at the Jarvis Scott Invitational in Lubbock, Texas … had throws of 20.15 and 20.16 meters during winning series … indoor school-record holder in the shot put … opened season with a then-best of 19.81m/65-0 at the Thane Baker Invitational at Kansas State … finished sixth at the 2026 Big Ten Indoor Championships.
Liisa-Maria Lusti
Event: Pentathlon
Qualifying Mark: 4,290 points
First appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships … 2026 Big Ten Indoor runner-up (long jump) … won pentathlon at the Razorback Invitational with 4,290 points … moved to No. 2 on the all-time UO top-10 list … jumped 6.43m/21-1.25 during the Razorback Invitational, a top-25 national mark in the nation … also finished fourth in the pentathlon (4,252 points) at the Big Ten Indoor Championships.
Aaliyah McCormick
Event: 60m Hurdles
Qualifying Mark: 7.89
Fourth appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships … two-time Big Ten Indoor champion (60-meter hurdles) … 2025 NCAA Indoor runner-up … clocked a lifetime best of 7.89 at 2026 Big Ten Indoor meet to win second-consecutive title … first dipped below eight seconds this season with 7.95 outing at the Don Kirby Invitational, a third-career victory at the meet.
Wilma Nielsen
Event: Mile
Qualifying Mark: 4:21.04
Second appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships at Oregon; fourth overall … reigning NCAA Indoor champion (mile) … 2026 Big Ten Indoor runner-up (mile) … clocked the then-No. 2 collegiate performance of 4:21.04 at the BU Valentine Invitational; now ranked third … ran a then-best mile of 4:23.56 at the 118th Millrose Games … established a best of 9:00.50 for 3,000 meters at the Colyear-Danville Opener in December … ran opening leg of DMR that was runner-up at 2025 NCAA Indoor Championships.
Event: Mile & 3,000 Meters
Qualifying Mark: 3:53.86 & 7:39.03
Second appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships; first in the mile … 2026 Big Ten Indoor runner-up (mile) … broke the Oregon school record for 3,000 meters with his lifetime best of 7:39.03 during the BU Valentine Invitational; first-ever completed indoor 3,000 meters … dropped mile best to 3:53.86 at the Razorback Invitational, good for No. 7 in program history … ran opening leg of DMR that was third at last year’s NCAA Indoor Championships.
Ben Smith
Event: Shot Put
Qualifying Mark: 19.93m/65-4.75
First appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships … 2026 Big Ten Indoor runner-up (shot put) … posted a lifetime best of 19.93m/65-4.75 at the conference meet … ranks second on the program’s all-time indoor list … had a then-best of 19.82m/65-0.5 to win the Razorback Invitational (Jan. 31).
Men’s DMR
Qualifying Team: Simeon Birnbaum, Fuad Omer, Elliott Cook, Tomas Palfrey
Qualifying Mark: 9:14.88 (Battle for Boston, 2/22/26)
Women’s DMR
Qualifying Team: Silan Ayyildiz, Lakely Doht-Barron, Samantha McDonnell, Wilma Nielsen
Qualifying Mark: 10:45.97c (Crimson Open, 2/13/26)
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