Indoor Track 'Natty? DUCK WOMEN HAD A FABULOUS DAY 1

[Bruce3404]

The Lady Ducks showed up in top form on day 1 of the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships here in Virginia Beach. 

 

Not only did the Ducks outperform the projections by a HUGE 10 points, their closest rivals, Arkansas, totally tanked, losing a whopping 15 points versus projections.  If one simply considered seasonal best marks, the Ducks projected to finish 4th. 

 

If they can merely perform to projections tomorrow, the Natty will return to where it belongs.

 

[30Duck]

On 3/14/2025 at 2:53 PM, Bruce3404 said:

the Natty will return to where it belongs.

Absolutely right!

[Charles Fischer]

On 3/14/2025 at 2:53 PM, Bruce3404 said:

If they can merely perform to projections tomorrow, the Natty will return to where it belongs.

This is such great news!  If you missed it...Bruce wrote a terrific article below in the forum about how the Men went from 6th to first at the B1G Championships, and a preview of this weekend.

 

Let's do it, WOMEN of OREGON!

 

[Charles Fischer]

Top-Three DMR Finishes at NCAA Indoor

The UO women have eight scoring chances on day two of the national meet.

 

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The Women of Oregon finished second in the distance medley relay Friday at the 2025 NCAA Indoor Championships, and the UO men broke the school record to finish third in the DMR to close out day one of the national meet.

 

The Oregon women carry eight points into Saturday’s finals with eight chances to score. In addition to those who advanced to finals, the Ducks will have an early opportunity with Ryann Porter in the triple jump and Jaida Ross in the shot put. Silan Ayyildiz, already into the mile final, is also entered at 3,000 meters.

 

The Ducks will also be represented by Matthew Erickson in Saturday’s final of the men’s 800 meters. Making his debut at the NCAA Indoor meet, the UO senior was the fastest overall qualifier with a new lifetime best of 1:46.11. Erickson moves to No. 2 on the program’s all-time indoor list with a time that doubles as the fastest ever run during the prelims in NCAA Indoor Championships history.

 

Into the #NCAATF Finals

Silan Ayyildiz – mile

Matthew Erickson – 800 meters

Jadyn Mays – 60 & 200 meters

Aaliyah McCormick – 60 hurdles

Wilma Nielsen – mile

 

Women’s track finals start at 12 p.m. PT with the men to follow at 3 p.m. Both sessions will stream on ESPN+.

 

The team of Wilma Nielsen, Ella Clayton, Ella Nelson and Silan Ayyildiz combined for a time of 10:45.99 in the final event of the women’s session. The time secured a national runner-up finish in the DMR and made the quartet the second fastest in UO history. Nielsen and Ayyildiz were doubling back from heats in the mile earlier Friday afternoon.

 

The top four teams—BYU, Oregon, Providence and LSU—were all faster than the previous meet record of 10:50.98 set by Tennessee in 2009.

 

 

The Men of Oregon closed out the evening session with a school-record performance and bronze finish in the distance-medley relay. Tomas Palfrey, Fuad Omer, James Harding and Elliott Cook clocked a time of 9:17.57, shaving nearly two seconds off the previous UO standard of 9:19.42 set in 2021. The outing also moves Oregon to No. 7 on the all-time collegiate list.

 

Five teams—Virginia, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas A&M and BYU—bettered the previous meet record of 9:19.98 set by the UO DMR of Reed Brown, Xavier Naire, Charlie Hunter and Cooper Teare at the 2021 indoor meet.

 

In the Ducks’ first event of the day, Nielsen and Ayyildiz were the first and third fastest, respectively, in the opening round of the women’s mile. Both ran in heat two with Nielsen crossing in 4:34.17 followed by Ayyildiz in 4:34.76, securing their spots in Saturday’s final (12:00 p.m., ESPN+). Mia Barnett posted a time of 4:37.37 in heat one but did not advance.

 

This will be Nielsen’s first NCAA mile final but third overall having been a finalist in the 800 the last two years at Bradley and Washington. Ayyildiz, making her third NCAA Indoor appearance, is into the finals for the first time.

 

Aaliyah McCormick, the Big Ten champion in the 60-meter hurdles, will run for a national title Saturday after equaling her lifetime best of 7.97 in the prelims. She won heat one with a strong close off the last hurdle and finished with the second-fastest time in qualifying. McCormick is into her third NCAA Indoor final.

 

The women’s 60 hurdles final is set for Saturday at 12:40 p.m. PT.

 

Pulling sprint double duty, Jadyn Mays was 2-for-2 with advancing efforts in the 60 and 200 meters. In each event, she ran the third fastest qualifiers of 7.13—a season’s best—and 22.59, respectively. Mays will line up for the 60 final at 12:10 p.m. PT and then return to the track about 40 minutes later for the 200. This is Mays’ third-consecutive season advancing to the final of both sprint events.

 

Running in his first race since Feb. 1, redshirt freshman Simeon Birnbaum made his NCAA Indoor debut with a 4:09.64 in the heats of the mile and did not advance. He wraps his first collegiate indoor season with a lifetime best of 3:52.81—and No. 4 performer at UO—from the Razorback Invitational.

 

NCAA Indoor Championships (Virginia Beach, Va.) – Day One

MEN

800 Meters – prelims

1. Matthew Erickson – 1:46.11Q (PB, UO #2)

--. Koitatoi Kidali – DNF

 

Mile – prelims

16. Simeon Birnbaum – 4:09.64

 

Distance Medley Relay

3. Palfrey/Omer/Harding/Cook – 9:17.57 (UO #1) [6 points]

 

WOMEN

60 Meters – prelims

3. Jadyn Mays – 7.13Q (SB)

 

200 Meters – prelims

3. Jadyn Mays – 22.59Q

 

Mile – prelims

1. Wilma Nielsen – 4:34.17Q

3. Silan Ayyildiz – 4:34.76Q

12. Mia Barnett – 4:37.37

 

60m Hurdles – prelims

2. Aaliyah McCormick – 7.97Q (=PB)

 

Distance Medley Relay

2. Nielsen/Clayton/Nelson/Ayyildiz – 10:45.99 (UO #2) [8 points]

 

[Grandpa Duck]

Thank you for the detailed information, Charles.